Sea Ice Fields
The sea ice concentration data displayed
on this site were derived from data collected by passive microwave
sensors on polar orbiting satellites that are able to distinguish
between open water and sea ice. The first microwave data, and
hence our ability to determine the global distribution of sea
ice, became available with the launch of NASA's Nimbus-5 satellite
in 19722. Operational collection began in 1978 and continues to
this day with data from satellites in the DMSP (Defense Meteorological
Satellite Program) series. The sea ice concentration fields are
available on a daily or semi-daily basis on a 25km by 25 km polar
stereographic grid. The
sea ice fields displayed on this site were obtained from the EOSDIS
NSDIC Distributed Active Archive Center (NSDIC DAAC), University
of Colarado at Boulder. The processing and analysis was performed
by scientists in the Department of Physics at the University of
Toronto, the British Antarctic Survey and the PAGES International
Project Office.
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