The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is pleased to announce the release of the MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica 2008-2009 Image Map (MOA2009). This data set consists of two cloud-free digital image maps that show surface morphology and a quantitative measure of mean optical surface snow grain size on the Antarctic continent and surrounding islands.
MOA2009 represents the second in a series of MOA image mappings. The image map products have been generated and presented in a near-identical manner as the first mapping, the MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica 2003-2004 image Map (MOA2004). MOA2004 has also been updated with several new grain size image files providing both springtime and summer estimates of mean snow grain size.
A third MOA image mapping, based on data from the 2013-2014 austral summer (MOA2014), is planned for future publication later this year.
The data for MOA2009 were generated from 259 orbit swaths from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrumentation on board the NASA EOS Aqua and Terra satellites. The algorithm and tools for assembling the mosaic were developed by the NASA Cryospheric Sciences Program. Final processing and some adjustments to the snow grain size were completed under the NASA MEaSUREs Antarctic Ice Velocity grant. The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC offers data access, tools and information at the following page: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0593