AMSRIce06: Airborne Lidar Measurements of Arctic Sea Ice and Snow

Arctic Ocean sea ice and Alaskan coastal snow cover are measured by this dataset. It contains airborne lidar point cloud data collected by the Airborne Topographic Mapper instrument on a P3 aircraft over the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The data likely includes surface elevation and roughness measurements for studying cryospheric changes.

Use Cases

• [Modeling sea ice thickness changes] based on [lidar-derived surface elevation measurements]
• [Analyzing snow cover distribution] based on [lidar measurements off the northern coast of Alaska]
• [Studying ice roughness and morphology] based on [high-resolution airborne topographic mapper data]
• [Validating satellite-derived cryospheric products] based on [in-situ airborne lidar measurements]

Strengths

• [Cross-platform presence] indicates established importance and use within the scientific community.
• [Specific instrumentation] is documented: data were obtained by the Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) on a P3 aircraft.
• [Clear geographic scope] is provided for the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas and the northern Alaskan coast.

Limitations

• [Metadata completeness] is limited as documentation was provided solely by Principal Investigators and not thoroughly reviewed/edited by NSIDC.
• [Data specifications conflict] exists: one source lists a last update in 2006, while others list 2026, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• [Column details and data volume] (size, rows, specific variables) are unknown across all sources, hindering precise usability assessment.

Provenance

Source

NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Center), Principal Investigator(s)

Collection Method

Airborne remote sensing via the Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) lidar instrument mounted on a P3 aircraft.

Freshness

2026-03-13 15:26:50.743121

Geography

Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean), and snow cover off the northern coast of Alaska, USA.