Calving front positions for Greenland outlet glaciers (2002–2021): a spatially extensive seasonal record and benchmark dataset for algorithm validation

The variations in Greenland glacier calving front positions reflect the magnitude and trends of glacier advance and retreat, and are critical for understanding ice sheet dynamics. This dataset provides a spatially extensive and seasonally resolved record of glacier calving front positions across Greenland. It includes approximately 12,000 manually delineated calving front positions for outlet glaciers, spanning the period from 2002 to 2021. The delineations were extracted from multi-source satellite imagery, including Landsat 5/7/8, Sentinel-1/2, MODIS, ENVISAT ASAR, and ERS SAR. All calving front positions were manually digitized using standardized workflows in GEEDiT and ArcGIS, and are accompanied by detailed metadata. To assess positional accuracy, the dataset was compared to high-resolution PlanetScope imagery and reference datasets, showing offsets of approximately 40–100 meters depending on image quality and glacier front complexity. The dataset is distributed in GeoPackage format (total size: 18.95 MB) and offers a spatially consistent, high-quality benchmark for investigating glacier dynamics, refining boundary conditions in ice sheet models, and supporting the development and validation of automated glacier front-tracking algorithms.