Visualising scientific data is no mean feat and certain technical requirements must be met. At the same time, when the goal is to convey information to a given target group in a clear and appealing way, success largely depends on the style and quality of presentation. Accordingly, for some time now the SEA ICE PORTAL has offered a broad range of print-ready, downloadable maps and graphics that can be freely used under a Creative Commons license.
Following the addition of interactive annual-cycle maps last July, we’ve now taken a further step: you can now create your own sea-ice concentration animations using our image series and use them under a Creative Commons license.
With the new tool “Create your own animations” you can now create videos of the sea-ice concentration in the Arctic or Antarctic online, view them at different speeds (normal to 10x), and select different resolutions (720 to 2952 px) to download them in. The available maps date back to June 2002. Using these animated time series, aspects such as sea-ice concentration dynamics and development in different timespans can be assessed and compared.
To accompany the new tool, the SEA ICE PORTAL team has also updated the navigation menu for the “Maps & Graphics” section: you can use the new buttons “Further sea-ice maps”, “Further annual cycles” and “Further trend curves” to directly access additional maps and graphics in the respective category.
“With the new option of quickly and easily creating animations for any given period, we’ve added an important and unique component to the information portal. At the same time, by improving the navigation in the ‘Maps & Graphics’ section, we have responded to feedback from our users,” says Dr Renate Treffeisen, who co-developed and is jointly responsible for the SEA ICE PORTAL. “As a result, the diverse products available in the ‘Maps & Graphics’ section can now be quickly and easily found.”
Want to try out these new features?
Here you’ll find our interactive graphics tool and a short guide to tailoring our video content for your own purposes. We hope you enjoy using the new options and they help you gain new insights into the evolution of the sea-ice extent in the Arctic and Antarctic!
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How to cite our maps:
Please include the following in the acknowledgments: Sea-ice data from www.meereisportal.de (funding: REKLIM-2013-04).
Citation style: Spreen, G.; Kaleschke, L. and Heygster, G. (2008), Sea ice remote sensing using AMSR-E 89 GHz channels J. Geophys. Res.,vol. 113, C02S03, doi:10.1029/2005JC003384.
