News & Stories
Across the globe, snow and ice play a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate and providing freshwater resources to people, plants, and animals.
As Earth’s frozen regions change rapidly, NSIDC is committed to growing its research and open access data to better understand these changes. Read about NSIDC research and its contribution to science and policy making. Check out spotlights on how to use NSIDC data, tools, and resources. Learn about how we steward data and collaborate with scientists and organizations across the world to understand how the frozen parts of Earth affect the rest of the planet and impact society.
News and stories
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Spotlight
On July 31, 2025, the NASA NSIDC DAAC released ATL03 global geolocated photon data in cloud-optimized HDF5, making ICESat-2 one of NASA’s first missions to publish data in this format. The new format improves speed and scalability and offers potential cost-saving and time-saving benefits for cloud-based science and research.
Spotlight
Representatives from NSIDC will be attending the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting 2025, either virtually or in person in New Orleans, to share their expertise in data management and research in the cryospheric sciences, and to conne
Spotlight
The NSIDC DAAC and NOAA@NSIDC archive and distribute data sets relevant to maritime navigation in the polar regions. Although they are not up-to-the-minute products for operational navigation, they provide climatological data for planning, risk assessments, and feasibility studies.
Analysis - Ice Sheets Today
Beginning October 15, 2025, NSIDC’s Ice Sheets Today services will be reduced because of non-renewed funding.
Analysis - Sea Ice Today
Beginning October 15, 2025, NSIDC’s Sea Ice Today services will be reduced because of non-renewed funding.
News Release
Antarctic sea ice has likely reached its maximum extent for the year, at 17.81 million square kilometers (6.88 million square miles) on September 17, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder). The 2025 maximum is the third lowest in the 47-year satellite record. The record low maximum occurred in 2023.