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.

Catch up on news and stories about how NSIDC DAAC data are being used in research, as well as spotlights on how you can use the data, tools and resources we offer. If you are using NSIDC DAAC data in your research, teaching, or some other way, let us know and we may feature your work in our next article. Share your story with us today.

News & Stories

Filter by:
Photo of the Aurora Australis
In May 2024, our planet experienced one of the strongest solar storms in decades. The most visible (and fun) consequence of the solar storm was a proliferation of auroras. But solar storms pose risks to satellites, including NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) which saw its normal operations interrupted.
This plot shows global snow class climatology, with no snow in red, ephemeral snow in orange, transitional snow in yellow, seasonal snow in green, and perennial snow in blue.
The NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) manages a range of MODIS data, making a suite of snow cover and sea ice data products freely accessible to the public. These data can be used to investigate how snow and ice cover have changed over time, to study Earth’s energy balance, and to feed global and polar climate models. Recently, the NSIDC DAAC published a new MODIS data set, MODIS/Terra Global Annual 0.01Deg CMG Snow Cover Climatology, Version 1. This data set focuses on global snow cover climatology from 2001 to 2023 using data from the Terra satellite and presents information using global maps.
OpenAltimetry screenshot with polar projection
NASA’s OpenAltimetry tool allows experienced and new users alike to quickly find and download elevation data through a web browser without the need for costly software or hefty computational resources.
san francisco skyline at night
Several representatives from NSIDC will be attending the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting 2023 to share their expertise and connect with Earth Science experts. We've compiled a list of all sessions in which NSIDC staff are involved, including presentations, posters, workshops and other discussions.
Glaciers, or accumulations of ice and snow that slowly flow over land, are disappearing as the planet heats up because of climate change. In this image, melt from a glacier extending from the Juneau Icefield in Alaska forms braided streams as the glacier retreats. The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space initiative is working to document disappearing glaciers.
Melting glaciers and ice sheets are already the biggest contributors to global sea level rise. Yet, of the approximately 200,000 glaciers in the world currently, no database exists to identify which glaciers have disappeared, and when. The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) initiative, an international project designed to monitor the world's glaciers primarily using data from optical satellite instruments, aims to change that.