Antarctic sea ice thickness data archival and recovery at the Australian Antarctic Data Centre

A new effort is underway to establish a portal for Antarctic sea ice thickness data at the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/sitd/). The intention is to provide a central online access point for a wide range of sea ice data sets, including sea ice and snow thickness data collected using a range of techniques, and sea ice core data. The recommendation to establish this facility came from the SCAR/CliC- sponsored International Workshop on Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness, held in Hobart in July 2006. It was recognised, in particular, that satellite altimetry retrievals of sea ice and snow cover thickness rely on large-scale assumptions of the sea ice and snow cover properties such as density, freeboard height, and snow stratigraphy. The synthesis of historical data is therefore particularly important for algorithm development. This will be closely coordinated with similar efforts in the Arctic. A small working group was formed to identify suitable data sets for inclusion in the archive. A series of standard proformas have been designed for converting old data, and to help standardize the collection of new data sets. These proformas are being trialled on two Antarctic sea ice research cruises in September - October 2007. The web-based portal allows data custodians to remotely upload and manage their data, and for all users to search the holdings and extract data relevant to their needs. This presentation will report on the establishment of the data portal, recent progress in identifying appropriate data sets and making them available online.

maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/sitd/