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
MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF Model Parameters Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V061	061	Terra, Aqua	MODIS	2000-02-24 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	1000 Meters x 1000 Meters	HDF-EOS2
MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Surface BRF Daily L2G Global 500m, 1km and 10km SIN Grid V006	006	Terra, Aqua	MODIS	2000-02-26 to 2023-02-17	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	500 Meters x 500 Meters	HDF-EOS2
Multilayer Greenland Ice Surface Temperature, Surface Albedo, and Water Vapor from MODIS V001	1	Terra	MODIS	2000-03-01 to 2021-08-31	N: 84 S: 58 E: 12 W: -94	0.78 Kilometers x 0.78 Kilometers	netCDF-4
NCA-LDAS Noah-3.3 Land Surface Model L4 Daily 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NCALDAS_NOAH0125_D) at GES DISC	2.0	Noah-LSM	NOT APPLICABLE	1979-01-02 to 2016-12-31	N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125	0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees
Near-Real-Time AMSR2 EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent V001	1	GCOM-W1	AMSR2	2024-01-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers	HDF-EOS4, HDF-EOS2
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSMIS Daily Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations V002	2	DMSP 5D-3/F16, DMSP 5D-3/F17, DMSP 5D-3/F18	SSMIS	2024-01-01 to 2026-01-14	N: 90 S: 30.98 E: 180 W: -180 , N: -39.23 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers	PNG, netCDF-4
Near-Real-Time SSM/I EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent V002	2	DMSP 5D-2/F13	SSM/I	1995-05-04 to 2009-09-11	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers	HDF-EOS2
Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent V003	3	DMSP 5D-3/F16	SSMIS	2012-01-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers	HDF-EOS2
Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent V004	4	DMSP 5D-3/F17	SSMIS	2009-08-17 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers	HDF-EOS2
Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent V005	5	DMSP 5D-3/F18	SSMIS	2016-12-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers	HDF-EOS2
Nimbus Ice Edge Points from Nimbus Visible Imagery L2, CSV V001	1	Nimbus-1, Nimbus-2, Nimbus-3	AVCS Nimbus-1, CAMERAS, AVCS Nimbus-2, IDCS Nimbus-3	1966-05-15 to 1966-09-02	N: -50 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 , N: 90 S: 50 E: 180 W: -180	5 Kilometers x 5 Kilometers	ASCII
NISAR Beta Geocoded Pixel Offsets (Version 1)	1	NISAR	L-SAR, S-SAR	2025-10-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		HDF5, XML, YAML, PNG, KML, CSV, PDF
NISAR Beta Geocoded Polarimetric Covariance Product (Version 1)	1	NISAR	L-SAR, S-SAR	2025-10-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		HDF5, PNG, XML, PDF, CSV, KML, YAML
NISAR Beta Geocoded Single Look Complex Product (Version 1)	1	NISAR	L-SAR, S-SAR	2025-10-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		HDF5, PNG, XML, PDF, CSV, KML, YAML
NISAR Beta Geocoded Unwrapped Interferogram Product (Version 1)	1	NISAR	L-SAR, S-SAR	2025-10-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		HDF5, PNG, XML, PDF, CSV, KML, YAML
NISAR Beta Range Doppler Pixel Offsets (Version 1)	1	NISAR	L-SAR, S-SAR	2025-10-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		HDF5, XML, YAML, PNG, KML, CSV, PDF
NISAR Beta Range Doppler Single Look Complex Product (Version 1)	1	NISAR	L-SAR, S-SAR	2025-10-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		HDF5, XML, PNG, PDF, CSV, KML, YAML
NISAR Beta Range Doppler Unwrapped Interferogram Product (Version 1)	1	NISAR	L-SAR, S-SAR	2025-10-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		HDF5, XML, YAML, PNG, KML, CSV, PDF
NISAR Beta Range Doppler Wrapped Interferogram Product (Version 1)	1	NISAR	L-SAR, S-SAR	2025-10-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		HDF5, XML, YAML, PNG, KML, CSV, PDF
Northern Hemisphere Ice Cover Monthly Statistics at 1 Degree Resolution V001 (NHICEM) at GES DISC	001	GOES	AVHRR	2000-01-01 to 2014-11-30	N: 90 S: 0 E: 180 W: -180	1 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees
Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover Monthly Statistics at 1 Degree Resolution V001 (NHSNOWM) at GES DISC	001	GOES	AVHRR	2000-01-01 to 2014-11-30	N: 90 S: 0 E: 180 W: -180	1 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees
NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 12.5 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V0	0	GCOM-W1	AMSR2			12.5 km x 12.5 km	HDF-EOS-5
NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 12.5 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V1	0	GCOM-W1	AMSR2			12.5 km x 12.5 km	HDF-EOS-5
NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 12.5 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V2	2	GCOM-W1	AMSR2			12.5 km x 12.5 km	HDF-EOS-5
NRT AMSR2 DAILY L3 25 KM TB AND SEA ICE CONCENTRATION POLAR GRIDS V0	0	GCOM-W1	AMSR2			25 km x 25 km	HDF-EOS-5

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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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