News & Stories
Across the globe, snow and ice play a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate and providing freshwater resources to people, plants, and animals.
As Earth’s frozen regions change rapidly, NSIDC is committed to growing its research and open access data to better understand these changes. Read about NSIDC research and its contribution to science and policy making. Check out spotlights on how to use NSIDC data, tools, and resources. Learn about how we steward data and collaborate with scientists and organizations across the world to understand how the frozen parts of Earth affect the rest of the planet and impact society.
News and stories
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Analysis - Sea Ice Today
Following the pattern seen in recent years, autumn freeze up has been slow in the Arctic, reflecting the growing heat gain in the ocean mixed layer during summer and higher air temperatures. In the Antarctic, the rate of spring ice loss slowed somewhat during November, ending the month above the extreme low levels of 2016 and 2023.
Spotlight
Starting in 2015, data from the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite were collected using GPS signals. They had been stored, but not processed, because to do so required expertise in
Analysis - Ice Sheets Today
The 2024 melt season for the Greenland Ice Sheet ended with the second-lowest cumulative daily melt extent in this century, ranking twenty-eighth in the satellite record, which began in 1979. A late summer heat wave along the northwestern ice sheet closed out the season.
Feature Story
Using NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) data archived at the National Snow and Ice Data Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC), a research team has brought drought forecasting to near real-time.
Spotlight
A newly published study has mapped glacial debris across the Greater Caucasus, the mountainous region between the Black and Caspian Seas. The study found an increasing trend in glacial debris between 2014 and 2020. The authors relied on GLIMS data at NSIDC in their research.