Cryospheric data management system for special sensor microwave imager DMSP data

In 1986 the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program will launch a high resolution, microwave imager which for the first time, will provide real-time microwave data on sea ice, atmospheric moisture and precipitation, soil moisture, and ocean parameters. Both the U.S. Air Force and the Navy plan operational use of the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) data. However, there will also be many applications for these data after operational needs are met. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has been funded by NASA Polar Oceans Program to develop a computer based Cryospheric Data Management System (CDMS). This will extract the polar SSM/I data and make them readily available to the "secondary" or non-operational user community.