NSIDC Data on Google Earth
The National Snow and Ice Data Center offers some of our data in the form of images. From these, we have created Google Earth™ files that enable you to view them on a virtual globe. Our goal is to help people better understand the cryosphere—where the world is frozen—by making our data more visible and interactive. Featured Data highlights some of our most requested data, as well as our newest Google Earth files.
Featured Data
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September Sea Ice Extent, 1979-2019Compare over 30 years of September sea ice minimum extent images from satellites for both the Arctic and the Antarctic. |
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Sea Ice Minimum and Maximum Extents, 1979 to 2019View Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extents from 1979 through present for the months March (maximum sea ice extents) and September (minimum sea ice extents). |
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A Climate Change Tour of Cold PlacesA narrated tour of the snowy and icy regions of the world covering sea ice, glaciers, ice shelves, and permafrost. |
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Wilkins Ice Bridge Collapse, February-April 2009View a time series of satellite images showing the break up of an ice bridge that was shoring up the Wilkins ice shelf. |
View More Snow, Ice, Glaciers, Permafrost, and Sea Ice on the Globe
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Glaciers and Climate ChangeView glacier photograph pairs showing how some glaciers have changed over time.Download: Glaciers and climate change file for Google Earth (KML, 48 KB) Data Source: Glacier Photograph Collection |
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Changes in Glaciers, the Larsen B Ice Shelf, and Arctic Sea Ice ExtentView photographs showing long-term changes in glaciers; watch the disintegration of the Larsen B ice shelf; and view Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extents from 1979 through present.Download: Glaciers, ice shelves, and sea ice file for Google Earth (KML, 8 KB) Data Sources: Glacier Photograph Collection, Sea Ice Index, and Animation of Larsen B breakup |
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Glaciers, Permafrost, and Ground IceView photographs of more than 10,000 glaciers, 1880s to present, and permafrost and ground ice types and extents in the Northern Hemisphere.Download: Glaciers and permafrost file for Google Earth (KML, 6 KB) Data Source: Glacier Photograph Collection and Circum-Arctic Map of Permafrost and Ground-Ice Conditions |
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Greenland Annual Surface Melt, 1979 - 2007View the extent and frequency of surface melt for the Greenland ice sheet.Download: Greenland melt file for Google Earth (KMZ, 404 KB) Data Source: Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Characteristics Derived from Passive Microwave Data |
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Icebergs: IceTrek Iceberg TracksExplore the life cycle of drifting Antarctic icebergs, and view photos from instruments riding on the bergs.Download: IceTrek iceberg tracks file (KMZ, 6.7 MB) |
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Ice Shelves: Breakup of the Larsen B Ice ShelfWatch the disintegration of the Larsen B ice shelf in 2002, as captured in MODIS satellite images.Download: Larsen B ice shelf file for Google Earth (KMZ, 3 MB) Data Source: Animation of Larsen B breakup |
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Global Snow Cover from MODISView global, monthly average snow cover by month for 10 years: 2000-2009.Download: 2004 snow cover (KML, 670 KB) Data Source: MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Monthly L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG, Version 5 Note: This time series runs from October 2000 to May 2009. The following months are missing: March 2002 and December 2003 |
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Sea Ice: Nordic Seas Ice EdgeView changes in the sea ice edge in the Nordic Seas, from 1967 to 2002, for the months March through August.Download: Nordic Seas ice edge (KML, 892 KB) Data Source: March through August Ice Edge Positions in the Nordic Seas, 1750-2002 |
Locate Cryospheric Field Data Sets on the Globe
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Antarctic Glaciological Data Center Field DataLocate and link to Antarctic images and data sets from the Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC).Download: Antarctic data file for Google Earth (KMZ, 11 KB) Data Source: NSIDC Antarctic Glaciological Data Center |
Download Google Earth
See Also
Movie of sea ice extents, 1979-2008, on Google Earth
2008 sea ice extent side-by-side with 1979-2008 climatology (QuickTime, 1.6 MB)
Citing these Google Earth Files
These data and Google Earth files are available free of charge with the proper citation. Please use the following as a guide when citing these files:
National Snow and Ice Data Center. [Title of Google Earth file.] NSIDC data on Google Earth. Digital media. http://nsidc.org/data/google_earth. Accessed [date of access].