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Global Monthly EASE-Grid Snow Water Equivalent Climatology: SSMR, SSMI

Climate Data Guide Image: Snow Water Climatology

This data set comprises global, monthly satellite-derived snow water equivalent (SWE) climatologies from November 1978 through May 2007, and is updated with more recent data periodically. Global data are gridded to the Northern and Southern 25 km Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grids (EASE-Grids). Global snow water equivalent is derived from Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and selected Special Sensor Microwave/Imagers (SSM/I). Northern Hemisphere data are enhanced with snow cover frequencies derived from the NOAA Northern Hemisphere EASE-Grid Weekly Snow Cover and Sea Ice Extent Version 2 data (the snow charts were not produced for the Southern Hemisphere). These data are suitable for continental-scale time-series studies of snow cover and water equivalent.

Technical Notes

These files are on the EASE grid. Some users have found have found these grids difficult to interpolate to grid structures commonly used in climate studies.

Years of Record

1978/11 to 2007/05
temporal metadataID:

Formats

Timestep

Monthly

Domain

NH - Northern Hemisphere | SH - Southern Hemisphere

Spatial Resolution

721x721 EASE Grid

Vertical Levels

Surface Data Set

Earth system components and main variables

Cryosphere, Snow Water Equivalent

Data Access: Please Cite data sources, following the data providers' instructions.

  1. Index nsidc0271_monthly_ease_grid_swe

  1. Armstrong, R.L., M.J. Brodzik, K. Knowles and M. Savoie. [insert year you obtain data]. Global Monthly EASE-Grid Snow Water Equivalent Climatology. Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media.
  2. Tedesco, M., R. Kelly, J. L. Foster, and A. T.C. Chang. 2004. AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids. Version 2. [indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Key Figures

Click the thumbnails to view larger sizes

Thumbnails

Captions
Climate Data Guide Image: Snow Water Climatology (NH) Monthly mean snow water equivalent for February 2005. (Climate Data Guide; D. Shea)
Climate Data Guide Image: Snow Water Climatology (SH) Southern Hemisphere monthly long-term average snow water equivalent (mm) from SSM/I, August 1987 - June 2003. (Credit: NSIDC)

Cite this page

National Center for Atmospheric Research Staff (Eds). Last modified 08 Oct 2013. "The Climate Data Guide: Global Monthly EASE-Grid Snow Water Equivalent Climatology: SSMR, SSMI." Retrieved from https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/global-monthly-ease-grid-snow-water-equivalent-climatology-ssmr-ssmi.

Acknowledgement of any material taken from this page is appreciated. On behalf of experts who have contributed data, advice, and/or figures, please cite their work as well.