Dataset
ESA Antarctic Ice Sheet Climate Change Initiative (Antarctic_Ice_Sheet_cci): Antarctic Ice Sheet Surface Elevation Change v2.0
Update Frequency: Not Planned
Latest Data Update: 2026-06-19
Status: Completed
Online Status: ONLINE
Publication State: Published
Publication Date: 2026-10-16
Download Stats: last 12 months
Dataset Size: 391 Files | 9GB
Abstract
Gridded Antarctic Ice Sheet Surface Elevation Change (SEC) products derived from cross-calibrated radar and laser satellite altimetry missions since 1991. Products are processed by the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) as part of the Antarctic CCI+ Phase-2 project for the European Space Agency (ESA).
The dataset includes multi-mission 5-year rates of surface elevation change (dH/dt), cumulative annual dH grids, single radar altimetry mission SEC products (ERS-1, ERS-2, ENVISAT, CryoSat-2, Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B), and an ICESat-2 laser altimetry SEC product. All gridded products are provided on a 5 km south polar stereographic grid (EPSG:3031).
Citable as: Shepherd, A.; Otosaka, I.; Muir, A.; Slater, T.; Palmer, B.; Ravinder, N. (2026): ESA Antarctic Ice Sheet Climate Change Initiative (Antarctic_Ice_Sheet_cci): Antarctic Ice Sheet Surface Elevation Change v2.0. NERC EDS Centre for Environmental Data Analysis, date of citation. https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/6415e9e095e249ab9509f9c7878d1f11
Abbreviation: Not defined
Keywords: ESA CCI, Antarctica, Altimetry, Surface Elevation Change, CryoSat-2, ICESat-2, Sentinel-3, ERS, ENVISAT, SEC
Details
| Previous Info: |
No news update for this record
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|---|---|
| Previously used record identifiers: |
No related previous identifiers.
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| Access rules: |
Public data: access to these data is available to both registered and non-registered users.
Use of these data is covered by the following licence(s): https://artefacts.ceda.ac.uk/licences/specific_licences/esacci_icesheets_antarctic_terms_and_conditions.pdf When using these data you must cite them correctly using the citation given on the CEDA Data Catalogue record. |
| Data lineage: |
Data were produced by the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) at Northumbria University for the Antarctic Ice Sheet CCI project and supplied to the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) for archiving. |
| Data Quality: |
Products include gridded uncertainty estimates alongside surface elevation change rates. Multi-mission products are derived from cross-calibrated radar altimetry data to ensure consistency across the record. Data are released as version 2 (v2) under the Antarctic CCI+ Phase-2 project.
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| File Format: |
Files are provided in NetCDF format.
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Process overview
This dataset was generated by a combination of instruments deployed on platforms
and computations as detailed below.
Independent Instruments
| Multi-Mission Radar and Laser Altimeter |
Computation Element: 1
| Title | Derivation of Antarctic Ice Sheet Surface Elevation Change (SEC) for the ESA Antarctic CCI project |
| Abstract | Surface elevation change products are derived from radar altimetry data acquired by ERS-1 (1991–1996), ERS-2 (1995–2003), ENVISAT (2002–2012), CryoSat-2 (2010–present), Sentinel-3A (2016–present), and Sentinel-3B (2018–present), and from laser altimetry data acquired by ICESat-2 (2018–present). Cross-calibration of radar altimetry missions was performed to produce consistent multi-mission records. Processing was carried out by CPOM. Products are provided on a 5 km south polar stereographic grid (EPSG:3031). Single-mission SEC products represent the full operational period of each mission. Multi-mission products combine all available radar altimetry missions. |
| Input Description | None |
| Output Description | None |
| Software Reference | None |
| Output Description | None |
- var_id: x
- units: meters
- standard_name: projection_x_coordinate
- long_name: Cartesian x-coordinate - easting, of centre of each grid cell
- var_id: y
- units: meters
- standard_name: projection_y_coordinate
- long_name: Cartesian y-coordinate - northing, of centre of each grid cell
- var_id: basin_id
- long_name: Glacialogical basin identification number
- var_id: interpolation_flag
- long_name: Interpolation Flag
- units: m
- var_id: uncertainty
- long_name: calculated uncertainty
- units: m
- var_id: dH
- long_name: cumulative elevation change
- units: years
- var_id: end_time
- long_name: end time
- units: years
- var_id: cell_start_times
- long_name: first time in grid cell
- var_id: grid_projection
- units: years
- var_id: cell_end_times
- long_name: last time in grid cell
- var_id: n_epochs
- long_name: number of epochs in mean calculation
- units: epochs
- units: years
- var_id: cell_time_lengths
- long_name: period covered by grid cell
- units: years
- var_id: start_time
- long_name: start time
- units: m/yr
- var_id: sec
- long_name: surface elevation change
- var_id: surface_type
- long_name: surface type from mask
- units: m/yr
- var_id: sec_uncertainty
- long_name: uncertainty in surface elevation change
Co-ordinate Variables
- units: degrees_north
- standard_name: latitude
- var_id: lat
- long_name: latitude coordinate
- units: degrees_east
- standard_name: longitude
- var_id: lon
- long_name: longitude coordinate
Coverage
Temporal Range
Start time:
1991-12-09T00:00:00
End time:
2026-01-09T23:59:59
Geographic Extent
-60.0000° |
||
-180.0000° |
180.0000° |
|
-90.0000° |
Related parties