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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 Sort descending | Version | Platform | Instrument | Temporal Extent | Spatial Extent | Spatial Resolution | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent V003 | 3 | DMSP 5D-3/F16 | SSMIS | 2012-01-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | HDF-EOS2 |
| Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent V004 | 4 | DMSP 5D-3/F17 | SSMIS | 2009-08-17 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | HDF-EOS2 |
| Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent V005 | 5 | DMSP 5D-3/F18 | SSMIS | 2016-12-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | HDF-EOS2 |
| Nimbus Ice Edge Points from Nimbus Visible Imagery L2, CSV V001 | 1 | Nimbus-1, Nimbus-2, Nimbus-3 | AVCS Nimbus-1, CAMERAS, AVCS Nimbus-2, IDCS Nimbus-3 | 1966-05-15 to 1966-09-02 |
N: -50 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 N: 90 S: 50 E: 180 W: -180 |
5 Kilometers x 5 Kilometers | ASCII |
| NISAR Beta Range Doppler Unwrapped Interferogram Product (Version 1) | 1 | NISAR | L-SAR, S-SAR | 2025-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5, XML, YAML, PNG, KML, CSV, PDF | |
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 12.5 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V0 | 0 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 12.5 km x 12.5 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 12.5 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V1 | 0 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 12.5 km x 12.5 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 12.5 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V2 | 2 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 12.5 km x 12.5 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 25 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V0 | 0 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 25 km x 25 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 25 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V1 | 0 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 25 km x 25 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 25 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V2 | 2 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 25 km x 25 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 6.25 KM 89 GHZ BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE (TB) POLAR GRIDS V0 | 0 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 6.25 km x 6.25 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 6.25 KM 89 GHZ BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE (TB) POLAR GRIDS V1 | 0 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 6.25 km x 6.25 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 6.25 KM 89 GHZ BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE (TB) POLAR GRIDS V2 | 2 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 6.25 km x 6.25 km | HDF-EOS-5 | ||
| NRT AMSR2 Unified L3 Daily 12.5 km Brightness Temperature & Sea Ice Concentration V4 | 4 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 2020-06-29 |
N: 89 S: -89 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF-EOS5 | |
| NRT AMSR2 Unified L3 Daily 25 km Brightness Temperature & Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids V4 | 4 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 2020-06-29 |
N: 89 S: -89 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF-EOS5 | |
| NRT AMSR2 Unified L3 Daily 6.25 km Polar Gridded 89 GHz Brightness Temperatures V4 | 4 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 2020-06-29 |
N: 89 S: -89 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF-EOS5 | |
| NSCAT Gridded Level 3 Enhanced Resolution Sigma-0 from BYU | 1 | ADEOS-I | NSCAT | 1996-09-15 to 1997-06-29 |
N: 89 S: -89 E: 180 W: -180 |
0.04 Decimal Degrees x 0.04 Decimal Degrees | RAW |
| NSCAT High-Resolution MGDR, Sigma-0 and Ocean Wind Vectors (Dunbar) | 2 | ADEOS-I | NSCAT | 1996-09-15 to 1997-06-29 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
25000 Meters x 25000 Meters | RAW |
| NSCAT Level 1.7 SDR, Sigma-0 Cells | 2 | ADEOS-I | NSCAT | 1996-09-15 to 1997-06-29 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50000 Meters x 50000 Meters | HDF |
| Primary Ancillary Data Geo-Colocated to OMI/Aura UV2 1-Orbit L2 Swath 13x24km V4 (OMUANC) at GES DISC | 004 | Aura, GEOS-5 | OMI, NOT APPLICABLE | 2004-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
24 Kilometers x 13 Kilometers | |
| Primary Ancillary Data Geo-Colocated to OMI/Aura VIS 1-Orbit L2 Swath 13x24km V4 (OMVANC) at GES DISC | 004 | Aura, GEOS-5 | OMI, NOT APPLICABLE | 2004-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
24 Kilometers x 13 Kilometers | |
| RADARSAT-1 Level 0 Product | 1 | RADARSAT-1 | SAR | 1996-02-01 to 2009-03-17 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| RADARSAT-1 Level 1 Product | 1 | RADARSAT-1 | SAR | 1996-02-01 to 2009-03-17 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| SASSIE Arctic Field Campaign Shipboard S-Band Radar Level 3 Data Fall 2022 | 1 | Ships | RADAR | 2022-09-08 to 2022-09-30 |
N: 75.5 S: 67.5 E: -138 W: -170.5 |
geotiff |
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.
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