Greenland Surface and Near-Surface Melt

This data set provides information on surface and near-surface melt on the Greenland ice sheet, including the following: mean, maximum and minimum melt extent; melt duration; melt frequency; and length of the melt season. The approach uses passive microwave observations from SMMR and SSM/I to identify regions with brightness temperatures that exceed a dynamic threshold (varies by location and year) determined from a radiativetransfer model of the firn. The resulting time series and maps can be applied in a number of applications and have been used to study changes in surface albedo, surface mass balance, and freshwater runoff from the Greenland ice sheet. The relatively long time series can be enhanced and extended into the future with AMSR-E, SSMIS, and a microwave sensor planned for DWSS. Data from this record have been used in several papers as well as the Arctic Report Card and NOAA’s State of the Climate reports