Northern Hemisphere Weekly Snow and Sea Ice Extent on 25km Grid

Weekly snow cover and sea ice extent data for the Northern Hemisphere, derived from SMMR, SSM/I, and SSMIS satellite brightness temperature measurements. The dataset provides a consistent long-term record, with snow cover from October 1966 to January 2023 and sea ice from October 1978 to January 2023. It is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and projected on the EASE-Grid 2.0 at a 25 x 25 km resolution.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent using weekly time-series data.
• Monitoring changes in Arctic sea ice extent and concentration over multiple decades.
• Validating climate and hydrological models against observed cryospheric data on a standardized grid.
• Studying the correlation between snow cover, sea ice, and broader climate variables like temperature.

Strengths

• Provides a consistent, multi-decadal time series spanning over 56 years for snow cover and 44 years for sea ice.
• Data is derived from a calibrated series of satellite sensors (SMMR, DMSP-F8, -F11, -F13, -F17) ensuring methodological continuity.
• Standardized on the Northern Hemisphere EASE-Grid 2.0 projection with a uniform 25 x 25 km cell size for spatial analysis.

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and complete column schema are not provided by any source.
• The dataset's temporal coverage ends in January 2023, lacking more recent observations.
• Platforms show conflicting 'last updated' dates (2026-03-12 on datagov vs. 2023-01-01 on nasa_earthdata), creating uncertainty about metadata freshness.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from SMMR and DMSP-F8, -F11, -F13, -F17 SSM/I and SSMIS satellite brightness temperature data.

Time Range

October 1966 through January 2023 for snow cover; October 1978 through January 2023 for sea ice.

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:13:49.916899

Geography

Northern Hemisphere, projected on EASE-Grid 2.0.