NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC)
Citation policies
Data hosted by the NSIDC DAAC are openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with NASA's Earth Science program Data and Information Policy. NASA data are freely accessible; however, when you publish these data or works based on the data, you should clearly cite the data in your research.
How do I cite NASA data?
NASA requests that authors include a data citation in the reference section of your publication and/or other media to acknowledge those who have created the data set. In addition, you should cite the data product within the text of the publication to allow the data products to be discovered and reused by others.
- Bibliographic citations in the references section should include:
- Author(s) or project name(s)
- Date published
- Title of data product
- Version number
- Bracketed description type (For NASA datasets, the resource type is [Dataset])
- Repository name
- DOI, persistent identifier, URL
- Retrieved date (required when using URL)
- Indicating subset: When applicable, include the information a reader would need to extract the same subset at the end of your citation. If multiple or complex steps were involved, it may be more appropriate to include this information in the paper itself.
- The proper data citation for each NSIDC DAAC data product is provided on its landing page and user guide. You can also contact NSIDC User Services if you need assistance with a citation format.
- For complete provenance and understanding of which parts of the data were used and how, it may be necessary to describe in detail, exactly how the data were used in the body of your paper.
Tell us about your research
If possible, please e-mail NSIDC User Services about your papers or oral presentations based on data products acquired from the NSIDC DAAC. Such action will help us to stay informed regarding how NSIDC DAAC data products are being used. We also frequently publish data spotlight articles about research using the data.
How do I cite photographs and satellite images from NSIDC?
You may download and use most photographs and images on this site free of charge, but some photographs and images may have specific copyright restrictions and credits. Photographs and imagery may be used for commercial purposes, but may not be resold.
- General credit format: "Image/photo courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder." Note that many images on the site include a caption with a more specific credit.
- Satellite image example format: "Imagery from the NASA MODIS instrument, courtesy NASA NSIDC DAAC."
If you need additional help, please contact NSIDC User Services.