The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

information and referral center in support of

polar Polar may refer to: Geography Polar may refer to: * Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates * Polar climate, the c ...

and cryospheric

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

. NSIDC archives and distributes digital and analog snow and ice data and also maintains information about

snow cover Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at Las ...

s, freshwater

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

, sea ice, ground ice,

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

, atmospheric ice, paleo

glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climato ...

, and

ice core An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet or a high mountain glacier. Since the ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper ones, and an ice core contains ic ...

s. NSIDC is part of the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

Boulder

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is a research institute that is sponsored jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and the Un ...

(CIRES), and is affiliated with the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information through a cooperative agreement. NSIDC serves as one of twelve

Distributed Active Archive Centers The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is a key core capability in NASA’s Earth Science Data Systems Program. Designed and maintained by Raytheon Intelligence & Space, it is a comprehensive data and information system de ...

funded by the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

to archive and distribute data from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

's past and current satellites and field measurement programs. NSIDC also supports the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

through the

Exchange For Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic The Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic, oELOKA is an Arctic research data management program that combines local traditional knowledge (LTK) and local observations data from Indigenous Arctic residents utilizing effective ...

(ELOKA) and other scientific research grants. NSIDC is also a member of the ICSU World Data System.

Mark Serreze Mark Clifford Serreze (born 1960) is an American geographer and the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), a project of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. H ...

is the director of NSIDC.

History

The

World Data Center The World Data Centre (WDC) system was created to archive and distribute data collected from the observational programmes of the 1957–1958 International Geophysical Year by the International Council of Science ( ICSU). The WDCs were funded and ...

(WDC) for

Glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climato ...

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

, a data center responsible for archiving all available glaciological information, was established at the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

under Dr. William O. Field, Director, in 1957. Between 1971 and 1976 it was operated by the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

, Glaciology Project Office, under the direction of Dr. Mark F. Meier. In 1976, responsibility for the WDC for Glaciology was transferred to NOAA,

Environmental Data and Information Service The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(EDIS), and the center moved to the University of Colorado at Boulder under the direction of Professor Roger G. Barry. In 1982, NOAA created the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) as a means to expand the WDC holdings and as a place to archive data from some NOAA programs. In the 1980s and 1990s, support to NSIDC widened with NASA funding for the

Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

(DAAC) and NSF funding to manage selected

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

data and

metadata Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...

Milestones

* 1957-58: First International Geophysical Year * 1957: U.S. National Committee for the IGY awards the operation of WDC-A for Glaciology to the American Geographical Society * 1970: WDC for Glaciology transfers from the American Geographical Society to the U.S. Geological Survey in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

* 1976: WDC for Glaciology transfers from the U.S. Geological Survey in Tacoma, Washington to the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado under the direction of Roger Barry * 1982: NOAA designates the National Snow and Ice Data Center * 1983: NSIDC receives grant from NASA for archiving

Nimbus 7 Nimbus 7 (also called Nimbus G) was a meteorological satellite. It was the seventh and last in a series of the Nimbus program. Launch Nimbus 7 was launched on October 24, 1978, by a Delta rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Uni ...

passive

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ran ...

data * 1990: NSIDC receives funding from NSF for Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Data Coordination Center ( ADCC) * 1993: NSIDC receives first DAAC contract * 1996:

Antarctic Data Coordination Center The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

(ADCC) established with NSF support * 1999:

Antarctic Glaciological Data Center The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

(AGDC) established with NSF support * 2001: NSIDC celebrates its 25th Anniversary * 2002: Frozen Ground Data Center established with

International Arctic Research Center The International Arctic Research Center, or IARC, established in 1999, is a research institution focused on integrating and coordinating study of Climate change in the Arctic. The primary partners in IARC are Japan and the United States. Parti ...

(IARC) support * 2003: Full suite of

Earth Observing System The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a program of NASA comprising a series of artificial satellite missions and scientific instruments in Earth orbit designed for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans ...

(EOS) cryospheric sensors ( AMSR, GLAS, MODIS) in orbit * 2009: Mark Serreze named NSIDC director

International interactions

International science and data management programs facilitate the free exchange of data and accelerate research aimed at understanding the role of the cryosphere in the Earth system. NSIDC contributes to a number of international programs. Most of these programs, only a few of which are mentioned here, fall under the aegis of the

International Council of Scientific Unions The International Council for Science (ICSU, after its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions) was an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the advancement of science. Its members ...

(ICSU). NSIDC scientists participate in

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG; french: Union géodésique et géophysique internationale, UGGI) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the scientific study of Earth and its space environment us ...

(IUGG),

International Association of Cryospheric Sciences The International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) is the eighth association of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). It was launched by the IUGG Council on 4 July 2007, developing from the International Commission o ...

(IACS), and in activities of the

International Permafrost Association The International Permafrost Association (IPA), founded in 1983, has as its objectives to foster the dissemination of knowledge concerning permafrost and to promote cooperation among persons and national or international organisations engaged in ...

(IPA), the

Global Digital Sea Ice Data Bank Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * Global (Paul van Dyk album), ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * Global (Bunji Garlin album), ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * Global (Humanoid album), ''Gl ...

(GDSIDB), and the

World Climate Research Programme The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is an international programme that helps to coordinate global climate research. The WCRP was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Inter ...

(WCRP), including Climate and Cryosphere (CliC),

Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment The Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project (abbreviated GEWEX, formerly named the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment from 1990 to 2012) is an international research project and a core project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). ...

(GEWEX), the

Global Climate Observing System The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) was established in 1992 as an outcome of the Second World Climate Conference, to ensure that the observations and information needed to address climate-related issues are obtained and made available to ...

(GCOS), and the

Global Earth Observation System of Systems The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) was built by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) on the basis of a 10-Year Implementation Plan running from 2005 to 2015. GEOSS seeks to connect the producers of environmental data and decisi ...

(GEOSS). Former NSIDC Director, Roger G. Barry, was co-Vice Chair of the WCRP CliC Scientific Steering Group until 2005, and was a member of the GCOS/

Global Terrestrial Observing System Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

(GTOS) Terrestrial Observation Panel for Climate through 2007.

Research

Researchers at NSIDC investigate the dynamics of Antarctic ice shelves, new techniques for the remote sensing of snow and freeze/thaw cycle of soils, the role of snow in

hydrologic Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

modeling, linkages between changes in sea ice extent and weather patterns, large-scale shifts in polar climate, river and lake ice, and the distribution and characteristics of seasonally and permanently frozen ground. In-house scientists pursue their work as part of the CIRES Cryospheric and Polar Process Division,

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

. NSIDC also monitors Arctic and Antarctic sea ice in near real time, and regularly posts sea ice extent data and analysis on it
Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis
page.

Local and traditional knowledge

A research project of the NSIDC is the Exchange For Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic or ELOKA. It is a collaborative international effort that was launched during the 2007–2009 International Polar Year. ELOKA facilitates the collection, preservation, exchange, and use of local observations and knowledge of the Arctic. Data management and user support are provided by ELOKA while it fosters collaboration between resident Arctic experts and visiting researchers. By working together, Arctic residents and researchers have made significant contributions to our understanding of the Arctic and recent changes to it. A key challenge of local and

traditional knowledge Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge generally refer to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. According to the World Intellectual Property Organ ...

(LTK) research and community-based monitoring is having an effective and appropriate means of recording, storing, and managing data and information. There is also the issue of finding an effective means of making such data available to Arctic residents and researchers, as well as other interested groups such as teachers, students, and decision makers. Without a network and data management system to support LTK and community-based research, a number of problems have arisen. ELOKA aims to fill this gap.

References

External links

NSIDC main page

NSIDC Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis

Icelights
a regular column by cryosphere experts and questions from the public
Serious Science
an interview with NSIDC lead scientist Ted Scambos from
The Antarctic Sun
' {{authority control Glaciology of the United States Earth sciences organizations Snow and Ice Data Center Scientific organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1957 1957 establishments in Colorado