This project will utilize the NOAA national snow and ICE data center (nsidc) sea ICE climate data record (CDR) (http://nsidc.ORG/data/G02202) passive microwave brightness temperatures (TBS) and sea…

This federal contract award, valued at $149,871.67, was granted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to North Carolina State University (NC State) to develop a suite of sea ice climate indicators that track the seasonal evolution of the Arctic sea ice cover. The project will utilize passive microwave brightness temperature data and sea ice concentration fields from the NOAA National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) to produce climatological normals, trends, and anomalies for key parameters such as melt onset, opening, retreat, freeze-up, and advance. Simple standardized indices will also be developed to provide a summary of melt and retreat conditions. NC State's North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies will contribute to this effort by assisting with the climate data record fields and integrating them with the melt/freeze and advance/retreat parameters. This is a grant for research and does not have a set-aside designation.

This project will utilize the NOAA national snow and ICE data center (nsidc) sea ICE climate data record (CDR) (http://nsidc.ORG/data/G02202) passive microwave brightness temperatures (TBS) and sea ICE concentration fields derived from those TBS to provide a consistent, high quality suite of related sea ICE climate indicators that track the seasonal evolution (sea ICE melt onset, opening, retreat, freeze-up and advance) of the arctic sea ICE cover from spring through fall. For each parameter, a climatological normal (based on the standard 1981-2010 period) and trend and anomaly fields will be produced. Simple standardized indices (e.g., a "melt index") based on the historical records that will provide a simple summary of melt/retreat conditions (analogous to the simple total arctic sea ICE extent commonly cited as a climate indicator) will also be developed. NC state university (ncsu)/ north carolina institute for climate studies (ncics) under project CO-investigator and ncsu/ncics PL, GE peng, will contribute to this effort by assisting with the CDR fields and integration of the fields with the melt/freeze and advance/retreat parameters.