The surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet is a sensitive indicator of surface melt extent, frequency, timing and duration. The daily clear-sky surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet was measured using MODIS–derived land surface temperature (LST) data-product maps. For this animation, an 8-day moving average of clear-sky surface temperature was generated from May 1 through September 1, 2005. Coldest temperatures are shown here in violet and blue, while warmer temperatures nearing the melting point of zero degrees centigrade are shown in orange and red. The summer season is repeated two times in this animation.
This animation shows daily surface temperature of the Greenland ice sheet from May 1 through September 1, 2005. An overlay contains a date bar, a color bar and text labels.