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

Has expert guidance
Global Monthly EASE-Grid Snow Water Equivalent Climatology: SSMR, SSMI Global Monthly EASE-Grid Snow Water Equivalent Climatology: SSMR, SSMI

  • Years of Record

  • 1978-11 to 2007-05

This data set comprises global, monthly satellite-derived snow water equivalent (SWE) climatologies from November 1978 through May 2007, and is updated with more recent data…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Snow Water Equivalent

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
Snow Water Equivalent (AMSR-E) Snow Water Equivalent (AMSR-E)

  • Years of Record

  • 2002-06 to 2011-10

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) distributes daily, weekly, and monthly products which includes snow water equivalent. Note: "On 04…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Snow Water Equivalent

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment: Surface mass, total water storage, and derived variables GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment: Surface mass, total water storage, and derived variables

  • Years of Record

  • 2002-01 to 2012-09

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) refers to a pair of NASA satellites that has flown in low-Earth orbit since 2002. The satellites use a precise microwave…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Glaciers Ice Sheet Mass Land Groundwater surface water Water Storage Ocean Bottom pressure
map of Tmin over eastern US (credit: Michelle Thornton) Daymet: Daily Surface Weather and Climatological Summaries

  • Years of Record

  • 1980-01 to 2023-07

Daymet provides long-term, continuous, gridded estimates of daily weather and climatology variables by interpolating and extrapolating ground-based observations through…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Maximum Air Temperature Minimum Air Temperature Precipitation Radiation Water Vapor Cryosphere Snow Water Equivalent
The World Glacier Monitoring Service Network of Reference glaciers Observations of Glacier Mass Balance: The World Glacier Monitoring Service

  • Years of Record

  • 1949-01 to 2025-01

Mountain glaciers and ice caps have been studied as sensitive indicators of climate since the 19th century. The recognition of glacier sensitivity to climate led to the…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Glaciers