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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Feature Story
Antarctica's remote location and harsh conditions make it extremely difficult to map its thousands of miles of jagged coastline, its remote mountain ranges, and its vast ice sheet. NSIDC scientists helped solve that problem by combining more than 260 satellite images, mapping the surface and topography of the continent into a product called the Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA).
Analysis - Sea Ice Today
An eventful summer sea ice melt season has ended in the Arctic. Ice extent reached its low for the year, the third lowest in the satellite record, on 19 September.
Analysis - Sea Ice Today
After appearing to reach its annual minimum extent on September 10, and beginning to freeze up, Arctic sea ice again declined for several days.
Analysis - Sea Ice Today
Arctic sea ice appears to have reached its annual minimum extent on 10 September. The minimum ice extent was the third-lowest in the satellite record, after 2007 and 2008, and continues the trend of decreasing summer sea ice.
Spotlight
One NSIDC researcher never leaves the field—Shari Gearheard lives year-round in the Inuit community of Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), Nunavut, Canada, where she works with native Inuit to link their traditional knowledge of the environment with climate science. Here Gearheard talks about her life and work in the far North.