NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC)
Enabling researchers and data users to better understand how changes in the cryosphere impact our planet.
Open access NASA data for your research and studies
The NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) distributes cryosphere and related geophysical data from NASA Earth-observing satellite missions, airborne campaigns, and field observations. These data can be used to study topics relating to snow cover, sea ice, ice sheets, ice shelves, glaciers, frozen ground, soil moisture, climate interactions, and more.
Featured data & resources
How to get started
With over 1400 data sets to choose from, it can be hard to know where to begin. Read this easy-to-read tutorial on how to navigate this website to discover and work with data, as well as frequently asked questions about tools and resources.
Browse Data Collections
The NSIDC DAAC archives and distributes data for over 20 NASA earth observing missions and projects. Wondering what types of scientific questions these data can be used to study and how to access the data?
Visualize data
Explore featured interactive data visualization tools that allow you to explore cryosphere data without having to access, download and analyze data yourself.
Featured Data Collection: NASA Earthdata Cloud
NSIDC DAAC is migrating data to the Earthdata Cloud. Learn more about cloud-accessible NSIDC DAAC data and how to access the data.
Featured Data Collection: ICESat-2
ICESat-2 is the most recently launched in a series of NASA missions designed to provide continuous polar observations over time. Available data include elevations of sea ice, land ice, forest canopies, water height, urban area, and more.
Submit data to NSIDC DAAC
Instructions and forms for data producers to publish their assigned data or update their data with NSIDC DAAC. Plus, information for how to request that community-produced data be archived by NSIDC DAAC.