CIRES' National Snow and Ice Data Center in FY 2006

Accomplishments

Data management activities at NSIDC have resulted in over 500 data sets accessible through NSIDC’s Web pages and an additional 900 data sets accessible via the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD).

NSIDC has a leading role in International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) data management. NSIDC is coordinating the IPY-endorsed IPY Data and Information Service, an international federation of data centers, archives, and networks working to ensure proper stewardship of IPY and related data. NSIDC has received some funding for IPY-related data activities but is seeking more comprehensive support.

Research at NSIDC includes activities related to the cryosphere and climate change:

Ice sheets and glaciers: Glacier and ice sheet mass balance is critical as an indicator of climate change and as a source of fresh water contribution to the oceans. NSIDC scientists developed a new map of Antarctica and have been documenting the rates of movement of glaciers and critical parts of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Sea ice: Sea ice is important both as an input to global climate models and as an indicator of climate change. The Sea Ice Index, developed by NSIDC to meet a need for tracking changes in the ice as they occur, has indicated declines in arctic sea ice extent during recent years.

Permafrost and frozen ground: Changes in the extent of permafrost and frozen ground are an indicator of climate change and have an impact on native communities and terrestrial ecology. The carbon tied up in permafrost and frozen ground could impact the global carbon balance. Scientists at NSIDC are integrating remotely sensed data with in situ data to refine predictions of frozen ground conditions.

Snow cover and snow hydrology: Changes in the freshwater contribution to the northern seas are impacting the dynamics of ocean circulation. NSIDC’s scientists are working with sparse data, in conjunction with synthesis and modeling approaches, to understand Arctic hydrologic issues.

Climate change in the cryosphere: Scientists working with near real-time monitoring of snow, sea ice, and vegetation under the Study of Environmental ARctic CHange (SEARCH) program are making progress toward documenting that change by using approaches such as the Sea Ice Index noted above.

Impacts of changes on Arctic peoples: The impacts of changes on Arctic peoples are being recognized and incorporated into research projects. An NSIDC scientist has been living in a community in northeast Canada, documenting the observations of and impacts on the local people.

The research activities and publications of NSIDC scientists are presented in the NSIDC Annual Report (http://nsidc.org/pubs/).

Impacts

Data transfer to the science community
Our Web site is the primary gateway for NSIDC users to access our data and information (http://nsidc.org/data). Our data are also accessible via the GCMD and Geospatial One Stop (GOS) Web sites. NSIDC transferred 6.4 million web pages to 1.1 million unique users during FY ’06. NSIDC distributed 3.9 million files with 46.1 TB of digital data during FY ‘06. NSIDC also distributed data on computer media, including 41 tapes and 3498 CDs and DVDs.

Societal impacts
Researchers using NSIDC data products are assessing and monitoring changes in the cryosphere that may have profound impacts on society. NSIDC scientists are a resource for the news media in articles explaining what is happening and why changes are taking place throughout the cryosphere: Permafrost extent is declining, glaciers are retreating, ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula have disintegrated, and arctic sea ice extent is shrinking. Arctic temperatures were above normal during 2005.

Products

NSIDC’s component data centers provided a wide range of cryospheric data and products during FY ‘06.

NOAA at NSIDC and the World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder
The NOAA project at NSIDC operates in cooperation with the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center and Arctic Research Office to extend the NOAA National Data Center catalog of cryospheric data and information products, with an emphasis on in situ data, data rescue, and data sets from operational communities.

The Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC)
The NSIDC DAAC provides access to NASA’s Earth Observing System satellite data, ancillary in situ measurements, baseline data, model results, and algorithms relating to cryospheric and polar processes. The DAAC is an integral part of the multiagency-funded efforts at NSIDC to provide snow and ice data, information management services, and user support.

The Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Data Coordination Center (ADCC)
NSF has funded the ADCC at NSIDC to house data from Office of Polar Programs (OPP) Arctic System Science funded investigators, and to provide tools for investigators both submitting and looking for data.

Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC)
The NSF OPP funds AGDC to archive and distribute glaciological and cryospheric-system data obtained by the U.S. Antarctic Program. Compiled data include ice velocity, firn temperature, shallow ice core measurements, geochemical composition of ice cores, snow pit data, and satellite images of ice shelves.

U.S. Antarctic Data Coordination Center (USADCC)
NSF OPP funds USADCC to improve access to U.S. funded Antarctic scientific data by creating descriptions of these data and entering them into the Antarctic Master Directory (AMD), a node of the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). The AMD is a Web-based, searchable directory of thousands of data descriptions submitted by scientists from over twenty countries.

The Frozen Ground Data Center (FGDC)
The FGDC is a collaborative effort between the World Data Center (WDC) for Glaciology, Boulder and the International Arctic Research Center (IARC). FGDC works internationally to collect and distribute data gathered over many decades that are critical for environmental change detection and impact assessment.

Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS)
GLIMS, a cooperative project with the US Geological Survey, is designed to monitor the world's glaciers primarily using data from the ASTER instrument aboard the Terra spacecraft launched in 1999. More then 54,000 glaciers are now entered in the GLIMS data base.