Arctic Snowpack Melt Onset Date Maps from Passive Microwave Data

Northwest Canada, Alaska, the US, and parts of far eastern Russia are covered by this 6.25-km resolution dataset tracking the annual main melt onset date of snowpack from 1988 to 2023. The data, produced by NASA, are derived from calibrated passive microwave brightness temperatures and validated against in-situ temperature observations from 31 SNOTEL stations. This long-term record supports analysis of melt timing impacts on ecosystems, wildlife, and hydrology within the ABoVE domain.

Use Cases

• Analyzing interannual variability in spring snowmelt timing across the Arctic-Boreal zone.
• Validating hydrological or ecological models using the 36-year time series of melt onset dates.
• Investigating correlations between passive microwave-derived melt dates and in-situ air temperature transitions from SNOTEL stations.
• Assessing spatial patterns of melt onset to inform studies on wildlife migration or ecosystem services.

Strengths

• Dataset validation used in-situ air temperature data from 31 SNOTEL stations, providing ground-truth support.
• Offers a 36-year continuous record (1988-2023) at a consistent 6.25-km spatial resolution.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA Earthdata signals its importance and curated status.

Limitations

• A coastal mask was applied inconsistently (used for 1988-2016, not for 2017-2023), which may affect time series consistency near water bodies.
• Specific technical details like row count, file size, and exact column names are not provided across any source.
• Values adjacent to large water bodies can be adversely affected by potential contamination in the brightness temperature signal.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from daily 19V and 37V GHz bands of the MEaSUREs Calibrated Enhanced-Resolution Passive Microwave EASE-Grid Brightness Temperature Earth System Data Record.

Time Range

1988 to 2023

Freshness

2026-03-13 20:13:27.539132

Geography

Northwest Canada, Alaska, US, and parts of far eastern Russia