Global Sea Ice Concentration (SSMIS) OSI-401-d

Global Sea Ice Concentration (SSMIS) OSI-401-d

The Global Sea Ice Concentration product (OSI-401-d) utilizes the SSMIS satellite microwave radiometer data.

In the context of the Initial Operational Phase (IOP) the near-real-time product of Global Sea Ice concentration was introduced in the OSI SAF product portfolio in 2005 and has since then continuously been upgraded by improving the algorithm. Note, that due to the ongoing upgrades, the archive data of the product is not to be used as consistent data records. Instead we refer to the Global Sea Ice Concentration Climate Data Record.

Introduction and FAQ

How should I cite this dataset?

This product shall be referred to as the Global Sea Ice concentration (SSMIS) Level 3, EUMETSAT SAF on Ocean and Sea Ice (OSI SAF, osi-saf.eumetsat.int).

Which satellite sensors are processed?

The sensors and channels used for this product are SSMIS (19v, 37H, 37v) on board DMSP platform F16, F17 and F18.

What is the spatial resolution of this product?

The SSMIS Level 3 sea ice concentration are characterized by a polar stereographic projection with a grid spacing of 10 km.

What is the time-span of this product?

One day (24 hours).

What are the contents of the product?

The product consists of these major fields:

  • Sea ice concentration. Indicates the fraction of a given ocean grid point covered by ice. It is given as a decimal number, between the range of 0-100%.

  • Uncertainties. The algorithm uncertainty, the smearing uncertainty and the resulting total uncertainty of each sea ice concentration grid cell value are given in three separate fields. These absolute uncertainties are given in percentages, between a range of 0-100%.

Today’s product file is empty or has large data gaps, what happened?

There are two possible reasons for missing data:

  1. In case of interrupted data link with the satellite operating centers, no input swath data are available for processing of sea ice drift data inside the time constraints, resulting in an empty grid.

  2. The data point values are outside of model range.

Where can I find the ice concentration for the Arctic/Antarctic regions?

The product is global and covers sea ice and ice shelves in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

I do not fancy NetCDF, do you have other formats?

The processing chain is currently only producing NetCDF files. Please let let us know (contact) if you need another format.

Documentation and quicklooks

More documentation (such as product user manual, validation report and algorithm report) is available at this webside:

https://osi-saf.eumetsat.int/products/osi-401-d

A quicklook archive is available here: https://osisaf-hl.met.no/quicklooks-1prod?prod1=Ice-Conc