ECCO V4r4: Monthly Sea-Ice and Snow Concentration and Thickness, 1992-2017

Global monthly-averaged sea-ice and snow concentration, thickness, and pressure loading on the native LLC90 model grid. The data is a dynamically consistent state estimate from the MITgcm, fit to observations including satellite altimetry, radiometry, and in-situ measurements. It was produced by NASA and covers the period from 1992-01-01 to 2018-01-01.

Use Cases

• Model validation of sea-ice extent and thickness based on the monthly-averaged concentration and thickness fields.
• Analysis of long-term polar climate trends based on the 26-year temporal coverage from 1992 to 2017.
• Assessing snow loading on sea ice for climate models based on the included snow concentration and pressure loading variables.

Strengths

• Integrates multiple observational constraints including satellite altimeters, radiometers, and in-situ programs.
• Covers a 26-year period from 1992 to 2017, providing a long-term climate record.
• Provides data on a native high-resolution model grid (LLC90), preserving spatial detail.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific ML tasks.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Dynamically and kinematically-consistent ocean and sea-ice state estimate from the MITgcm, fit to observations in a least-squares sense.

Time Range

1992-01-01 to 2018-01-01

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 03:03:23.595994; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global