NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC)
Enabling researchers and data users to better understand how changes in the cryosphere impact our planet.
Catch up on news and stories about how NSIDC DAAC data are being used in research, as well as spotlights on how you can use the data, tools and resources we offer. If you are using NSIDC DAAC data in your research, teaching, or some other way, let us know and we may feature your work in our next article. Share your story with us today.
News & Stories
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Using NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) data archived at the National Snow and Ice Data Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC), a research team has brought drought forecasting to near real-time.
A newly published study has mapped glacial debris across the Greater Caucasus, the mountainous region between the Black and Caspian Seas. The study found an increasing trend in glacial debris between 2014 and 2020. The authors relied on GLIMS data at NSIDC in their research.
Software engineer and metadata architect Julia Collins discusses how she came to NSIDC, and how she came to appreciate the crucial value of data about data.
In May 2024, our planet experienced one of the strongest solar storms in decades. The most visible (and fun) consequence of the solar storm was a proliferation of auroras. But solar storms pose risks to satellites, including NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) which saw its normal operations interrupted.
The NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) manages a range of MODIS data, making a suite of snow cover and sea ice data products freely accessible to the public. These data can be used to investigate how snow and ice cover have changed over time, to study Earth’s energy balance, and to feed global and polar climate models. Recently, the NSIDC DAAC published a new MODIS data set, MODIS/Terra Global Annual 0.01Deg CMG Snow Cover Climatology, Version 1. This data set focuses on global snow cover climatology from 2001 to 2023 using data from the Terra satellite and presents information using global maps.
The 2023 winter brought record snowfall to California and other parts of the western United States, but unlike rain, snowfall is much more nuanced in its properties. Getting accurate snow depth data over a wide area is not easy. Read more about the challenges of garnering snow data and the tools behind snow data.