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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NSIDC DAAC
News Release

NASA has selected the University of Colorado Boulder for the management and operations of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

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Spotlight
Through the Advanced Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service (ACADIS) project, NSIDC, in collaboration with NCAR, has put together a data search tool that will make data search easier for scientists who study the Arctic.
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Feature Story
To understand how small, regional processes are behaving, scientists are turning to the Arctic’s long-time residents. ELOKA with its partners has developed several digital atlases that are due to launch during the summer months of 2013. Many Arctic Indigenous communities are learning to apply observation and monitoring practices in new and collaborative ways.
Bar graph of sea ice extent in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas as of July 12.
Analysis - Sea Ice Today

Sea ice extent retreated fairly rapidly through the first two weeks of July as a high pressure cell moved into the central Arctic, bringing warmer temperatures over much of the Arctic Ocean.

Analysis - Sea Ice Today

Arctic sea ice continues to track below average but remains well above the levels seen last year. The relatively slow ice loss is a reflection of the prevailing temperature and wind patterns.

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Analysis - Ice Sheets Today
Surface melting of the snow and ice of the Greenland Ice Sheet had a slightly late start, but quickly spread over a significant area, extending over more than 20% of the ice sheet in early June and reaching above 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) elevation in some areas.