Submit NASA Data to NSIDC DAAC
Getting started
The NSIDC DAAC archives and distributes NASA data for both scientists and nonscientists. Researchers can use the data to study our planet’s frozen regions and their role in global climate and other Earth systems. Non-research data uses range from military operations to crop monitoring in the United States and abroad. This page outlines our data publication policies and standards. The content here is a guide for data producers.
The benefits of publishing NASA-funded data with NSIDC DAAC
There are many benefits to publishing your NASA-funded data in an open data NASA repository like the NSIDC DAAC. Open data enables open science, the concept that scientific research should be accessible, transparent, and reproducible. This approach makes science more global and collaborative, and accelerates discovery. In addition, when you publish your data with the NSIDC DAAC:
- You get credit for archived data products and their subsequent use.
- Your data are preserved and documented by a center that is a CoreTrustSeal-certified Regular Member of the World Data System (WDS), signifying that we provide reliable, high quality data services
- The DAAC's process of QA and documentation ensures the quality of your data so that others can readily understand and use it both in the near future and in the long-term.
- Your data are easily discoverable amidst a vast data catalog of complimentary cryosphere data at NSIDC and in NASA’s Earthdata Search thus increasing the reach and relevance of your data.
- All NSIDC DAAC data is available in Earthdata Cloud, which offers improved data access compared to on-premise storage, enabling users to more easily work with large quantities of data, collaborate, and develop shared tools.
- A broader group of scientists and data users can find, understand, and use your data to address a wider variety of questions.
What data can be published at NSIDC DAAC?
NASA DAACs are discipline-specific repositories providing expert curation of data and metadata. Data published at the NSIDC DAAC must be approved by the NASA Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) program.
There are two categories of data which are published at NSIDC DAAC
| Assigned missions and projects | Data resulting from missions and projects assigned to NSIDC DAAC are already approved to be published at the DAAC. The active NASA missions and projects assigned to NSIDC DAAC are:
To publish a new data product or update an existing product that is produced through one of these missions or projects: |
|---|---|
| Community-produced data |
Important Notice from NASA, as of January 2026: ESDIS continues to be committed to the preservation and stewardship of standard products generated by NASA’s Earth Science missions. However, ESDIS is unable to consider unsolicited data archival requests at this time. We recognize and appreciate your efforts to produce and share quality Earth science data. NASA is working on a solution for NASA-funded data providers that need a repository to store their datasets in support of open science and publishing requirements. We will provide details once they are available. NASA’s resource Where to Share Data provides additional guidance and a list of alternative repositories that meet SPD-41a requirements. NASA is working on a way to make NASA-funded data archived at non-NASA repositories discoverable through Earth Science Data System (ESDS) interfaces. If you have any questions please reach out to nsidc@nsidc.org Data produced by the cryospheric community can be considered for publication at NSIDC DAAC if any of the following criteria are met:
To request that your data be published at NSIDC DAAC: |
If you are not sure which category best represents your data, please contact nsidc@nsidc.org