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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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Like El Niño and La Niña, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) is a big-picture of atmospheric conditions that influence weather. The AO, which alternates between two distinct modes, describes how pressure patterns are distributed over the Arctic region and
We’ve all heard it: Arctic sea ice is melting. Sea ice is thinner year to year and there is less of it. In 2007, scientists observed a nearly 50 percent loss of summer ice as compared to 1980. With such a dramatic shift, what else is taking place in
The Big One The Great Arctic Cyclone of 2012 lifted out of Siberia on August 2, swirling in a counter-clockwise rotation up into the Arctic. As one of the most extreme Arctic cyclones ever recorded, its consumption of an already low sea ice extent
For the past decade, Greenland’s ice sheet has been losing its ice more rapidly, raising concerns about its contribution to sea level rise. A recent study, published in Nature, proposes that Greenland could slow its shedding of ice from its massive
As the Arctic Ocean becomes increasingly ice-free, many countries are eager to tap into previously inaccessible northern resources. Energy companies seek drilling permits for oil and natural gas, and shipping companies hope to ply newly opened sea
NSIDC Sea Ice Today relies on sea ice extent and concentration data from satellite sensors operated by the United States Department of Defense, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS). The