ERS Satellite Radar Backscatter Data on EASE-Grid 2.0

NSIDC_CPRD provides normalized radar cross section (Sigma0) data from the ESA ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites' C-band scatterometer. The dataset contains near-global coverage from January 1992 to January 2001, gridded to EASE-Grid 2.0 projections at 25 km and 6.25 km resolutions. It supports analysis of land, ice, and cryospheric surface processes.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface freeze/thaw state dynamics using the time-series of Sigma0 values.
• Analyzing snow and ice structure changes by examining radar backscatter patterns over polar regions.
• Investigating soil moisture variability by correlating Sigma0 measurements with land surface conditions.
• Comparing surface process sensitivity between the 25 km and 6.25 km gridded backscatter products.

Strengths

• Nine-year temporal coverage from 1992 to 2001.
• Provides data at two spatial resolutions: 25 km and 6.25 km grid spacings.
• Near-global spatial coverage for land and cryospheric studies.

Limitations

• Data collection ended in January 2001, limiting analysis to historical periods.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and data volume metrics are unknown.
• Limited to C-band VV polarization, restricting multi-frequency or multi-polarization analysis.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) Earth Remote Sensing satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2, processed by NSIDC_CPRD (product NSIDC-0808).

Collection Method

Derived from the Active Microwave Instrument (AMI) in scatterometer-mode (ESCAT) during satellite overpasses.

Time Range

January 1992 to January 2001.

Freshness

Data collection is historical; last update recorded as 2001-02-05.

Geography

Near-global coverage.