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 - Snow Today
Extensive snow cover in the western United States continued in March 2023, surpassing the 2019 record high by 11 percent and doubling last year's average and the 23-year-satellite record average for snow-covered area for March.
Analysis - Sea Ice Today
Sunlight has returned to the highest latitudes in the Arctic, while in the Antarctic autumn is settling in.
Spotlight
In 2006, NSIDC and Argentine researchers landed on two icebergs calved off the Antarctic Peninsula and installed a battery of science instruments on each. NSIDC then tracked the movement of these icebergs as they drifted northward into warmer waters and broke apart.
Ask a Scientist
The formation of the Greenland Ice Sheet was not typical and research shows that it may be more sensitive to natural climate variability than previously thought.
Analysis - Ice Sheets Today
The Antarctic Peninsula has had an intense melt season with above average melting persisting through much of February. Saturated snow from a high melt year and low sea ice in Bellingshausen Sea have led to a series of minor calving events on the Wilkins Ice Shelf. Elsewhere in Antarctica, melting was near average.
Ask a Scientist
By preserving evidence of ancient temperatures and greenhouse gases, ice cores show scientists how much our planet has changed.