Arctic Meteorology and Climate Atlas: Gridded Weather and Historical Records

Three main sections comprise this atlas: a history of Arctic exploration from Russian and U.S. perspectives, a primer on arctic meteorology, and a data section with gridded fields of meteorological parameters. The data section contains maps of air temperature, sea level pressure, precipitation, cloud cover, and snow and solar radiation derived from drifting and coastal stations. It also includes newly released meteorological station data from Russian sources, English translations of Russian technical documents, and a bilingual glossary.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical gridded climate fields for Arctic temperature and pressure trends.
• Studying the history of polar exploration using translated documents and photo galleries from North Pole stations.
• Referencing a bilingual glossary for meteorological terms in English and Russian.
• Using station data from Russian sources for regional climate model validation.

Strengths

• Contains a multimodal collection integrating gridded data, historical documents, photographs, and educational primers.
• Represents a collaborative effort by major institutions: the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), University of Washington, and NSIDC.
• Includes data from Russian sources that were newly released at the time of publication.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates: one source indicates 2026-04-10, while another suggests a 1995-12-31 publication date, creating uncertainty about data freshness.
• Key documentation, including an Addendum and Errata section, is only available online and not included in the downloadable package.
• Specific data volume (rows, size) and detailed column schema are not provided in the available metadata.

Provenance

Source

Collaborative development by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), University of Washington, and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

Collection Method

Data compilation from drifting and coastal meteorological stations, historical document translation, and atlas creation.

Time Range

Late 1990s (development period). Historical exploration coverage is broader.

Freshness

1995-12-31 23:59:59.999000 (Note: A conflicting 'last updated' date of 2026-04-10 exists, likely a metadata artifact.)

Geography

Arctic region.