Looking at numerical data indicating sea level changes over thousands, is material for object making and animation:
“Tables showing global distribution of land at 1-degree cell size, 360 columns, 180 rows, tab-delimited ASCII (based on grid of 5-minute cell size), one per thousand years from 0 to 21 ka, inclusive, tab-delimited ASCII …”
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This is the first calibrated, multi-frequency, multi-polarization spaceborne radar image of the seasonal sea-ice cover in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The multi-channel data provide scientists with details about the ice pack they cannot see any other way and indicates that the large expanse of sea-ice is, in fact, comprised of many smaller rounded ice floes, shown in blue-gray. These data are particularly useful in helping scientists estimate the thickness of the ice cover which is often extremely difficult to measure with other remote sensing systems. The extent, and especially thickness, of the polar ocean’s sea-ice cover together have important implications for global climate by regulating the loss of heat from the ocean to the cold polar atmosphere. The image was acquired on October 3, 1994, by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) onboard the space shuttle Endeavour.Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/radar/sircxsar//wedel.html
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The information is collected from sensors that collect information in the radar range of the electromagnetic spectrum. These longer wavelengths are able to penetrate the clouds and thus are ideal for studying ice cover around Antarctica.
The satellite data used to determine sea ice cover are derived from the Scanning Microchannel Microwave Radiometer (SSMR) and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) data produced by the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado in cooperation with NOAA and NASA. The analysis the data is conducted by the US Geological Survey Global Change Research Program.
http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/antarctica/deltaice.html