These data underpin the Fraser et al., 2026 publication in Nature Communications: "Revealing the Antarctic marginal ice zone: a decade-long wave-in-ice climatology". They are presented as one .csv file per year, each containing around 8500-9000 rows. Each row corresponds to the data retrieved from a SARAL half-orbit (pole to pole). Each row presents the along-track summary fields used to estimate the wave-affected marginal ice zone width. The marginal ice zone width is estimated from the difference in latitude between the ice edge and the latitude of the "inner MIZ limit". The inner MIZ limit is estimated from AltiKa Ka-band radar altimeter waveforms: where the waveform of returned power becomes suffiently peaky and "steep", we interpret this as being the point where wave passage becomes undetectable.

These data describe quantitative exposure indices generated using cartographic fetch methods on a 0.01 degree grid across temperate Australia (South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania). Two indices are reported: openness and bathymetry-altered fetch. Openness is a measure of the distance of a site to the nearest coastline in all directions and describes potential exposure to locally generated seas and undefined swell. Bathymetry-altered fetch attempts to account for the attenuation of wave energy as waves move into shallow waters and encounter friction with the seafloor.