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These articles provide answers to frequently asked questions related to Earth's frozen realms. Questions range from general background information and detailed science processes to the data gathered and archived at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and its data management programs including NOAA@NSIDC, the NASA NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC), and the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA). If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact NSIDC User Services.
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The Wilkins Ice Shelf is one of many thick slabs of ice that cling to Antarctica’s coast. Most of the continent’s ice sheet ends in one of these ice extensions that floats on the surrounding ocean water. Like the Larsen Ice Shelf, the Wilkins Ice
Ice shelves are thick slabs of ice that cling to cold-region coastlines. Although some ice shelves form through the accumulation of sea ice, the world’s largest ice shelves are fed by glaciers. When a glacier reaches the coast, the ice floats on near
An ice shelf is a slab of ice, often hundreds of meters thick, that is attached to a coastline and extends over the adjacent ocean waters. Massive ice shelves hug the perimeter of Antarctica. One of them, the Larsen Ice Shelf, underwent a series of
In the Rocky Mountains, as in many mountain ranges worldwide, snowpack is getting dirtier. Winds carry fine sediment particles from arid regions, and dust lofted high enough into the atmosphere can travel hundreds or even thousands of miles. Contents
Yes, satellite sensors sometimes observe sea ice in locations where there is no ice. This problem most often arises along rivers and near coastlines, and it results from limitations in sensor resolution. Ups and downs of passive microwave NSIDC
Sea ice melt near Greenland can affect ice on the island in a couple ways. As sea ice retreats from the fronts of marine-terminating glaciers, the glaciers lose stability and may flow faster. In addition, earlier onset of sea ice melt near Greenland