Snow Today - National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBJun 5, 2024 — Snow-covered area in May 2024 across the western United States was 56 percent above average (Table 1), at 156,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of snow cover, ranking third highest in the 24-year satellite record.
Science of Glaciers - National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBVisitors to the terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, South America, listen and observe its dynamic motion. Climate change has yet to affect the Perito Moreno Glacier, mainly because of its particular topographic situation.
Ice Sheets Today | National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBAug 14, 2024 — The 2024 melt season for the Greenland Ice Sheet is above the 1991 to 2020 average, but the total number of melt days and peak melt area for Greenland are within the midrange of the last 24 years.
Science of Snow - National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBThe sun emerges after heavy snow hit Mount Vernon, Iowa. — Credit: Rich Herrmann/Flickr Snow on the ground. The character of the snow surface after a snowfall depends on the original form of the crystals and on the weather conditions present when the snow fell.
Sea Ice Today - National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEB4 days ago — Since 2007, the Arctic sea ice minimum has dropped below 5 million square kilometers (1.93 million square miles) every year, except in 2009, 2013, and 2014, when extent barely crossed the 5 million square kilometer mark. Such low extents would have been hard to imagine in the 1990s, when extent ...
Arctic Weather and Climate | National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBThis bustling harbor in Ilulissat, Greenland, is filled with various kinds of water vessels. Summers in Greenland turn Greenland green. — Credit: Twila Moon, NSIDC Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere, and its short-term variation in minutes to weeks.
Glacier Quick Facts - National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBWhat are ice caps and icefields? An ice cap is a type of glacier, covering less than 50,000 square kilometers (20,000 square miles). Like ice sheets, ice caps tend to spread out in dome-like shapes as opposed to flowing down slopes.
Glaciers - National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBThis graphic illustrates the process of glacial ice formation and approximate percentages of air (by volume) in each step. — Credit: Department of Geography and Environmental Science/Hunter College Glaciers begin to form when snow remains in the same area year round, where enough snow accumulates to transform into ice.
Why Glaciers Matter - National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBHimalayan river bridges are used to cross rivers during the flood season. As mountain glaciers shrink or disappear, changes to their runoff affects river levels, increases the potential for glacier lake outburst floods, and changes flood severity and frequency.
Arctic Weather and Climate - National Snow and Ice Data Center
WEBFactors affecting Arctic weather and climate. Just like other areas on Earth, weather and climate in the Arctic depend on a lot of variables, including latitude that affects how much energy is received from the sun, and the distribution of land and water.