Cryosphere Data Access and Tools

NASA data range from measuring the current and historical extent of snow and ice to tracking its formation and melting. Our datasets and tools help researchers translate these interconnected data points into actionable knowledge.

Dataset	Geographic Region	Temporal Extent	Data Format	Potential Application Areas	Related Subtopics
ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Level 1 ScanSAR Product	Global	2014-08-01 to Present		Sea ice coverage and movement tracking	sea ice
ARIA Sentinel-1 Geocoded Unwrapped Interferograms	Global	2014-06-15 to Present		Glacier flow velocity estimation	glaciers, ice sheets
ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data V006	Global	2018-10-13 to Present	HDF5	Sea ice freeboard determination Ice sheet mass balance studies	glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice
ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land Ice Height V006	Global	2018-10-14 to Present	HDF5	Ice sheet mass balance assessment Glacier thinning rate monitoring Ice sheet contribution to sea level rise Ice flow dynamics research Ice shelf stability monitoring Climate model validation for ice processes Cryosphere change detection Water resource planning in glaciated regions	glaciers, ice sheets
ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Sea Ice Height V006	Global	2018-10-14 to Present	HDF5	Sea ice thickness estimation Ice volume calculation for mass balance Arctic shipping route safety assessment Climate model validation for sea ice Ice age and type discrimination	sea ice
GLIMS Glacier Database, Version 1	Global	1850-01-01 to Present	WMS WFS GML ASCII Shapefile KML	Global glacier inventory and monitoring Water resource planning in glaciated regions Glacier hazard identification Long-term glacier change detection	glaciers, ice sheets
MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061	Global	2000-02-24 to Present	HDF-EOS2	Snow extent mapping and monitoring Climate model validation for snow cover Flood risk prediction from snowmelt Cold region transportation planning Albedo feedback studies in climate research	snow ice
MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance Daily L2G Global 250m SIN Grid V061	Global	2000-02-24 to Present	HDF-EOS2	Snow cover mapping	snow ice
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSMIS Daily Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations, Version 2	Arctic, Antarctica, Polar, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere	2021-11-01 to Present	NetCDF-4 PNG	Sea ice edge position tracking Rapid response to changing ice conditions	sea ice
OPERA Surface Displacement from Sentinel-1 validated product (Version 1)	Global	2016-07-01 to Present	NetCDF-4 XML PNG Zarr	Ice sheet and glacier movement tracking	glaciers, ice sheets
RSS SSMIS OCEAN PRODUCT GRIDS 3-DAY AVERAGE FROM DMSP F17 NETCDF V7	Global	2006-12-12 to Present	NetCDF-4	Sea ice edge mapping in polar regions	sea ice
Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data, Version 2	Polar	1978-10-26 to Present	NetCDF-4 PNG	Long-term sea ice trend analysis Arctic amplification studies Polar ecosystem management Polar climate feedback mechanism research Multi-decadal ice variability studies	sea ice
SENTINEL-1B_DUAL_POL_GRD_HIGH_RES	Global	2016-04-25 to 2021-12-24		Snow cover extent monitoring	frozen ground, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, snow ice
SENTINEL-1B_SLC	Global	2016-04-25 to 2021-12-24		Coherence analysis for subtle change detection Polarimetric target characterization Glacier velocity measurement and ice monitoring	frozen ground, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, snow ice
VIIRS/JPSS1 Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 375m SIN Grid, Version 2	Global	2018-01-05 to Present	HDF-EOS5	High-resolution snow extent monitoring Snowmelt timing detection	snow ice
VIIRS/NPP Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 375m SIN Grid, Version 2	Global	2012-01-19 to Present	HDF-EOS5	Daily snow cover extent mapping Snow accumulation and ablation monitoring Water supply forecasting in snowmelt-dependent regions Winter storm impact assessment	snow ice
VIIRS/NPP Imagery Resolution 6-Min L1B Swath 375 m	Global	2012-01-19 to Present	NetCDF	Ice edge and sea ice monitoring	sea ice

Cryosphere Datasets

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Dataset Sort descending	Version	Platform	Instrument	Temporal Extent	Spatial Extent	Spatial Resolution	Data Format
Global Glacier Debris Thickness Estimates and Sub-Debris Melt Factors V001	1	LANDSAT-8, MODELS	OLI, NOT APPLICABLE	2000-01-01 to 2018-12-31	N: 84 S: -56 E: 180 W: -180		XML, GeoTIFF, CSV, ASCII
Global PyGEM-OGGM Glacier Projections with RCP and SSP Scenarios V001	1	MODELS	NOT APPLICABLE	2000-01-01 to 2100-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		netCDF-4
Global Sentinel-1 Burst ID Map	1	Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-1B	C-SAR	2022-05-30	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
GPM Ground Validation Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) 2014 IFloodS V3	3	DMSP 5D-3/F17, NOAA-18, METOP-B, NOAA-19, DMSP 5D-3/F16, DMSP 5D-3/F18, METOP-A, GCOM-W1	SSMIS, MHS, AMSR2	2013-03-31 to 2013-07-02	N: 51.9073 S: 32.0518 E: -59.9776 W: -123.83		HDF5
GPM Ground Validation Met One Rain Gauge Pairs IFloodS Version 1	1	GROUND STATIONS				30.5 cm	ASCII
GPM Ground Validation Met One Rain Gauge Pairs MC3E Version 1	1	GROUND STATIONS				30.5 cm	TAR/TGZ
GPM Ground Validation Two-Dimensional Video Disdrometer (2DVD) C3VP V1	1	GROUND STATIONS	2DVD	2006-12-02 to 2007-04-09	N: 44.2432 S: 44.2232 E: -79.7706 W: -79.7906		ASCII
GPM GROUND VALIDATION TWO-DIMENSIONAL VIDEO DISDROMETER (2DVD) WFF Version 1	1	GROUND STATIONS	2DVD			point	ASCII
High Mountain Asia 1 km MODIS-AIRS Gap-Filled Ground Temperatures and Permafrost Probability Maps, 2003-2016 V001	1	Aqua, Terra	AIRS, MODIS	2003-01-01 to 2016-12-31	N: 45 S: 22.7 E: 106.7 W: 63	1 Kilometers x 1 Kilometers	netCDF-4
High Mountain Asia 2 m DEM, Surface Velocity, and Lagrangian Surface Mass Balance for Select Debris Covered Glaciers V001	1	GEOEYE-1, WORLDVIEW-1, WORLDVIEW-2, WORLDVIEW-3	GIS, WV60, WV110	2012-12-23 to 2017-12-22	N: 28.39 S: 28.2 E: 85.77 W: 85.51 , N: 28.12 S: 27.85 E: 87 W: 86.64	2 Meters x 2 Meters	GeoTIFF
High Mountain Asia Annual 90m Glacier Surface Melt/Freeze Phenology from SAR Imagery V001	1	Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-1B	C-SAR	2017-01-01 to 2020-12-31	N: 39.3278838 S: 15.9481506 E: 105.0568047 W: 60.8416366	90 Meters x 90 Meters	GeoTIFF
High Mountain Asia ASCAT Freeze/Thaw/Melt Status V001	1	METOP, METOP-A, METOP-B	ASCAT	2009-01-01 to 2017-10-12	N: 44.683 S: 19.125 E: 105.577 W: 63.427	4.45 Kilometers x 4.45 Kilometers	PNG, HDF5, GeoTIFF
High Mountain Asia Average Glacier Thickness Change from Multi-Sensor DEMs V001	1	HEXAGON KH-9, Terra	CAMERA, ASTER	1974-01-01 to 2017-12-31	N: 34.4 S: 27.4 E: 92.9 W: 75.4	30 Meters x 30 Meters	Shapefile, KML
High Mountain Asia COAWST 6-Hourly 4km Regional Climate Model Simulations V001	1	MODELS	NOT APPLICABLE	1999-10-01 to 2014-10-01	N: 46.34996 S: 20.96392 E: 120.8316 W: 49.1684	4 Kilometers x 4 Kilometers	netCDF-3
High Mountain Asia COAWST Daily 4km Regional Climate Model Simulations V001	1	MODELS	NOT APPLICABLE	1999-10-01 to 2014-09-30	N: 46.34996 S: 20.96392 E: 120.8316 W: 49.1684	4 Kilometers x 4 Kilometers	netCDF-4
High Mountain Asia COAWST Hourly 4km Regional Climate Model Simulations V001	1	MODELS	NOT APPLICABLE	1999-10-01 to 2014-10-01	N: 46.34996 S: 20.96392 E: 120.8316 W: 49.1684	4 Kilometers x 4 Kilometers	netCDF-3
High Mountain Asia COAWST Monthly 4km Regional Climate Model Simulations V001	1	MODELS	NOT APPLICABLE	1999-10-01 to 2014-09-30	N: 46.34996 S: 20.96392 E: 120.8316 W: 49.1684	4 Kilometers x 4 Kilometers	netCDF-4
High Mountain Asia Glacier Thickness Change Mosaics from Multi-Sensor DEMs V001	1	HEXAGON KH-9, Terra	CAMERA, ASTER	1974-01-01 to 2017-12-31	N: 34.4 S: 27.4 E: 92.9 W: 75.4	30 Meters x 30 Meters	PNG, GeoTIFF
High Mountain Asia Gridded Glacier Thickness Change from Multi-Sensor DEMs V001	1	HEXAGON KH-9, Terra	CAMERA, ASTER	1974-01-01 to 2017-12-31	N: 34.4 S: 27.4 E: 92.9 W: 75.4	30 Meters x 30 Meters	netCDF-4, GeoTIFF
High Mountain Asia Langtang Snow Bidirectional Reflectance Factor V001	1	GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS	IceCube	2018-04-23 to 2018-04-24	N: 28.23525 S: 28.23525 E: 85.61268 W: 85.61268		netCDF-3
High Mountain Asia Langtang Snow Properties V001	1	GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS	IceCube	2018-04-23 to 2018-04-24	N: 28.21502 S: 28.21502 E: 85.60986 W: 85.60986 , N: 28.23464 S: 28.23464 E: 85.60918 W: 85.60918 , N: 28.23467 S: 28.23467 E: 85.60915 W: 85.60915		ASCII
High Mountain Asia Near-Global Multi-Decadal Glacial Lake Inventory V001	1	LANDSAT-4, LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7, LANDSAT-8	MSS, TM, ETM+, OLI, TIRS	1990-01-01 to 2018-12-31	N: 82.6 S: -55.4 E: 180 W: -180	30 Meters x 30 Meters	Shapefile
High Mountain Asia PyGEM Glacier Projections with RCP Scenarios V001	1	MODELS	NOT APPLICABLE	2000-10-01 to 2100-09-30	N: 45 S: 25 E: 105 W: 65		netCDF-4
High Mountain Asia Rasterized PyGEM Glacier Projections with RCP Scenarios V001	1	MODELS	NOT APPLICABLE	2000-10-01 to 2100-10-15	N: 51.8 S: 7.4 E: 135.1 W: 56.5		netCDF-4, GeoTIFF
High Mountain Asia Supraglacial Lake Extents on Debris Covered Glaciers, 1988-2023 V001	1	LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7, LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-9	MSS, ETM+, OLI, OLI-2	1988-01-01 to 2023-12-31	N: 42.45 S: 22.57 E: 101.99 W: 70.03	30 Meters x 30 Meters	Shapefile

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Cryosphere Data Access and Tools

Commonly Used Datasets for Applications in the Cryosphere

Cryosphere Datasets

Cryosphere Data Tools

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