Cryosphere
Cryospheric variables include sea ice concentration, sea ice thickness, snow cover, glacier extent, and more. Overview pages summarize and compare selected datasets of a given variable.
To find a specific dataset or variable, jump to the search box below or click your desired variable from among the blue sub-category buttons.
To view only the datasets with commentaries from experts, select the "Datasets with guidance" button when using the search box.
Climate datasets

Years of record
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The Snow Cover Extent Climate Data Record extends from the late 1960s to present. Historical analyses based on visual inspection have been digitized and combined…
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Timestep
- Monthly, Weekly
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Domain
- North America
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Collections
- Climate Data Record, Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, landdiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Estilow, Thomas W. | Robinson, David

Years of record
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"This data set offers users 25 km Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent represented by four different variables. Three of the snow cover variables are derived…
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Formats
- netCDF
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Timestep
- Daily
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Domain
- NH - Northern Hemisphere
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Collections
- N/A
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A

Years of record
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"This data set offers users weekly 100 km Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent represented by three different variables. Two of the variables are derived from…
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Formats
- netCDF
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Timestep
- Weekly
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Domain
- NH - Northern Hemisphere
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Collections
- Climate Data Record
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A

Years of record
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This data set comprises global, monthly satellite-derived snow water equivalent (SWE) climatologies from November 1978 through May 2007, and is updated with more…
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Formats
- binary
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Timestep
- Monthly
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Collections
- N/A
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A

Years of record
- N/A
While satellite observations of sea ice extent and concentration are available from 1979, long-term high quality (daily and high spatial resolution) observations…
Experts contributing reviews
- Labe, Zachary

Years of record
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The NSIDC Sea Ice Index is a suite of easy-to-use sea ice analyses to track changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice. The product is produced and supported by the…
Experts contributing reviews
- Meier, Walter

Years of record
- N/A
This data set contains a global (excluding Antarctica) 1 km map of permafrost zonation. It is an estimate of to what degree permafrost exists in a region nearly…
Experts contributing reviews
- Gruber, Stephan

Years of record
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"NOAA’s Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface temperature (OISST, also known as Reynolds’ SST) is a series of global analysis products, including the weekly OISST on…
Main variables and Earth System components
Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean SST - sea surface temperatureExperts contributing reviews
- Banzon, Viva | Reynolds, Richard

Years of record
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The NOAA/NSIDC Climate Data Record (CDR) of sea ice concentration is available at 25 x 25 km spatial resolution in daily or monthly timesteps for 1987-2014. It…
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Formats
- netCDF
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Timestep
- Daily, Monthly
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Collections
- Climate Data Record
Experts contributing reviews
- Meier, Walter

Years of record
- to
Developed by Dr. Peter E Thornton to fulfill the need for daily climatological data necessary for plant growth model inputs, Daymet generates daily, gridded…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Maximum Air Temperature Minimum Air Temperature Precipitation Radiation Water Vapor Cryosphere Snow Water Equivalent-
Timestep
- Climatology, Daily
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Domain
- North America
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Collections
- N/A
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A