Northern Hemisphere
Ice Charts, GIS, Metadata, and Coverage Files

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Click on the region above for the most current color chart or click on the dropdown menu

++To improve the visual quality of our weekly analysis, our files are now produced in PDF Format. Please contact NIC Liaison if you have any questions.++

Due to varying system properties, please consult your imaging software manual for printing instructions.
During the first week of September 1996, the National Ice Center (NIC) began routinely producing regional-scale analyses for all sea ice covered seas located (clockwise) between the longitudes of 95E and 95W in the northern hemisphere. This global area, known as the "Arctic" to the NIC, is comprised of different Arctic regions. Analyses of current ice conditions are produced bimonthly for regions in which sea ice is present. Regions containing no analysis information should be considered ice-free. Exceptions to this rule may occur when ice is limited to but does not extend beyond an overlap between two regions.

All NIC regional sea ice analyses are derived from the near real-time integration of remotely sensed and in-situ oceanographic/meteorological observations. These analyses are produced following standard analysis procedures which optimize the use of data that vary widely in availability, scale, and resolution. These operational data sources can be grouped into the following categories: satellite derived data, aerial ice reconnaissance, ship/shore station observations, drifting buoy reports, meteorological guidance products, ice prediction model output, climatology and sea ice information obtained from international partners such as foreign ice services. Documentation recording the percentages of each data type used in each analysis can be found in a weekly metada narrative.

NIC analysis and forecast guidance products are produced on global, regional and tactical scales. These products are disseminated through a variety of communications paths in both digital and analog formats.

Digital products include:

  1. Global sea ice edge products consisting of latitude/longitude pairs.
  2. Sea ice analysis charts in Graphics Interface Format (*.gif) which can be viewed with almost any web browser and/or graphics viewer .
  3. Geographic Information System (GIS) ARC/INFO coverages.

GIF charts are labeled using the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) international sea ice symbology known colloquially as the "Egg Code". ARC/INFO coverages are produced in Polar Stereographic projection with the standard parallel at 60N. All ARC/INFO sea ice attribute information are coded in a modified text strings derived from the WMO digital sea ice standard known as SIGRID. All NIC digital ice products use this attribute standard to describe analyzed sea ice parameters.  This system also provides users with ice forecast products which are not available via the NIC web page. The West Arctic 30-day forecast is completed by the first Friday of each month. A seasonal West Arctic (90 day) forecast for the coastal shipping lane along the north slope of Alaska is available on 1 June of each year. This system also provides users with ice forecast products which are not available via the NIC web page. The East Arctic 30-day forecast is completed by the first Friday of each month. A seasonal East Arctic (90 day) forecast for the Thule Greenland resupply is available on 1 June of each year.

E-mail comments regarding Products and Services to: National Ice Center Liaison
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NOAA Satellite Operations Facility
4231 Suitland Road
Suitland Federal Center
Suitland MD 20746
(301) 394-3100

Updated on: August 19, 2008

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