Satellite-Derived Snow Grain Size and Surface Temperature

Snow and ice physical properties derived from the SGLI sensor onboard JAXA's GCOM-C satellite. The dataset includes Snow Grain size of the Shallow Layer (SGSL) and Snow and Ice Surface Temperature (SIST) at 1km resolution. Data production began after the satellite's launch on December 23, 2017, with the current product being Version 3.

Use Cases

• Calibrate snow albedo models using the Snow Grain size of Shallow Layer (SGSL) feature in micrometers.
• Validate land surface model outputs against the Snow and Ice Surface Temperature (SIST) field in Kelvin.
• Filter low-quality observations by applying the provided QA_flag to the SGSL and SIST data layers.
• Analyze spatial patterns of snow metamorphism by mapping the SGSL variable across tile-based global data.
• Study diurnal or seasonal temperature cycles over ice sheets using the time-series of SIST measurements.

Strengths

• Data derived from a sensor with a wide swath (1150-1400 km) enabling broad spatial coverage.
• Includes a dedicated QA_flag for assessing retrieval quality and conditions.
• Provides two distinct physical quantities (SGSL and SIST) derived from different spectral bands and retrieval methods.

Limitations

• Specific sample size (row count) and temporal coverage range are not provided in the description.
• Data is provided in Tile generation units with EQA projection, which may require reprojection for specific analyses.
• The neural network method for SGSL estimation may introduce biases not fully characterized in the QA_flag.

Provenance

Source

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), produced from the SGLI sensor onboard the GCOM-C satellite.

Collection Method

Level 2 products derived from Level 1B or other Level 2 data and ancillary meteorological data. SGSL uses a neural network on visible/NIR radiance; SIST uses a split-window method on thermal infrared brightness temperature.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Global observations across the cryosphere, with a sun-synchronous sub-recurrent orbit.