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Description
MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1km (MYD29) data set contains 1 km resolution sea ice extent, ice surface temperature, and quality assessment data, plus 5 km resolution geolocation data.
As of August 2023, this data set is retired and no longer available for download. We recommend using <a href="https://nsidc.org/data/myd29/versions/61">MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1km, Version 61</a> as an alternative.
Version Description
Sea ice extent and ice surface temperature algorithms and data sets are the same as Version 5. However, revisions and improvements for Version 6 to algorithm inputs have improved sea ice outputs as follows:
Revised calibration of MYD02 thermal bands 31 and 32 decreased calculated brightness temperatures by about -0.01 K and improved accuracy for very cold scenes;
The Version 6 land/water mask in the MYD03 geolocation product increased the accuracy of water body and coastline maps;
Revisions to the MYD35_L2 cloud mask algorithm have increased the accuracy of cloud detection.
Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.
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Hall, D. K., & Riggs, G. A. (2015). MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1km, Version 6 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD29.006 Date Accessed: 2026-09-12
@misc{reiser_willmes_hausmann_heinemann_2019,
title={Circum-Antarctic Sea-Ice Lead-Frequencies, 2003-2018},
url={https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.906767},
DOI={10.1594/PANGAEA.906767},
abstractNote={The dataset shows the relative lead frequencies around Antarctica for the months April-September, 2003-2018. The dataset is based on the MOD/MYD 29 Ice Surface Temperatures (NSIDC, Riggs and Hall (2015), see doi:10.5067/MODIS/MYD29.006 and doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD29.006). By applying the algorithms introduced by Willmes and Heinemann (2015, doi:10.3189/2015AoG69A615; 2016, doi:10.3390/rs8010004) leads are identified in the swaths and subsquently combined to daily composites. Only clear-sky pixels are regarded.For the Weddell-Sea model results from a coupled ocean/sea-ice model (NEMO-LIM 3.6) are compared with the lead frequencies to further study the interaction of sea ice and the ocean.For further reading see Reiser et al. (2019): Predominant sea-ice fracture zones around Antarctica and their relation to bathymetric features.},
publisher={PANGAEA},
author={Reiser, Fabian and Willmes, Sascha and Hausmann, Ute and Heinemann, Günther},
year={2019},
language={en},
}
Hall, D. K., & Riggs, G. A. (2015). MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1km, Version 6 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD29.006 Date Accessed: 2026-09-12
Hall, Dorothy K., and George A. Riggs. “MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1km, Version 6.” NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center, 2015, https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD29.006. Date Accessed: 2026-09-12
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