The snow cover dataset aims to provide a long-term (1980–2024), continuous (daily) record of snow cover in the Arctic (north of 66°34′N) for climate and environmental research, integrating two authoritative data sources (AVHRR and MODIS) to meet the demand for high-resolution binary snow cover data in climate monitoring, hydrological modeling, and ecological studies. Before February 24, 2000, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery is used, generating snow cover fraction (SCFG) through radiometric calibration, cloud detection, and snow identification algorithms. From February 24, 2000, onward, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery is used, producing 500m-resolution snow cover fraction based on the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and quality control measures. All data are resampled to a uniform 500m spatial resolution using nearest-neighbor interpolation to align AVHRR (coarser resolution) and MODIS data.
Snow cover fraction (SCF) ≥40% is classified as snow-covered (value = 1); SCF <40% as no snow cover (value = 0); and areas affected by rain, snow, or clouds are marked as NoData. Advantages: Integrates AVHRR and MODIS data for a continuous 1980–2024 record, offers uniform 500m resolution for modern geospatial analysis, and provides binary classification suitable for applications requiring clear snow boundaries.
Prior to February 24, 2000: The data was sourced from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery on NOAA satellites.
Starting from February 24, 2000: The data is sourced from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images on NASA's Terra satellite.
Before February 24, 2000: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images on NOAA satellites were used to generate Snow Cover Factor (SCFG) through radiometric calibration, cloud detection, and snow recognition algorithms.
Starting from February 24, 2000, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image on NASA Terra satellite was used to generate 500m resolution snow cover using Normalized Snow Index (NDSI) and quality control measures.
The post-processing methods for this snow dataset include: using nearest neighbor interpolation to resample AVHRR and MODIS data to a unified 500m spatial resolution to ensure spatial consistency; Classification is based on snow cover (SCF), where SCF ≥ 40% is defined as having snow cover (value=1), SCF<40% is defined as having no snow cover (value=0), and areas affected by rainfall, snowfall, or cloud cover are marked as NoData.
Good data quality.
| # | number | name | type |
| 1 | 2020YFA0608501 | Research on Arctic Terrestrial Environmental Change and Its Effects | National key R & D plan |
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CC BY 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License).
CSTR:11738.11.NCDC.ARCTIC-CHANGE.DB7143.2026
10.12072/ncdc.arctic-change.db7143.2026
