Abstract:
The data set contains information on the position, and occasionally dimensions, of giant Antarctic iceberg B31 over the period from its calving in November 2013, until July 2015. This used a range of satellite sensors, both visible and microwave.
The columns are: year (A), date in Julian day of that year (B), area of B31, in km2 (C), major axis of B31, in km (D), minor axis of B31, in km (E), perimeter of B31, in km (F), latitude and longitude, in degrees from the Greenwich Meridian (G & H) and satellite source of data (I).
NERC grant reference(s): NE/L010054/1 and NE/M007820/1
Keywords:
B31, Iceberg, MODIS, Pine Island Glacier, SAR
Bigg, G., & Wilton, D. (2017). The record of track and size evolution of giant iceberg B31 from Pine Island Glacier, November 2013-July 2015 (Version None) [Data set]. Polar Data Centre; British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council; Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK.. https://doi.org/10.5285/d30db85e-5e7a-4861-af56-b893bf2862b1
| Access Constraints: | No restrictions apply. |
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| Use Constraints: | This data is governed by the NERC data policy http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/ and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ |
| Creation Date: | 2016-02-11 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Complete |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
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| Parameters: |
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| Personnel: | |
| Name | PDC NERC |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Prof Grant R Bigg |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Name | Dr David Wilton |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
| Reference: | Silva, T. A. M., and G. R. Bigg, 2005, Computer-based identification and tracking of Antarctic icebergs in SAR images, Rem. Sens. Environ., 94: 287-297. Bigg, G. R., Marsh, R., Wilton, D. J. Ivchenko, V., 2014, B31: a giant iceberg in the Southern Ocean, Ocean Challenge, 20 (2), 32-34. Duprat, L. P. A. M., G. R. Bigg, D. J. Wilton, 2016, Enhanced Southern Ocean marine productivity due to fertilization by giant icebergs, Nature Geosci., doi:10.1038/NGEO2633. |
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| Lineage: | The data was obtained from a set of MODIS visible imagery (named 'Worldview' in the 'source' column) and a range of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) microwave images from the TerraSAR-X and Radarsat satellites. The SAR images were only available occasionally, and a roughly fortnightly acquisition target was sought - this was reduced during the austral winter when the satellites are often used on specialised missions. However, the area, perimeter, major (maj) and minor (min) axes were calculated in these instances. On a daily basis during the daylit period of September-April visible imagery was also examined. If B31 was visible its position was noted, and when a, rare, clear view of the iceberg was available dimensional information was calculated. However, the resolution of the visible imagery was 250 m, while the SAR imagery was 20-50 m, depending on satellite mode, leading to more confidence in size estimates from the SAR imagery. The dimensional calculations used the ITSARI algorithm (Silva and Bigg, 2005), although very occasionally ARCMAP estimates were required if reflective conditions were not suitable for ITSARI. See: Silva, T. A. M., and G. R. Bigg, 2005, Computer-based identification and tracking of Antarctic icebergs in SAR images, Rem. Sens. Environ., 94: 287-297. |
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| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 2013-11-15 |
| End Date | 2015-07-30 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -74.91 |
| Northernmost | -72.23 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -112.38 |
| Easternmost | -102.08 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | Antarctica |
| Detailed Location | Amundsen Sea |
| Sensor(s): |
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| Distribution: | |
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| Distribution Media | N/A |
| Distribution Size | 18KB |
| Distribution Format | EXCEL |
| Fees | N/A |
| Data Storage: | Data stored by the UK PDC |