Exploring Arctic Climate Change with NSIDC Data
Walt Meier Research Scientist
Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness NetworkJune 8, 2011
http://nsidc.org
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
University of Colorado
National Snow and Ice Data Center
• Part of the University of Colorado at Boulder• NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environmental Sciences (CIRES)• NASA archive center for cryospheric data• Funding and responsibilities
~75% data managemento ~75 TB of data total, ~15 TB/year
~25% research
• Main sponsors:
The Cryosphere
CryosphereCryosphereCryosphere
Snow and ice spans the globe, from the equator to the poles.
The cryosphere is found in over 100 countries
Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) Cryosphere Theme Report
Countries affected by the cryosphere
Change in the cryosphere:
-11.5% per decade 1979-2000Average
2007: 39% below average2008: 34% below average2009: 24% below average2010: 30% below average
NSIDC Sea Ice Index, http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/
Summer Arctic sea ice extent is declining
Resources:• NSIDC:
Data on Google Earth: http://nsidc.org/data/virtual_globes/ Education Center: http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/
o “All About” pages, “State of the Cryosphere”
Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/ “Icelights”: http://nsidc.org/icelights/
o Companion to news page – more in depth info on topical sea ice issues
Sea Ice Index: http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/ Atlas of the Cryosphere: http://nsidc.org/data/atlas/
• Selected other sites: “Whither Arctic Sea Ice?” EET Chapter: http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/seaice/ “Windows on the Universe” Sea Ice:
http://www.windows2universe.org/teacher_resources/graphs/teach_sea_ice_extent.html
A Tour of the Cryosphere, NASA Scientific Visualization Studio: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/TourOfCryosphere09.html
NOAA Arctic Theme Page: http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/ Snowtweets: http://snowcore.uwaterloo.ca/snowtweets/
NSIDC data on Google Earth
• Sea ice Animation
and static images
• Snow• Permafrost• Glaciers• Glacier pair
photos
http://nsidc.org/data/virtual_globes/
New: Climate Change Tour of Cold Places – narrated tour of snow and icehttp://nsidc.org/data/virtual_globes/tours/NSIDC_ClimateChangeTour.kml
NSIDC Education Center
• NSIDC Education Center
• Background info on: Sea ice Glaciers Snow Frozen ground Arctic climate
http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/
NSIDC Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis
• Track Arctic sea ice daily
• Monthly interpretation of conditions
• More frequent posts during summer
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
NSIDC “Icelights”
• Highlight current sea ice research
• Address common questions
http://nsidc.org/icelights/
NSIDC Sea Ice Index
• Daily/month images and data Extent Concentration Anomalies
• Compare and animate images
• Total extent text values since 1979
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/
NSIDC resources
Atlas of the Cryosphere, http://nsidc.org/data/atlas/
WMS, OCG compliant web map serverSeveral Arctic (static) layers – sea ice snow, permafrost, snow, geographic locations
http://nsidc.org/data/atlas/
Whither Arctic Sea Ice?Using Sea Ice Data in the Classroom
AccessData Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter
http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/seaice/
Developed by:
Walt Meier National Snow and Ice Data Center, Univ. ColoradoCoop. Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences
Betsy YoungmanPhoenix Country Day School
Mark McCaffreyCoop. Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences
Anupma PrakashGeophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Brian RoganBoston Museum of Science
http://nsidc.org/data/atlas/
An Arctic in Transformation
Whither Arctic Sea Ice?Using Sea Ice Data in the Classroom
• Use satellite data of sea ice to analyze trends and variability, 1979-present
• Case studies for various regions• Impacts on people/wildlife• Hudson Bay developed, others
possible• Imagery and animations for qualitative
analysis• Quantitative data for more involved analysis
• Uses ImageJ (freeware) for data/image analysis and processing
• MS Excel or other spreadsheet for further data analysis
http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/seaice/
Windows on the Universe
• Same data as Whither Arctic Sea Ice
• Similar method, but more basic
NASA “A Tour of the Cryosphere”
• Video podcast• NASA data of the
cryosphere• Updated in 2009
NOAA Resources on Arctic climate
NOAA Arctic Change, http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/
SnowTweets Project
R. Kelly, Univ. Waterloo, http://snowcore.uwaterloo.ca/snowtweets/
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