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Annual Accumulated Melt over Greenland 1979 through 2007

by: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio The Next Generation Blue Marble data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC).

Publication date: 11/6/2007

Topics: Cryology, HDTV, Earth Science, Cryosphere, Earth Science, Cryosphere, Snow/Ice, Earth Science, Hydrosphere, Snow/Ice, Earth Science, Cryosphere, Sea Ice, Ice Growth/Melt, Earth Science, Cryosphere, Snow/Ice, Freeze/Thaw, Earth Science, Cryosphere, Snow/Ice, Ice Growth/Melt, Earth Science, Cryosphere, Snow/Ice, Snow Melt, Earth Science, Hydrosphere, Snow/Ice, Snow Melt, Earth Science, Oceans, Sea Ice, Ice Growth/Melt, iPod, What -- Nimbus 7, What -- Earth, Where -- Greenland

The ice sheet melt extent is a daily (or every-other-day, prior to August, 1987) estimate of the spatial extent of wet snow on the Greenland ice sheet derived from passive microwave satellite brightness temperature characteristics. This indicator of melt on each area of the ice sheet for each day of observation is physically based on the changes in microwave emission characteristics observable in data. Although it is not a direct measure of the snow wetness, it is representative of the amount of ice loss due to seasonal melting that occurs on the Greenland ice sheet. This animation shows the regions of the Greenland ice sheet over which melt occurred more than three days between May 1st and September 30th for each year. Note: This animation shows the change in annual melt over Greenland from 1979 through 2007. Data Collected: May 1 through September 30 each year from 1979 through 2007. Animator: Cindy Starr (GST). Scientist: Waleed Abdalati (NASA/GSFC). Platforms/Sensors/Data Sets: DMSP/SSM/I, Nimbus-7/SMMR, Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Characteristics.