Northern Hemisphere Snow and Ice Analysis from 1997

IMS Daily Northern Hemisphere Snow and Ice Analysis provides maps of snow cover and sea ice from February 1997 to the present. The United States National Ice Center produces these daily operational analyses using the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System, integrating satellite imagery and in situ data. Data is available in ASCII text, GeoTIFF, and NetCDF formats at 1 km, -4 km, and 24 km resolutions.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent using daily geospatial maps.
• Validating sea ice extent in climate models against operational analyst-derived maps.
• Studying seasonal snowpack dynamics at 1 km, 4 km, or 24 km spatial resolutions.
• Correlating snow and ice cover with atmospheric data from other satellite sources.

Strengths

• Provides a continuous daily record from February 1997 to present, offering over 25 years of data.
• Integrates multiple data sources, including satellite imagery and in situ observations, for analyst-reviewed maps.
• Available in three standard geospatial formats (GeoTIFF, NetCDF, ASCII) and multiple resolutions for flexibility.

Limitations

• Exact row/record counts and total dataset size are unspecified across all platforms.
• Sources provide conflicting license information, with one specifying 'other-license-specified' and others listing none.
• The operational nature of the product means availability and timely delivery via archive servers are not guaranteed.

Provenance

Source

United States National Ice Center (USNIC)

Collection Method

Analyst-produced using the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS), derived from satellite imagery and in situ data.

Time Range

February 1997 to present

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:29:22.881299

Geography

Northern Hemisphere