Four-Decade (1979-2022) Daily Global Snow Cover Fraction Climate Data Record from AVHRR (Version 3.0)

This dataset provides daily composited snow cover fraction (SCF) data, spanning four decades from 1979 to 2022. SCF represents the proportion of snow-covered area observed from space. This dataset is combining the multiple SCF observations derived from three generations of Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensors, as part of the ESA CCI+ Snow project (AVHRR/1: TIROS-N, NOAA-6, 8, and 10; AVHRR/2: NOAA-7, 9, 11, 12, and 14; AVHRR/3: NOAA-15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and METOP-A/B/C). Date types The dataset includes two types of SCF: Snow Cover Fraction Viewable (SCFV): Represents the area of snow visible over land surface from space, while snow area in forested area refers to snow visible on top of forest canopies. Snow Cover Fraction on Ground (SCFG): Represents snow on the ground, with corrections applied in forested areas to account for the obstruction caused by forest canopy. Both SCFV and SCFG are provided in percentage (%) per grid, at a spatial resolution of 0.05° (approximately 5 km). The data covers all land areas globally, excluding Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets. Important Notes: Due to limitations in satellite observations, 110 days of data are missing from the dataset. A list of these dates is provided in the accompanying file "Dates List of Missing Data.xlsx". The dataset is organized by year, with each day's data stored in a separate GeoTIFF (*.tif) file. A detailed description of the dataset and its generation methodology can be found in the data descriptor manuscript submitted to the journal Earth System Science Data. Code for the AVHRR SCF products: Codes Description 0 - 100 Snow cover fraction (SCF) [%]; 0: snow freee; 100: fully snow covered 205 Cloud 206 Polar night 210 Water 215 Glacier, Icecaps, Icesheets 254 ERROR: No satellite acuqisition