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Sea Ice Data Access and Tools
NASA has sea ice datasets that help researchers characterize the presence and extent of ice in the ocean. Access a range of data and data tools such as AppEEARS, Worldview, and Giovanni to make the most of sea ice data.
Sea Ice Datasets
| Dataset | Platforms | Instruments | Temporal Extent | Location Keywords | Spatial Extent | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICESat L4 Seasonal Gridded Sea Ice Thickness V001 | ICESat | GLAS | 2003-02-20 to 2008-03-21 | ARCTIC OCEAN | N: 86 S: 66 E: 180 W: -180 | netCDF-4, PNG |
| ICESat-2 and CryoSat-2 L4 Monthly Arctic Snow Depth and Sea Ice Thickness V001 | CRYOSAT-2, ICESat-2 | SIRAL, ATLAS | 2018-10-01 to 2021-04-30 | ARCTIC | N: 90 S: 62 E: 180 W: -180 | netCDF-4 |
| ICESat-2 Derived Sea Ice Melt Pond Characteristics from the Density-Dimension Algorithm V003 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2020-06-04 to 2020-08-28 | ARCTIC | N: 90 S: 75 W: -150 | ASCII, PNG |
| ICESat-2 L4 Along-Track Sea Ice Thickness V001 | ICESat-2, MODELS | ATLAS, NOT APPLICABLE | 2018-10-14 to 2022-05-01 | ARCTIC OCEAN | N: 88 S: 60 E: 180 W: -180 | netCDF-4 |
| ICESat-2 L4 Monthly Gridded Sea Ice Thickness V003 | ICESat-2, MODELS | ATLAS, NOT APPLICABLE | 2018-11-01 to 2024-04-30 | ARCTIC OCEAN | N: 88 S: 30 E: 180 W: -180 | netCDF-4 |
| ICESat-2 L4 Monthly Gridded Sea Ice Thickness V004 | ICESat-2, MODELS | ATLAS, NOT APPLICABLE | 2018-11-01 to 2025-04-30 | ARCTIC OCEAN | N: 88 S: 30 E: 180 W: -180 | netCDF-4 |
| International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Ice Snow Product in Native Data Format | NOAA-10, NOAA-11, NOAA-12, NOAA-14, NOAA-15, NOAA-16, NOAA-17, NOAA-18, NOAA-7, NOAA-8, NOAA-9 | AVHRR | 1983-07-03 to 2009-12-28 | GLOBAL | Binary | |
| ISLSCP II Global Sea Ice Concentration | COMPUTERS, Nimbus-7, DMSP | Computer, SMMR, SSM/I | 1986-01-01 to 1995-12-31 | GLOBAL | N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 | Shapefile |
| LVIS Classic L2 Geolocated Surface Elevation and Canopy Height Product V001 | B-200, C-130, G-III, G-V | LVIS | 1998-03-20 to Present | CANADA, ALASKA, AFRICA | N: 72 S: -3 E: 17 W: -168 | ASCII |
| LVIS Facility L2 Geolocated Surface Elevation and Canopy Height Product V001 | B-200, G-III, G-V, P-3B | LVIS | 2018-11-07 to Present | ALASKA, CANADA, GREENLAND, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, COSTA RICA | N: 88 S: -35 E: 27 W: -167 | ASCII |
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Featured Sea Ice Observation Method: ICESat-2
NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) carries a laser altimeter scientists use to measure the elevation of ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, and more in unprecedented, 3-D detail. The satellite also measures heights across Earth's temperate and tropical regions, and takes stock of the vegetation in forests worldwide.
Data from NASA’s ICESat-2 mission provide incredibly accurate measurements of Earth elevation change—and much more.
8 MIN READ
The five new datasets are the result of a joint effort by NASA’s Satellite Needs Working Group Management Office (SNWG MO), ICESat-2 team, and Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE).
3 MIN READ
ATL24, a new space-based lidar product, provides bathymetry data that can be used to characterize nearshore habitats and create safer maritime transportation channels.
This is the first in a five-part webinar series to introduce NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation-2 (ICESat-2) platform and the platform's data, tools, and applications.
Sea Ice Data Tools
| Tool Sort descending | Description | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAltimetry | OpenAltimetry is a map-based visualization tool for exploring surface elevation data across Earth over time. | Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization |
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Frequently Asked Questions
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