Atlas of the Cryosphere: Southern Hemisphere The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) Atlas of the Cryosphere is a map server that provides data and information pertinent to the frozen regions of Earth, including monthly climatologies of sea ice extent and concentration, snow cover extent, and snow water equivalent, in addition to glacier outlines, ice sheet elevation and accumulation, and more. In order to support polar projections, the Atlas is divided into two separate map servers: one for the Northern Hemisphere and one for the Southern Hemisphere. In addition to providing map images and source data through Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC) protocols (WMS, WFS, and WCS), a dynamic web interface for exploring these data is also available at http://nsidc.org/data/atlas. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please contact NSIDC User Services at +1.303.492.6199 or nsidc@nsidc.org. The development of this map server application was supported by NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Program under contract NAS5-03099 and was developed using MapServer, an Open Source development environment for building spatially-enabled internet applications. To cite the Atlas of the Cryosphere: Maurer, J. 2007. Atlas of the Cryosphere. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/atlas/. Antarctica Cryosphere Earth Science Fronts Glacial Landforms/Processes Glaciers Ice Sheets Oceans Ocean Circulation Ocean Currents Polar Southern Hemisphere OGC WFS 1.1.0 none none National Snow and Ice Data Center NSIDC User Services User Services +1 303.492.6199 +1 303.492.2468 CIRES, 449 UCB, University of Colorado Boulder CO 80309-0449 USA nsidc@nsidc.org Our hours of operation are 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., U.S. Mountain Time, Monday through Friday. We are closed on most major United States holidays. None. resourceProvider WFS 1.0.0 1.1.0 text/xml XMLSCHEMA text/xml; subtype=gml/2.1.2 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 results text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 Query antarctic_ice_shelves_fill Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2007. Antarctic coastlines and grounding line derived from MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 24 April 2008. Background: These outlines were hand-digitized from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) image map produced and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0280.html. The coastline includes the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica while the grounding line excludes them. Coastlines for islands surrounding Antarctica are provided separately from the rest of Antarctica's grounding line. Antarctica Coastlines Cryosphere Ice Sheets Ice Shelves Polar Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.015217027064 -70.5179555901538 179.590527885992 -57.61292005483 antarctic_continent Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2007. Antarctic coastlines and grounding line derived from MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 24 April 2008. Background: These outlines were hand-digitized from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) image map produced and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0280.html. The coastline includes the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica while the grounding line excludes them. Coastlines for islands surrounding Antarctica are provided separately from the rest of Antarctica's grounding line. Antarctica Coastlines Cryosphere Ice Sheets Ice Shelves Polar Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.989213059527 -70.5184576057603 178.65370888731 -59.1025925896781 antarctic_islands Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2007. Antarctic coastlines and grounding line derived from MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 24 April 2008. Background: These outlines were hand-digitized from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) image map produced and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0280.html. The coastline includes the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica while the grounding line excludes them. Coastlines for islands surrounding Antarctica are provided separately from the rest of Antarctica's grounding line. Antarctica Coastlines Cryosphere Ice Sheets Ice Shelves Polar Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.163031713567 -69.1937300538511 179.615380483368 -56.5667752016333 land_excluding_antarctica Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University; and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). 2005. Gridded Population of the World Version 3 (GPWv3): Coastlines. Palisades, NY, USA: Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), Columbia University. Available at http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/gpw. 19 January 2007. Background: Coastlines derived from the Gridded Population of the World (GPW) land area grid at 2.5 arc-minute resolution. Permanent ice and all but large lakes have been merged with neighbouring polygons to make a layer more appropriate for cartographic visualization of the data. Does not include Antarctica. Coastlines Global Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.985929933454 -89.5363509668979 178.856376203479 89.6900159385109 antarctica_elevation_contours Liu, H., K. Jezek, B. Li, and Z. Zhao. 2001. Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project digital elevation model version 2. Boulder, CO, USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0082.html. 01 November 2006. Background: The high-resolution Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) combines topographic data from a variety of sources to provide consistent coverage of all of Antarctica. Version 2 improves upon the original version by incorporating new topographic data, error corrections, extended coverage, and other modifications. The DEM incorporates topographic data from satellite radar altimetry, airborne radar surveys, the recently-updated Antarctic Digital Database (version 2), and large-scale topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Australian Antarctic Division. Data were collected between the 1940s and present, with most collected during the 1980s and 1990s. Although the RAMP DEM was created to aid in processing RAMP radar data, it does not utilize any RAMP radar data. The Atlas of the Cryosphere uses the RAMP DEM gridded at 1 km. Antarctica Cryosphere Earth Science Ice Sheets Ice Sheet Elevation Polar EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -178.568209917435 -71.3252137198577 179.997720621844 -59.663900945111 http://nsidc.org/cgi-bin/get_metadata.pl?id=nsidc-0082 glaciers National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). 1992. VMAP_1V10 - Vector Map Level 0 (Digital Chart of the World). Bethesda, MD, USA: National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). Available at http://www.maproom.psu.edu/dcw/ and http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/globalgis/. 01 September 2000. Background: The primary source for this database is the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency's (DMA) Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 scale paper map series produced by the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. These charts were designed to meet the needs of pilots and air crews in medium-and low-altitude en route navigation and to support military operational planning, intelligence briefings, and other needs. Level 0 (low resolution) coverage is global, and is entirely in the public domain. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) is a federal agency of the United States Government and is now known as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Antarctica Cryosphere Earth Science Global Glaciers Polar Southern Hemisphere EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.986006132139 -89.4367585825939 178.785221317643 89.8818812103194 glacier_outlines Armstrong, R., B. Raup, S.J.S. Khalsa, R. Barry, J. Kargel, C. Helm, and H. Kiefer. 2005. GLIMS glacier database. Boulder, CO, USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0272.html. 24 August 2006. Background: Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) is an international project with the goal of surveying a majority of the world's estimated 160,000 glaciers. GLIMS uses data collected primarily by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument aboard the Terra satellite and the LANDSAT Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), along with historical observations. The GLIMS project is currently creating a unique glacier inventory, storing information about the extent and rates of change of all the world's glacial resources. GLIMS consists of many institutions called Regional Centers, who produce glacier analyses for their particular region. The GLIMS Glacier Database provides students, educators, scientists, and the public with reliable glacier data from these analyses. New glacier data are continually being added to the database. Antarctica Cryosphere Earth Science Global Glaciers Polar Southern Hemisphere EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.395542269817 -88.8455899538529 179.26514003268 88.7298174689214 http://nsidc.org/cgi-bin/get_metadata.pl?id=nsidc-0272 coastlines_excluding_antarctica Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University; and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). 2005. Gridded Population of the World Version 3 (GPWv3): Coastlines. Palisades, NY, USA: Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), Columbia University. Available at http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/gpw. 19 January 2007. Background: Coastlines derived from the Gridded Population of the World (GPW) land area grid at 2.5 arc-minute resolution. Permanent ice and all but large lakes have been merged with neighbouring polygons to make a layer more appropriate for cartographic visualization of the data. Does not include Antarctica. Coastlines Global Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.985929933454 -89.5363509668979 178.856376203479 89.6900159385109 antarctic_ice_shelves_outline Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2007. Antarctic coastlines and grounding line derived from MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 24 April 2008. Background: These outlines were hand-digitized from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) image map produced and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0280.html. The coastline includes the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica while the grounding line excludes them. Coastlines for islands surrounding Antarctica are provided separately from the rest of Antarctica's grounding line. Antarctica Coastlines Cryosphere Ice Sheets Polar Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.015217027064 -70.5179555901538 179.590527885992 -57.61292005483 antarctic_coastline Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2007. Antarctic coastlines and grounding line derived from MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 24 April 2008. Background: These outlines were hand-digitized from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) image map produced and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0280.html. The coastline includes the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica while the grounding line excludes them. Coastlines for islands surrounding Antarctica are provided separately from the rest of Antarctica's grounding line. Antarctica Coastlines Cryosphere Ice Sheets Polar Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.989213059527 -70.5184576057603 178.65370888731 -59.1025925896781 antarctic_islands_coastlines Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2007. Antarctic coastlines and grounding line derived from MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 24 April 2008. Background: These outlines were hand-digitized from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) image map produced and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0280.html. The coastline includes the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica while the grounding line excludes them. Coastlines for islands surrounding Antarctica are provided separately from the rest of Antarctica's grounding line. Antarctica Coastlines Cryosphere Ice Sheets Polar Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.163031713567 -69.1937300538511 179.615380483368 -56.5667752016333 country_borders_excluding_antarctica Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University; and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). 2005. Gridded Population of the World Version 3 (GPWv3): National Boundaries. Palisades, NY, USA: Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), Columbia University. Available at http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/gpw. 19 January 2007. Background: National boundaries derived from the Gridded Population of the World (GPW) country-level land area grids at 2.5 arc-minute resolution. Permanent ice and all but large lakes have been merged with neighbouring polygons to make a layer more appropriate for cartographic visualization of the data. Does not include Antarctica. Boundaries Global Political Divisions EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.985929933474 -89.5363509685354 178.856376203432 89.6900161512002 antarctica_country_border Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2007. Antarctic coastlines and grounding line derived from MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 24 April 2008. Background: These outlines were hand-digitized from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) image map produced and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0280.html. The coastline includes the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica while the grounding line excludes them. Coastlines for islands surrounding Antarctica are provided separately from the rest of Antarctica's grounding line. Antarctica Coastlines Cryosphere Ice Sheets Polar Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.989213059527 -70.5184576057603 178.65370888731 -59.1025925896781 antarctica_islands_coastlines Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2007. Antarctic coastlines and grounding line derived from MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 24 April 2008. Background: These outlines were hand-digitized from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) image map produced and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0280.html. The coastline includes the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica while the grounding line excludes them. Coastlines for islands surrounding Antarctica are provided separately from the rest of Antarctica's grounding line. Antarctica Coastlines Cryosphere Ice Sheets Polar Shorelines EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.163031713567 -69.1937300538511 179.615380483368 -56.5667752016333 antarctic_polar_front Orsi, A. and Ryan, U. 2001. Locations of the various fronts in the Southern Ocean. Kingston, Tasmania, Australia: Australian Antarctic Data Centre. Digital media. Available at http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/metadata_redirect.cfm?md=AMD/AU/southern_ocean_fronts. 28 September 2006. Background: Hydrographic observations were used in this study of the Southern Ocean to improve our knowledge of large-scale aspects of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The Antarctic Polar Front, also known as the Antarctic Convergence, is the southern front of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the Antarctic Zone in the south from the Polar Frontal Zone in the north. The Polar Front is taken by many to delineate the actual northern boundary of the Antarctic Zone. It is characterized by sea surface temperatures near 5-6 deg C and a salinity minimum of 33.8-34.0 psu produced by high rainfall. Antarctica Cryosphere Earth Science Fronts Oceans Ocean Circulation Ocean Currents Polar Southern Ocean EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.378955092168 -43.2265375008542 179.307767589666 -7.27689220958096 international_date_line National Geographic Society. 1992. National Geographic Atlas of the World, Revised Sixth Edition. Washington, D.C. USA: National Geographic Society. Compiled by J. Maurer. 2007. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital Media. Background: The International Date Line (IDL), also known as just the Date Line, is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth opposite the Prime Meridian which offsets the date as one travels east or west across it. Roughly along 180 deg longitude, with diversions to pass around some territories and island groups, it corresponds to the time zone boundary separating +12 and -12 hours GMT (UT1). Crossing the IDL travelling east results in a day or 24 hours being subtracted, and crossing west results in a day being added. Boundaries Date Line International Date Line EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.950633972289 -89.9999999999999 180 45.8388499070575 antarctic_megadunes Bohlander, J. and T. Scambos. 2005. Outlines of Antarctic megadunes regions. Boulder, CO, USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Background: Unlike snow dunes that are piles of drifted snow, Antarctic megadunes are long, undulating waves in the surface of the ice sheet that are 2 to 4 meters (6.5 to 13 feet) high and 2 to 5 kilometers (1 to 3 miles) apart. They are slightly rounded at their crests and are so subtle that a person on the ground cannot see the pattern. Regions of megadunes on the Antarctic ice sheet have been identified and outlined using satellite remote sensing imagery. Antarctica Cryosphere Earth Science Glacial Landforms/Processes Ice Sheets Megadunes Polar EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.580050381835 -86.6623325444616 179.296793475467 -65.282572631276 antarctic_research_stations Wikipedia contributors. 24 January 2007. List of research stations in Antarctica. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_research_stations_in_Antarctica. 24 January 2007. Background: A number of governments maintain permanent research stations throughout Antarctica. Many of the stations are staffed around the year. A total of 30 countries (as of October 2006), all signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, operate seasonal (summer) and year-round research stations on the continent and in its surrounding oceans. The population of persons doing and supporting science on the continent and its nearby islands varies from approximately 4,000 persons during the summer season to 1,000 persons during winter. Antarctica Cryosphere Earth Science Polar Research Stations EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.468046418753 -72.0698168438222 179.020377733661 -58.1210070131035 antarctic_ice_cores Maurer, J. compiler. 2009. Deep ice core locations. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Accessed 03 May 2009. Background: Labels the locations of several deep ice cores from the Antarctic ice sheet, including: the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) Dome C; Siple Dome, West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Dome A; Vostok; WAIS Divide; Byrd; Taylor Dome; Dome Fuji; Dome B; Komsomolskaya; and Talos Dome Ice Core (TALDICE). Antarctica Cryosphere Earth Science Ice Core Records Polar EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 -179.766568766674 -80.2494068256655 179.321558817589 -67.4111457035317 south_pole_geographic Labels the location of the South Pole (90 deg S, 0 deg), also referred to as the Geographic South Pole. Antarctica Geographic South Pole Polar South Pole EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 0 -89.9230836314227 180 -64.3802688762632 south_pole_magnetic McClean, S. 24 January 2007. Geomagnetism Frequently Asked Questions. National Geophysical Data Center. http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/faqgeom.shtml#q4b. 24 January 2007. Background: Labels the location of the Magnetic South Pole, which in 2005 was computed to be 64.53 deg S, 137.86 deg E by the World Magnetic Model (WMM). The Earth's magnetic poles are the two points on the earth's surface at which magnetic meridians converge; the horizontal component of the magnetic field of the earth becomes zero at this point; also called the dip pole. The magnetic poles migrate over time. Antarctica Earth Science Geomagnetism Magnetic Field Magnetic South Pole Polar South Pole EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 0 -89.9230836314227 180 -64.3802688762632 south_pole_geomagnetic McClean, S. 24 January 2007. Geomagnetism Frequently Asked Questions. National Geophysical Data Center. http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/faqgeom.shtml#q4b. 24 January 2007. Background: Labels the location of the Geomagnetic South Pole, which in 2005 was computed to be 79.74 deg S, 108.22 deg E by the World Magnetic Model (WMM). The Earth's geomagnetic poles are the points of intersection of the Earth's surface with the axis of a simple magnetic dipole that best approximates the Earth's actual, more complex magnetic field. If the Earth's magnetic field were a perfect dipole, then the field lines would be vertical at the geomagnetic poles and they would therefore coincide with the magnetic poles: however, the dipole approximation is in fact far from perfect, so in reality the magnetic and geomagnetic poles lie some distance apart. The geomagnetic poles migrate over time. Antarctica Earth Science Geomagnetic Indices Geomagnetism Geomagnetic South Pole Polar South Pole EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 0 -89.9230836314227 180 -64.3802688762632 south_pole_inaccessibility Wikipedia contributors. 20 January 2007. South Pole. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Pole Antarctica Polar South Pole South Pole of Inaccessibility EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 0 -89.9230836314227 180 -64.3802688762632 south_pole_of_cold Wikipedia contributors. 23 January 2007. Pole of Cold. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pole_of_Cold Antarctica Cold Pole Cryosphere Earth Science Polar South Pole South Pole of Cold EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 0 -89.9230836314227 180 -64.3802688762632 south_poles_wfs Labels the location of various types of South Poles: geographic, geomagnetic, magnetic, pole of cold, and pole of inaccessibility. Citations: McClean, S. 2007. Geomagnetism frequently asked questions. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). Available at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/faqgeom.shtml. Accessed 24 January 2007; Wikipedia contributors. 2007. Pole of Cold. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_of_Cold. Accessed 24 January 2007; Wikipedia contributors. 2007. South Pole. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Pole Antarctica Cold Pole Geographic South Pole Geomagnetic Indices Geomagnetism Geomagnetic South Pole Magnetic Field Magnetic South Pole Polar South Pole South Pole of Cold South Pole of Inaccessibility EPSG:3031 text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1 0 -89.9230836314227 180 -64.3802688762632 gml:Point gml:LineString gml:Polygon gml:Envelope LessThan GreaterThan LessThanEqualTo GreaterThanEqualTo EqualTo NotEqualTo Like Between