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Sea Ice Data Access and Tools
NASA has sea ice datasets that help researchers characterize the presence and extent of ice in the ocean. Access a range of data and data tools such as AppEEARS, Worldview, and Giovanni to make the most of sea ice data.
Sea Ice Datasets
| Dataset Sort descending | Version | Platform | Instrument | Temporal Extent | Spatial Extent | Spatial Resolution | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALOS PALSAR High Resolution Radiometric Terrain Corrected Product | 1 | ALOS | PALSAR | 2006-03-23 to 2011-04-22 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| ALOS PALSAR Level 1.0 Product | 1 | ALOS | PALSAR | 2006-03-23 to 2011-04-22 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| ALOS PALSAR Level 1.1 Product | 1 | ALOS | PALSAR | 2006-01-23 to 2011-05-23 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| ALOS PALSAR Level 1.5 Product | 1 | ALOS | PALSAR | 2006-03-23 to 2011-04-22 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| ALOS PALSAR Level 2.2 Product | 1 | ALOS | PALSAR | 2006-01-23 to 2011-05-23 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| ALOS PALSAR Low Resolution Radiometric Terrain Corrected Product | 1 | ALOS | PALSAR | 2006-03-23 to 2011-04-22 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Level 1 ScanSAR Product | 1 | ALOS-2 | PALSAR-2 | 2014-08-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
ZIP | |
| AMSR-E/AMSR2 Unified L3 Daily 12.5 km Brightness Temperatures, Sea Ice Concentration, Motion & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001 | 1 | Aqua, GCOM-W1 | AMSR-E, AMSR2 | 2012-07-02 |
N: -39.23 S: -89.24 E: 180 W: -180 N: 89.24 S: 30.98 E: 180 W: -180 |
12.5 Kilometers x 12.5 Kilometers | HDF-EOS5, ASCII |
| AMSR-E/AMSR2 Unified L3 Daily 25 km Brightness Temperatures & Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids V001 | 1 | Aqua, GCOM-W1 | AMSR-E, AMSR2 | 2012-07-02 |
N: 89.24 S: 30.98 E: 180 W: -180 N: -39.23 S: -89.24 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | HDF-EOS5 |
| AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids V004 | 4 | Aqua | AMSR-E | 2002-06-01 to 2011-10-04 |
N: 90 S: 30.98 E: 180 W: -180 N: -39.23 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
12.5 Kilometers x 12.5 Kilometers | HDF-EOS5 |
| AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperature & Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids V004 | 4 | Aqua | AMSR-E | 2002-06-01 to 2011-10-04 |
N: -39.23 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 N: 90 S: 30.98 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | HDF-EOS5 |
| Aquarius L3 Weekly Polar-Gridded Brightness Temperature and Sea Surface Salinity V005 | 5 | SAC-D | AQUARIUS_RADIOMETER | 2011-08-25 to 2015-06-04 |
N: 87.4 S: 50 E: 180 W: -180 N: -50 S: -79 E: 180 W: -180 |
36 Kilometers x 36 Kilometers | HDF5, HDF5 |
| Aquarius L3 Weekly Polar-Gridded Normalized Radar Cross Section V005 | 5 | SAC-D | AQUARIUS_SCATTEROMETER | 2011-08-25 to 2015-06-04 |
N: -50 S: -79 E: 180 W: -180 N: 87.4 S: 50 E: 180 W: -180 |
36 Kilometers x 36 Kilometers | HDF5, HDF5 |
| Aquarius L3 Weekly Polar-Gridded Sea Surface Salinity V005 | 5 | SAC-D | AQUARIUS_RADIOMETER | 2011-08-25 to 2015-06-04 |
N: -50 S: -79 E: 180 W: -180 N: 87.4 S: 50 E: 180 W: -180 |
36 Kilometers x 36 Kilometers | HDF5, HDF5 |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Sea Ice Freeboard Quick Look V007 | 007 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2025-12-15 to Present |
N: 88 S: -88 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5 | |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Sea Ice Freeboard V007 | 007 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2018-10-14 to Present |
N: 88 S: -88 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5 | |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Sea Ice Height Quick Look V007 | 007 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2025-12-15 to Present |
N: 88 S: -88 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5 | |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Sea Ice Height V007 | 007 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2018-10-14 to Present |
N: 88 S: -88 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5 | |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3B Daily and Monthly Gridded Sea Ice Freeboard V004 | 004 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2018-10-14 to 2025-02-28 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | HDF5 |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3B Daily and Monthly Gridded Sea Ice Freeboard V005 | 005 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2018-10-14 to Present |
N: 89 S: 37 E: 180 W: -180 N: -53 S: -79 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | HDF5 |
| Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS V004 | 4 | DMSP 5D-2/F11, DMSP 5D-2/F13, DMSP 5D-2/F8, DMSP 5D-3/F17, Nimbus-7 | SSM/I, SSMIS, SMMR | 1978-11-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: 30 E: 180 W: -180 N: -39 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | netCDF-4 |
| CryoSat-2 Level-1B Waveforms, Sea Ice Elevation, and Surface Roughness V001 | 1 | CRYOSAT-2 | SIRAL | 2010-09-15 to Present |
N: 90 S: 55 E: 180 W: -180 |
380 Meters x 1650 Meters | netCDF-3 |
| CryoSat-2 Level-4 Sea Ice Elevation, Freeboard, and Thickness V001 | 1 | CRYOSAT-2, DMSP 5D-3/F17 | SIRAL, SSMIS | 2010-09-20 to Present |
N: 90 S: 55 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | PNG, netCDF-3 |
| ECCO Sea-Ice and Snow Concentration and Thickness - Daily Mean 0.5 Degree (Version 4 Release 4) | V4r4 | MODELS, MITgcm | 1992-01-01 to 2018-01-01 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
0.5 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees | netCDF-4 | |
| ECCO Sea-Ice and Snow Concentration and Thickness - Daily Mean llc90 Grid (Version 4 Release 4) | V4r4 | MODELS, MITgcm | 1992-01-01 to 2018-01-01 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
1 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees | netCDF-4 |
Featured Sea Ice Observation Method: ICESat-2
NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) carries a laser altimeter scientists use to measure the elevation of ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, and more in unprecedented, 3-D detail. The satellite also measures heights across Earth's temperate and tropical regions, and takes stock of the vegetation in forests worldwide.
Data from NASA’s ICESat-2 mission provide incredibly accurate measurements of Earth elevation change—and much more.
8 MIN READ
The five new datasets are the result of a joint effort by NASA’s Satellite Needs Working Group Management Office (SNWG MO), ICESat-2 team, and Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE).
3 MIN READ
ATL24, a new space-based lidar product, provides bathymetry data that can be used to characterize nearshore habitats and create safer maritime transportation channels.
This is the first in a five-part webinar series to introduce NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation-2 (ICESat-2) platform and the platform's data, tools, and applications.
Sea Ice Data Tools
| Tool Sort descending | Description | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAltimetry | OpenAltimetry is a map-based visualization tool for exploring surface elevation data across Earth over time. | Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization |
SHOWING 1 OF 1
Frequently Asked Questions
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