This dataset provides daily and monthly sea ice surface temperature (IST) fields over the polar oceans from 1982 to the present. The data are derived from thermal infrared measurements from a single satellite sensor type: the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) onboard National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Meteorological Operational (MetOp) satellites. IST helps track how sea ice interacts with the ocean and atmosphere through processes like radiation, conduction, freezing, and melting, making it an important indicator of climate change in polar regions. It is one of the Sea Ice Essential Climate Variables defined by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS).
In addition to IST, the dataset includes sea surface temperature (SST) over open ocean areas. These are needed to calculate monthly averages and long term trends in regions where sea ice is seasonal or retreating. The dataset also includes surface temperature measurements for the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets. These are included for legacy reasons and have not been fully validated.
Temperatures for sea ice, open water, and ice sheet are combined in a single surface temperature field. Each data file includes a static ice sheet mask and a sea ice concentration field to distinguish between these surface types. This is a Level-3 product which contains spatial gaps caused by cloud cover blocking the thermal infrared measurements. Details on processing and data quality are provided in the product user guide and specifications
This dataset is part of the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) SST and IST family. Whereas this dataset focuses on the polar regions, users may select the related dataset, Combined sea surface and sea ice surface temperature data derived from satellite observations, for consistent global ocean coverage (see related datasets). Additionally, a global SST dataset produced by the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (ESA CCI) project is also available in the CDS, called Global sea surface temperature derived from satellite observations (see related datasets).
The dataset is produced by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and MET Norway and brokered to the Climate Data Store on behalf of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
In addition to IST, the dataset includes sea surface temperature (SST) over open ocean areas. These are needed to calculate monthly averages and long term trends in regions where sea ice is seasonal or retreating. The dataset also includes surface temperature measurements for the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets. These are included for legacy reasons and have not been fully validated.
Temperatures for sea ice, open water, and ice sheet are combined in a single surface temperature field. Each data file includes a static ice sheet mask and a sea ice concentration field to distinguish between these surface types. This is a Level-3 product which contains spatial gaps caused by cloud cover blocking the thermal infrared measurements. Details on processing and data quality are provided in the product user guide and specifications
This dataset is part of the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) SST and IST family. Whereas this dataset focuses on the polar regions, users may select the related dataset, Combined sea surface and sea ice surface temperature data derived from satellite observations, for consistent global ocean coverage (see related datasets). Additionally, a global SST dataset produced by the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (ESA CCI) project is also available in the CDS, called Global sea surface temperature derived from satellite observations (see related datasets).
The dataset is produced by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and MET Norway and brokered to the Climate Data Store on behalf of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Interval
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DOI
10.24381/4e222208
Portal
Climate Data Store
Product Family
Data
Product Type
Satellite observations
Spatial Coverage
Global
Temporal Coverage
Past
Variable Domain
Ocean (physics)