STAR Joint Polar Satellite System Algorithms & Data Products website National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration website NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research website
Suomi NPP VIIRS Sea Ice, 2/16/2017 - click to enlarge

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

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