Aquarius Weekly Northern Hemisphere Freeze-Thaw Data

Weekly Northern Hemisphere landscape freeze/thaw data is derived from L-band radiometer brightness temperature observations by the Aquarius sensor aboard the SAC-D satellite. The data is processed to Level-3 and distributed on the EASE-Grid 2.0 with a 36 km spatial resolution. This dataset is a product of collaboration between NASA and Argentina's CONAE, with a last confirmed update in 2015.

Use Cases

• Monitoring seasonal freeze-thaw cycles across boreal and arctic regions using weekly state classifications.
• Modeling land-atmosphere carbon and water exchange influenced by surface state transitions.
• Validating and improving climate and hydrological models with hemispheric-scale, satellite-derived landscape condition data.
• Analyzing the impact of freeze-thaw events on ecosystem productivity and vegetation phenology.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized Level-3 product, ensuring consistency for analysis.
• Provides hemispheric coverage on a consistent 36 km EASE-Grid 2.0, facilitating spatial comparisons.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals its importance and curation.

Limitations

• Key technical specifications like row count, file size, and column names are unavailable from all sources.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' date: NASA Earthdata shows 2015-06-04, while Data.gov shows a future date of 2026-03-13, casting doubt on data maintenance.
• The license and author information are not provided.

Provenance

Source

NASA and Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE)

Collection Method

Derived from L-band radiometer brightness temperature observations acquired by the Aquarius sensor on the SAC-D satellite.

Freshness

2015-06-04 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Northern Hemisphere