Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Extent from QuikSCAT 1999-2009

QuikSCAT satellite radar backscatter data provides daily sea ice extent for the Arctic and Antarctic from July 1999 to December 2009. The dataset includes both high-resolution 'slice' images (nominal 2.225 km pixel) and summed 'egg' images, processed by Brigham Young University's MERS group using a Scatterometer Image Reconstruction algorithm. It contains binary image files, ASCII coordinate files for ice edges, and daily-averaged total extent figures.

Use Cases

• Analyzing daily sea ice edge position changes using the provided latitude and longitude coordinate files.
• Comparing high-resolution slice imagery (4 km effective resolution) against lower-resolution egg imagery for validation studies.
• Calculating total daily-averaged sea ice extent for climate trend analysis in the Arctic (60-90°N) and Antarctic (52-90°S).
• Studying microwave backscatter (sigma-0) properties to discriminate between sea ice and ocean surfaces.
• Using the provided C, Fortran, or IDL tools to read and visualize the Scatterometer Image Reconstruction binary files.

Strengths

• Provides a continuous 10+ year record from 19 July 1999 to 31 December 2009 for both polar regions.
• Includes data at two resolution levels: slice images (~4 km effective resolution) and egg images (~8-10 km effective resolution).
• Contains multiple data products: binary images, ASCII ice edge coordinates, daily extent totals, and browse GIF images.

Limitations

• Exact row counts, file sizes, and complete column specifications are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, listing both 2009-12-31 and 2026-03 12.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' or 'None', requiring further investigation.

Provenance

Source

Microwave Earth Remote Sensing (MERS) group at Brigham Young University (BYU), data from the QuikSCAT satellite.

Collection Method

Processed from daily-averaged QuikSCAT sigma-0 measurements using a SIR-with-filtering (SIRF) algorithm.

Time Range

1999-07 19 to 2009-12-31

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:29:04.817002

Geography

Arctic (60-90 degrees North) and Antarctic (52-90 degrees South).