GLERL Radiation Transfer Through Freshwater Ice Measurements

Radiation transmittance through three ice types was measured in the 400-600 nm range at Silver Lake, Michigan and Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. The dataset includes surface and under-ice sensor readings, date, time, ice thickness, water depth, sensor distance, and location. It is produced by NASA and available in BIN, ISO, and HTML formats.

Use Cases

• Modeling photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) attenuation through different freshwater ice types.
• Analyzing the relationship between ice thickness and light transmittance to the water column.
• Comparing optical properties of clear ice, refrozen slush ice, and brash ice.
• Studying spatial and temporal variability of under-ice light regimes in northern lakes.

Strengths

• Measures three distinct ice types: clear ice, refrozen slush ice, and brash ice.
• Provides paired surface and under-ice sensor readings for calculating transmittance ratios.
• Includes precise physical measurements like ice thickness, water depth, and sensor distance.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates: 2026-03 13 (datagov) vs. 1978-12-31 (nasa_earthdata).
• Specific row count, column names, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further detail.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Field measurements of radiation transmittance from ice surface to ice-water interface.

Time Range

null

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:29:13.455296

Geography

Silver Lake, near Ann Arbor, Michigan and Whitefish Point on Lake Superior.