HR: 0800h
AN: C11B-0422 [Abstracts]
TI: Antarctic sea ice thickness data archival and recovery at the Australian Antarctic Data Centre
AU: * Worby, A P
EM: a.worby@utas.edu.au
AF: Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Highway, Kingston, Tas 7004, Australia
AU: * Worby, A P
EM: a.worby@utas.edu.au
AF: Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Private Bag 80
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia
AU: Treverrow, A
EM: adamt0@postoffice.utas.edu.au
AF: Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Private Bag 80
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia
AU: Raymond, B
EM: ben.raymond@aad.gov.au
AF: Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Highway, Kingston, Tas 7004, Australia
AU: Jordan, M
EM: miles.jordan@aad.gov.au
AF: Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Highway, Kingston, Tas 7004, Australia
AB:
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.
UR: http://aadc-
maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/sitd/
DE: 4540 Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes (0700, 0750, 0752, 0754)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting