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

The pace of sea ice decline in April was near average, while sea ice extent ranked fourth lowest in the satellite record.

SWE probability map
Analysis - Snow Today
April 1 is historically viewed as nearing the maximum Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). The Rockies show less than a 50 percent probability of reaching maximum SWE in March while the Sierra Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico...
Analysis - Sea Ice Today

After reaching its annual maximum on March 5, Arctic sea ice extent remained stable for several days before it started clearly declining. Continuing the pattern of this past winter, the Arctic Oscillation was in a persistently positive phase.

The Polarstern and the Fedorov sidled up to each other to exchange personnel and equipment via cranes on deck. Sea ice floats between them. Credit: Sean Horvath
Feature Story
An advisee of National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) scientist Julienne Stroeve, Sean Horvath, a PhD candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder was one of twenty students chosen from six countries to take part in the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) School. This is his experience.
Graph of declining snow cover
Analysis - Snow Today
February continued to see a trend of below average snow cover across the Western United States. Late January and early February storms replenished snow cover in some areas, but drought continues to impact California.