Abstract:
ISCCP was established as the first project of the World Climate
Research Program (WMO, 1984), to collect and analyze satellite
radiance measurements to infer the global distribution of cloud
radiative properties and their diurnal and seasonal variations. These
data and analysis products will be used to improve the understanding
and modelling of the effects of clouds on climate. The ISCCP version
... of the ice/snow data set includes only information concerning
fractional coverage. The version actually used in the cloud analysis
is changed in two ways: reductions to ice/snow presence and creation
of "margin zones" in the data. The first of these is simply the
process of converting the coded parameters in the original dataset to
code values that indicate only the presence or absence of sea ice
and/or snow. The latter process fills in nearby grid cells in the data
to indicate proximity to snow or sea ice covered locations. The second
change is not included in the archived version of this data. 
