Antarctic Sea Ice Retreat And Chlorophyll Blooms 1997-2010

Animations visualize the seasonal melt of sea ice and resulting chlorophyll-a blooms in East Antarctica from the 1997/98 to 2009/10 seasons. Data combines sea ice concentration from SMMR-SSM/I and AMSR-E satellites with chlorophyll-a measurements from SeaWiFS and MODIS sensors. The dataset was compiled by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre and last updated in April 2010.

Use Cases

• Analyze the temporal correlation between sea ice concentration and 16-day averaged chlorophyll-a data.
• Map the progression of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current fronts against bathymetry from ETOPO2 data.
• Compare pre-2002/03 SeaWiFS and SMMR-SSM/I data with post-2002 MODIS and AMSR-E data for consistency analysis.
• Study interannual variability in the timing and magnitude of spring/summer phytoplankton blooms.

Strengths

• Covers 12 consecutive spring/summer seasons from 1997/98 to 2009/10.
• Integrates multiple authoritative data sources: NSIDC, University of Bremen, and NASA OceanColor.

Limitations

• Data is over a decade old, ending in 2010, limiting analysis of recent trends.
• Sample data, row counts, and specific file formats are unknown.
• Combines different sensor technologies (SeaWiFS/MODIS, SMMR/AMSR-E) which may introduce inconsistencies.

Provenance

Source

National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), University of Bremen, NASA OceanColor (SeaWiFS/MODIS).

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data compiled into animated visualizations.

Time Range

1997/98 to 2009/10 spring/summer seasons.

Freshness

Last updated in 2010; static historical archive.

Geography

East Antarctica region.