Global Snow Grain Size Measurements from ADEOS-II Satellite

Global monthly and 16-day binned measurements of snow grain size at the surface, retrieved using the 1640nm band from the GLI sensor. The dataset was produced by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from the ADEOS-II (Midori II) satellite mission, with the last recorded update in October 2003. It provides statistical summaries including sum, square sum, maximum, and minimum values per binned pixel.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface albedo by analyzing the relationship between retrieved snow grain size and radiative properties.
• Validating snow physics models by comparing modeled grain size evolution with the satellite-derived grain size data.
• Studying spatial and temporal trends in snowpack metamorphism using the monthly binned grain size statistics.
• Investigating the top-layer snow grain size feature retrieved independently via the GLI channel 28 (1.64 μm) band.

Strengths

• Provides global, hemispheric (North and South), and 16-day statistical coverage.
• Data is binned at a spatial resolution of 1/12 degree.
• Includes multiple statistical aggregations per pixel: sum, square sum, max, and min.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is stale, with the last update recorded in 2003.
• The physical quantity (snow grain size in micrometers) is derived for only the very top surface layer.
• Specific sample size, row count, and validation details against ground measurements are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Collection Method

Derived from Level 2 SNGI_p product using the GLI sensor's channel 28 (1.64 μm) on the ADEOS-II satellite.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2003-10-25; update frequency is null.

Geography

Global, with generation units for the globe, Northern Hemisphere, and Southern Hemisphere.