The data contain time series of snow specific surface area (SSA) retrieved from spectral surface albedo and reflectance measurements of different remote sensing instruments at Kohnen research station (Antarctica, 75° 0' S, 0° 4' E, 2892 m above sea level) operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) between 10 December 2013 and 31 January 2014. Snow SSA was retrieved from (1) ground-based spectral surface albedo measurements (ratio between 1280 nm and 1100 nm wavelength) collected by the COmpact RAdiation measurement System (CORAS), (2) airborne spectral albedo measurements (1280 nm/1100 nm) with the Spectral Modular Airborne Radiation measurement sysTem (SMART) mounted on the Polar 6 research aircraft operated by AWI, and (3) spaceborne reflectance measurements (469 nm, 858 nm, 1240 nm) by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

Instrument Info CORAS: COmpact RAdiation measurement System, SSA retrieved from spectral albedo ratio 1280 nm/1100 nmInstrument Info SMART: Spectral Modular Airborne Radiation measurement SysTem, SSA retrieved from spectral albedo ratio 1280 nm/1100 nmInstrument Info MODIS: SGSP retrieval from MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, SSA retrieved using 469 nm (Ch3), 858 nm (Ch2), 1240 nm (Ch5)Use of these data requires prior OK from the PIs.

Supplement to: Carlsen, Tim; Birnbaum, Gerit; Ehrlich, André; Freitag, Johannes; Heygster, Georg; Istomina, Larysa; Kipfstuhl, Sepp; Orsi, Anais J; Schäfer, Michael; Wendisch, Manfred (2017): Comparison of different methods to retrieve optical-equivalent snow grain size in central Antarctica. The Cryosphere, 11(6), 2727-2741