SASSIE: ML Ice Concentration Rankings from SBAND Radar, Beaufort Sea 2022

NASA's 2022 SASSIE campaign generated this dataset by applying a VGG19 machine learning model to digitized S-band marine radar images, classifying ice concentration on a 0-3 scale. Data was collected intensively from the R/V Wolstad within ~200 km of the Beaufort Sea ice edge during the summer-to-autumn transition from August to October 2022. Processed L2 summary data is available in NetCDF format, capturing observations at intervals of 10-60 seconds when the vessel was near ice.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived sea ice concentration products against high-frequency, in-situ radar observations.
• Analyzing the temporal evolution of ice concentration during the summer melt to autumn advance transition.
• Training or benchmarking new machine learning models for ice classification using a labeled dataset from a specific campaign.
• Studying upper ocean stratification and salinity anomalies by correlating ice presence with concurrent in-situ oceanographic measurements.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a dedicated NASA field campaign (SASSIE) with intensive, coordinated in-situ and remote sensing observations.
• Ice concentration is determined by a specific, named machine learning model (VGG19), providing a reproducible classification method.
• Temporal resolution is high, with images saved every 10-60 seconds during ice encounters.

Limitations

• Column names and a precise row or file count are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist across platforms (2022-09-30 and 2026-04-09), creating uncertainty about versioning.
• The spatial coverage is limited to the track of the R/V Wolstad in the Beaufort Sea over a single season.

Provenance

Source

NASA SASSIE (Salinity and Stratification at the Sea Ice Edge) campaign, data hosted by POCLOUD.

Collection Method

Machine learning analysis (VGG19 model) of digitized S-band marine navigation radar images.

Time Range

August 2022 to October 2022

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:15:58.566195

Geography

Beaufort Sea, within approximately 200 km of the sea ice edge.