Surface melting for the Antarctic ice sheet appears to have set a record for the 46-year satellite observation period on January 2, 2025. All areas of the Antarctic coast that generally see significant summertime melting continue to accumulate melt days at a faster-than-average pace, except along the northern West Antarctic ice shelves, which are now near-average.

NSIDC’s data management programs focus on preserving, documenting and providing access to cryosphere and related geophysical data. NSIDC operates three core data management programs: the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC), the NOAA program at NSIDC (NOAA@NSIDC), and Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA).

From data management and software development to scientific research, get the the basic rundown on what NSIDC does, and why our work is so important to advancing understanding of Earth’s frozen regions. Scientists, software experts, creatives, and many others work together at NSIDC. Learn more ...

Open access data to inform researchers, policymakers, and othersNSIDC’s data management programs focus on preserving and providing access to cryospheric data and related geophysical data.

The data set landing page contains several sections, which can be navigated to via a convenient sidebar menu: Overview: A brief summary of the data set and what it contains, including parameters, resolution, and other metadata. Data Access & Tools: Contains options for accessing the data, as well as tools to work with the data. Documentation: Links to …

— Credit: Agnieszka Gautier/NSIDC Areas of research. From the physical sciences to the social sciences, NSIDC scientists work on a diverse mixture of research projects that focus on various aspects of the cryosphere and how it impacts society, including snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, sea ice, permafrost, and more.

From the Arctic to the Antarctic, snow and ice play a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate and providing freshwater resources to people, plants, and animals. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), part of …

Advancing knowledge of Earth’s frozen regions since 1976 NSIDC's diverse group of experts have provided research and data management on the cryosphere for nearly 50 years.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration program at NSIDC (NOAA@NSIDC) The NOAA@NSIDC program, which began in 1996, offers free and open-access data about the cryosphere, including data sets on current and historical sea ice conditions, decades-long records of snow extent, historic glacier photographs, and declassified Cold War submarine observations of …

Passive microwave data products from June 2002 through early October 2011 related to sea ice concentration, sea ice motion, sea surface temperature, snow depth, snow water equivalent, soil moisture, wind speed, water vapor, precipitation, and other parameters.