Arctic Sea Ice Melt Pond Albedo and Depth Measurements 1994

Summer 1994 observations of albedo, depth, and physical characteristics of melt ponds on sea ice near Cornwallis Island in the Canadian Arctic. Reflectance spectra were collected using a portable spectrometer, with concurrent recording of cloud conditions and ice type. The dataset is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Modeling the impact of melt pond albedo on sea ice surface energy balance.
• Analyzing relationships between melt pond depth, ice type, and spectral reflectance.
• Studying spatial and temporal variability of melt pond characteristics in the Arctic summer.
• Validating satellite-derived albedo estimates over sea ice using in-situ spectral measurements.

Strengths

• Provides in-situ spectral reflectance (albedo) measurements, a key variable for climate models.
• Includes multiple concurrent physical observations: depth, ice type, and cloud conditions.
• Data originates from a defined geographic area and time period (summer 1994, Barrow Strait).

Limitations

• Exact row count, column names, and dataset size are unknown across all sources.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: datagov lists 2026-03-12, while nasa_earthdata lists 1994-07 31.
• Limited to a single summer season, reducing utility for long-term trend analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Field measurements acquired with a portable spectrometer.

Time Range

Summer 1994

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:04:58.049964

Geography

South of Cornwallis Island in the Barrow Strait, Nunavut, Canada.