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Description

The Near-real-time Ice and Snow Extent (NISE) data set provides daily, global maps of sea ice concentrations and snow extent. These data are not suitable for time series, anomalies, or trends analyses. They are meant to provide a best estimate of current ice and snow conditions based on information and algorithms available at the time the data are acquired. Near-real-time products are not intended for operational use in assessing sea ice conditions for navigation.

This NISE Version 5 product contains DMSP-F18, SSMIS-derived sea ice concentrations and snow extents derived from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) aboard the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F18 satellite. For DMSP-F16, SSMIS-derived data, see <a href="https://doi.org/10.5067/JAQDJKPX0S60"> NISE Version 3</a>. For DMSP-F17, SSMIS-derived data, see <a href="https://nsidc.org/data/nise/versions/4"> NISE Version 4</a>. For the older, DMSP-F13, Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) derived data, see <a href="https://doi.org/10.5067/4FSODMDM1WEJ">NISE Version 2</a>.

Version Description

<ul>
<li>The NISE snow and sea ice algorithm both use near-real-time brightness temperature observations from the SSMIS instrument on DMSP-F18.</li>
<li>The coefficients for the NISE snow algorithm were updated to better match results from DMSP-F13 as a result of an inter-calibration between F13 and F17 during an overlap period from 3/27/2008-3/26/2009 and between F17 and F18 during an overlap period from 7/1/2014-6/30/2015.</li>
<li>ESDT metadata was updated to reflect the change in data set version number.</li>
</ul>
<p>The NISE Version 5 data record begins 12/01/2016.</p>

Product Summary

Platforms
DMSP 5D-3/F18
Instruments
SSMIS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers
Geographic Region
ANTARCTICA ,
ARCTIC ,
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ,
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2016-12-01 to Present
Concept ID
C3177837670-NSIDC_CPRD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
3318
Processing Level
3
Published
Science Keywords
Sea Ice Concentration ,
Snow Cover

Citation

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.

Copy Citation

Brodzik, M. J., & Stewart, J. (2016). Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent, Version 5 [Data set]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/3KB2JPLFPK3R Date Accessed: 2026-01-11

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