Suomi NPP VIIRS Sea Ice, 2/16/2017 - click to enlarge
Sea Ice
Team Lead: Jeff Key
Product Description
Sea ice age is defined as the time that has passed since the formation of the surface layer of an ice covered region of the ocean. Sea ice concentration is the fraction of a horizontal cell covered by ice.
Enterprise Ice Age/Thickness Algorithm
One-dimensional Thermodynamic Ice Model (OTIM):
- Based on the surface energy budget at thermo-equilibrium state
- Independent of historical records for ice thickness and age estimation
- Capable of retrieving daytime and nighttime sea and lake ice thickness under both clear and cloudy sky conditions
Enterprise Sea Ice Concentration Algorithm
- Use threshold tests to detect possible ice cover: Daytime and Nighttime
- Use a tie-point algorithm to derive reflectance (temperature) for pure ice pixel, and then calculate ice concentration
Product and Data Access
Products and data:
EDR Long Term-Monitoring
Documentation
- Ice Age ATBD, (PDF, 5.1 MB)
- Ice Cover ATBD, (PDF, 4.62 MB)
Sea Ice Age/Thickness
Age category:
- no ice, new/young ice, other ice; thickness (NDE)
Sea Ice Concentration
- Fractional coverage of ice in each pixel
Users
Sec Ice Age/Thickness:
National Ice Center (NIC), NWS Ice Desk and NCEP/EMC, Modelers (operational and research)
Sea Ice Concentration:
National Ice Center (NIC), NWS Ice Desk and NCEP/EMC, Naval Oceanographic Center