Yearly outline of the Antarctic ice sheet (1997-2021, 240 m)
What it measures. Roughly yearly outlines showing the extent of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1997 to 2021, at 240 m detail. It also includes the ice thickness and movement data used to decide where ice was present.
How it's made. Created by combining observations from several satellite sensors (optical, thermal, and radar) to map the ice edge over time.
How & where you'd use it. Helps researchers track how Antarctica's ice sheet boundary has shifted across more than two decades.
What's measured
Coverage & cadence
- Time span1997-10-01 → 2021-03-14
- Measured byMODELS (NOT APPLICABLE)
- Processing levelLevel 4
- Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, -57.6
- FormatsnetCDF-4
- StatusCOMPLETE
What you can do with it
- Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
- Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
- Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description
This ITS_LIVE data set, part of the Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Program, consists of 240 m Antarctic Ice Sheet extent masks at roughly annual resolution from 1997 through 2021. The ice masks were generated by combining data acquired by multiple satellite-borne optical, thermal, and radar sensors. The ice thickness and velocity data used to determine the presence of ice are also provided.
Get the data
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc") # free Earthdata Login
results = earthaccess.search_data(
short_name="NSIDC-0794",
version="1",
bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9), # your area (W,S,E,N)
temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"), # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results) # stream straight from NSIDC_CPRDBrowsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package. Official links
- Search and order NASA Earth Science data using spatial and temporal filters. Reformatting, reprojecting, and subsetting options are available for some data sets. GET DATA
- Quickly download a few files using a web browser, or access data through a command-line utility such as WGET. GET DATA
- Search data by spatial and/or temporal ranges or file name. Choose from various download options, including a Python script. GET DATA
- A Python library to search and access NASA Earth science data with just a few lines of code GET DATA
- Find more data access options and help resources. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- MEaSUREs ITS_LIVE Antarctic Annual 240 m Ice Sheet Extent Masks, 1997-2021, Version 1 User Guide VIEW RELATED INFORMATION