MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent and IST Daily L3 Global 4km EASE-Grid Day (MYD29E1D) contains the following fields: sea ice by reflectance and ice surface temperature (IST). Each data granule covers the entire globe with two separate arrays of 4321 x 4321 pixels: one for the Arctic and one for the Antarctic. Data extend from 04 July 2002 to present. The MODIS sea ice algorithm uses a Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) modified for sea ice to distinguish sea ice from open ocean based on reflective and thermal characteristics. The only data available for Version 4 (V004) is the Golden Month, which is a sample of V004 data covering the time period 29 August 2002 (day of year 241) through 7 October 2002 (day of year 280). The Golden Month is only available by special request by contacting NSIDC User Services.

Please note that NSIDC now has a complete series of Version 6 data, which is the highest version number now available and represents the best quality of data.