Intersensor Calibration Between F13 SSMI and F17 SSMIS for Global Sea Ice Data Records

An intercalibration between F13 Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) and F17 Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) sea ice extents and areas for a full year of overlap is undertaken preparatory to extending the 1979-2007 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center NASA Team algorithm time series of global sea ice extents and areas. The 1979-2007 time series was created from Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and SSMI data. After intercalibration, the yearly mean F17 and F13 difference in northern hemisphere (NH) sea ice extents is - 0.0156%, with a standard deviation (SD) of the differences of 0.6204%, and the yearly mean difference in NH sea ice areas is 0.5433%, with an SD of 0.3519%. For the southern hemisphere, the yearly mean difference in sea ice extents is 0.0304% ±0.4880%, and the mean difference in sea ice areas is 0.1550% ±0.3753%. This F13/F17 intercalibration enables the extension of the 29-year 1979-2007 SMMR/SSMI sea ice time series for as long as there are stable F17 SSMIS brightness temperatures available.