Thaw-refreeze detection in Alaska during winter (2001-2008) derived from QuikSCAT

We used microwave backscatter data (Ku-Band) from the SeaWinds instrumentation on the QuikSCAT satellite to detect thaw-refreeze events in Alaska during winters (October-April) of 2001-2008. We employed the method of Bartsch et al. (2010) to detect thaw-refreeze events. A thaw-refreeze event was determined to have occurred if the 3-day average in backscatter before a given day was >1.5 dB than the 3-day average before the given day. The data have a 12.5km buffer around the ocean to prevent false detections over open ocean. The data provided represent the presence or absence of thaw-refreeze detections across the state weekly during the period of study.