Earth ID: 4104

2013 Daily Arctic Sea Ice from AMSR2: May - September 2013

Visualizations by Cindy Starr Released on September 20, 2013

There is a newer version of this story located here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4684

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) provides many water-related products derived from data acquired by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) instrument aboard the Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water "SHIZUKU" (GCOM-W1) satellite. Two JAXA datasets used in this animation are the 10-km daily sea ice concentration and the 10 km daily 89 GHz Brightness Temperature.

In 2013, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) determined the Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum of 5.1 million square kilometers on September 13, 2013 using a 5-day trailing average. NASA scientists independently determined the Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum extent of 5.217 million square kilometers on September 12 using a 5-day running average.

In this animation, the daily Arctic sea ice and seasonal land cover change progress through time, from May 16, 2013 through the minimum area of coverage for 2013. Two movies are provided: one stopping on September 12 and one that continues to September 13. Over the water, Arctic sea ice changes from day to day showing a running 3-day minimum sea ice concentration in the region where the concentration is greater than 15%. The blueish white colour of the sea ice is derived from a 3-day running minimum of the AMSR2 89 GHz brightness temperature. Over the land, monthly data from the seasonal Blue Marble Next Generation fades slowly from month to month.

A still image of the Arctic sea ice on September 13, 2013 with a yellow line identifying the 30-year average extent.

A still image of the Arctic sea ice on September 12, 2013 with a yellow line identifying the 30-year average extent.

Newer Versions

For More Information

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/Gallery/ArcticSeaIceResources.html

Visualization Credits

Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Visualizer
Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Animator
Jefferson Beck (USRA): Producer
Josefino Comiso (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

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Mission:
Terra

Data Used: