Metadata for Lake Erie Ice Cover Concentration Computer Animations ======================================================================== Thirty-seven computer animations portray the daily progression of Great Lakes ice cover for winters 1973 - 2002. Seven winters (1989 - 1995) have two animations, one based on National Ice Center (NIC) and one based on Canadian Ice Service (CIS) ice charts. Prior to 1989 animations are based on CIS ice charts, after that 1995 they are based on both CIS and NIC ice charts. The animations contain a color bar legend, "Percent Ice Cover", and a month-day-year display which cycles from December 1 through May 31 (May 30 for leap years) as the animation plays. A bar to the right of center cycles through three positions each day and indicates if the ice cover for that day is "Observed Data", "Interpolated Data", or "No Data". The animations can be viewed or downloaded in AVI and FLC formats. File Name Format ----------------------------------------------------------------------- YYYYERIE.FLC for FLC format animations for animations based on CIS data YYYYERIE.AVI for AVI format animations for animations based on CIS data YYYYNICE.FLC for FLC format animations for animations based on NIC data YYYYNICE.AVI for AVI format animations for animations based on NIC data where YYYY = 1973, 1974...2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A description of ice charts used to make animations and data reduction and analysis methods are given in Assel and Norton (2001) and in an electronic supplement to that paper at Web site: http://www.agu.org/eos_elec/00259e.html The original ice charts used to create the animations and computer animations of all the Great Lakes are published in Assel (2003). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- References ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assel, R. A. and D. C. Norton. 2001. Visualizing Laurentian Great Lakes Ice Cycles. EOS Transactions of the American Geophysical Union. Vol 82. Assel, R.A., 2003. NOAA Atlas, An Electronic Atlas of Great Lakes Ice Cover winters 1972-2003. NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105. ------------------------------ Data Set Created December 2003 ------------------------------ Raymond Assel NOAA/GLERL 4840 S. State Rd. Ann Arbor, MI email: Ray.Assel@noaa.gov