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As climate changes, how do Earth's frozen areas affect our planet and impact society?
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![Glaciers, or accumulations of ice and snow that slowly flow over land, are disappearing as the planet heats up because of climate change. In this image, melt from a glacier extending from the Juneau Icefield in Alaska forms braided streams as the glacier retreats. The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space initiative is working to document disappearing glaciers. Glaciers, or accumulations of ice and snow that slowly flow over land, are disappearing as the planet heats up because of climate change. In this image, melt from a glacier extending from the Juneau Icefield in Alaska forms braided streams as the glacier retreats. The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space initiative is working to document disappearing glaciers.](/sites/default/files/styles/content_wwo_desktop/public/images/Other/glacier_twilamoon.jpg.webp?itok=SNYO4Nxn)
Spotlight
Melting glaciers and ice sheets are already the biggest contributors to global sea level rise. Yet, of the approximately 200,000 glaciers in the world currently, no database exists to identify which glaciers have disappeared, and when. The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) initiative, an international project designed to monitor the world's glaciers primarily using data from optical satellite instruments, aims to change that.
![NASA Earth-Orbiting Satellites NASA Earth-Orbiting Satellites](/sites/default/files/styles/content_wwo_desktop/public/images/Other/eosatellites.png.webp?itok=_VQG95ET)
Spotlight
In 1993, NASA contracted the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder to steward snow- and ice-related data, forming the NSIDC DAAC. The year 2023 marks 30 years that NSIDC has operated the NASA snow and ice DAAC.
![Graph of ice sheet mass loss, 1992-2021 Graph of ice sheet mass loss, 1992-2021](/sites/default/files/styles/content_wwo_desktop/public/images/Other/graph-IMBIE-IceSheetMass-1992-2021.png.webp?itok=kVWBn_EO)
Ice Sheet Analysis
NSIDC has launched an upgraded and streamlined Ice Sheets Today website. The new site replaces the site previously known as Greenland Today and Antarctica Today. Ice Sheets Today offers easy access to melt statistics and scientific analysis of ice sheet conditions.
![NASA is moving their Earth science data over to the Earthdata Cloud, a commercial cloud environment hosted in Amazon Web Services. This illustration reflects that move NASA is moving their Earth science data over to the Earthdata Cloud, a commercial cloud environment hosted in Amazon Web Services. This illustration reflects that move](/sites/default/files/styles/content_wwo_desktop/public/images/Other/earthdatacloudcookbookfigure1.jpeg.webp?itok=JMoSJwoL)
Spotlight
As NASA moves their Earth science data over to the Earthdata Cloud, a commercial cloud environment hosted in Amazon Web Services, the NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) are shoring up resources to help users adopt a cloud-based workflow as smoothly as possible. One such resource is the NASA Earthdata Cloud Cookbook, a learning-oriented resource to support scientific researchers who use NASA Earth data as NASA migrates data to the cloud.
![Snow in Clyde River Snow in Clyde River](/sites/default/files/styles/content_wwo_desktop/public/images/Event/event_snowmobile_rainonsnow.png.webp?itok=0NumdM3V)
Feature Story
Discover how scientists and community members in the hamlet of Clyde River, Canada came together to unravel the mysteries behind severe winter events and their links to climate change.
![Arctic sea ice extent, September 19, 2023 Arctic sea ice extent, September 19, 2023](/sites/default/files/styles/content_wwo_desktop/public/images/Data/arcticextentsept19.png.webp?itok=w46Zmpd7)
News Release
Arctic sea ice has likely reached its minimum extent for the year, at 4.23 million square kilometers (1.63 million square miles) on September 19, 2023, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder. The 2023 minimum is ranked sixth lowest in the nearly 45-year satellite record.