AVHRR Satellite Imagery of Eastern Antarctica from NOAA12

AVHRR satellite imagery of Eastern Antarctica was captured by the NOAA12 satellite. Data collection began in June 1996, covering specific coastal and ice shelf regions, but the archival service was discontinued in 2015. The data originates from the Antarctic Meteorology Centre's Casey HRPT receiver, managed by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC).

Use Cases

• Analyze historical sea ice concentration and extent changes for regions like the Ross Ice Shelf or West Ice Shelf using AVHRR imagery.
• Monitor glacier terminus positions and ice shelf calving events in areas like the Ninnis Glacier region or Mertz Glacier.
• Study surface temperature patterns and albedo variations across Antarctic coastal zones such as Princess Ragnhild Coast or Wilkes Coast.
• Validate and calibrate newer satellite-derived ice products against this long-term AVHRR image archive for specific locations like the Casey region.

Strengths

• Imagery collection spans a multi-decade period from at least 1996 to 2015.
• Covers 16 distinct geographic regions of Eastern Antarctica, including major ice shelves and coasts.

Limitations

• The dataset is not updated, as the archival service was discontinued in 2015.
• Archive completeness is inconsistent, with not all locations having data back to the 1996 start date.
• Specific technical details like image resolution, file formats, and total data volume are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Antarctic Meteorology Centre, Casey HRPT receiver, managed by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC).

Collection Method

Captured by the NOAA12 satellite's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument.

Time Range

From June 1996 to 2015.

Freshness

Data collection ended in 2015; the archive is historical.

Geography

Eastern Antarctica, specifically 16 listed regions including Princess Ragnhild Coast, Enderby Land, Mawson region, Ross Ice Shelf, and others.