Terra Nova Bay Polynya boundary movement - high temporal resolution dataset based on satellite data, 2012-2024

Coastal polynyas play an important role in sea ice production, dense water formation, and ocean-atmosphere interactions. To accurately estimate the amount of sea ice produced in a polynya, it is crucial to know the sea ice transport rate away from shore or, equivalently, the speed of the polynya boundary. Yet, despite the high importance of this quantity, there is a scarcity of observational data on it, especially regarding the short-term, detailed dynamics. This manually prepared dataset describes the dynamical evolution of the Terra Nova Bay Polynya (Antarctica), based on MODIS satellite data collected between 2012 and 2024. For each of 52 polynya events, the dataset consists of series of polynya boundary lines that indicate the sea ice movement and provide estimates of the velocities at which ice was displaced offshore during each polynya event. The accuracy of the polynya boundary line location is estimated to be ± 1 km. Additionally, the dataset includes information on wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, and other meteorological parameters given as mean, minimal, and maximal values for the time intervals between consecutive satellite images. The raw meteorological data were obtained from the automatic weather station Manuela, located on the Inexpressible Island, and operated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Antarctic Meteorological Research Center. This dataset stands out due to its unprecedented high temporal resolution of several images per day. This feature is essential to accurately describe polynya dynamics as they can open and close even within 24 h.