Snow Today | National Snow and Ice Data Center
Jun 5, 2024 · Snow-covered area in May 2024 across the western United States was 56 percent above average (Table 1), at 156,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of snow cover, ranking third highest in the 24-year satellite record.
Arctic Weather and Climate | National Snow and Ice Data Center
This bustling harbor in Ilulissat, Greenland, is filled with various kinds of water vessels. Summers in Greenland turn Greenland green. — Credit: Twila Moon, NSIDC Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere, and its short-term variation in minutes to weeks.
Science of Snow - National Snow and Ice Data Center
The sun emerges after heavy snow hit Mount Vernon, Iowa. — Credit: Rich Herrmann/Flickr Snow on the ground. The character of the snow surface after a snowfall depends on the original form of the crystals and on the weather conditions present when the snow fell.
Glacier Quick Facts - National Snow and Ice Data Center
What are ice caps and icefields? An ice cap is a type of glacier, covering less than 50,000 square kilometers (20,000 square miles). Like ice sheets, ice caps tend to spread out in dome-like shapes as opposed to flowing down slopes.
Learn - National Snow and Ice Data Center
Quick facts, basic science, and information about snow, ice, and why the cryosphere matters The cryosphere includes all of the snow and ice-covered regions across the planet.
Science of Glaciers - National Snow and Ice Data Center
Visitors to the terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, South America, listen and observe its dynamic motion. Climate change has yet to affect the Perito Moreno Glacier, mainly because of its particular topographic situation.
Sea Ice Today - National Snow and Ice Data Center
Nov 4, 2024 · Sea ice data is updated daily, with a one-day lag. On occasion, there is data delay which is usually resolved within a few days. The orange line in extent and concentration images (left and middle) and the gray line in the time series (right) indicate 1981 to 2010 average extent for the day shown.
Why Glaciers Matter - National Snow and Ice Data Center
Himalayan river bridges are used to cross rivers during the flood season. As mountain glaciers shrink or disappear, changes to their runoff affects river levels, increases the potential for glacier lake outburst floods, and changes flood severity and frequency.
Homepage | National Snow and Ice Data Center
Starting in 2015, data from the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite were collected using GPS signals. They had been stored, but not processed, because to do so required expertise in Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R), …
Ice Sheet Quick Facts - National Snow and Ice Data Center
A meandering melt stream feeds the supraglacial lake in Greenland, eroding a channel on the ice sheet. — Credit: Ian Joughin/Imaggeo Together, the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets contain more than 99 percent of the fresh water ice on Earth.