Online Glacier Photograph Databasehttp://nsidc.org/data/g00472.html

Please cite the data set as follows:

NSIDC/WDC for Glaciology, Boulder, compiler. 2002, updated 2006. Online glacier photograph database. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology. Digital media.

The Online Glacier Photograph Database has recently been updated with numerous photographs taken by Harry Fielding Reid. The photograph below shows Forno Glacier (Switzerland).

Below are photographs of Muir Glacier (AK) taken from a similar perspective over time. To order the high-resolution images, please see: http://nsidc.org/data/glacier_photo/special_collection.html

NSIDC’s glacier photograph collection contains many thousands of photographs taken from the ground and air by numerous photographers. Over 3,000 of these, dating from the late 1800s, are online. Viewing long-term variations in glacier terminus position can provide useful information on how a glacier has responded to changing climate over time. Our collection contains comparative photographs: photographs taken of the same glacier from a similar perspective over several decades. The comparative photographs are a small subset of the entire collection, but the visual impact of this subset is impressive.

A Longer Look at Glaciers and Sea Ice:

New and Updated Data Products from the NOAA Program at NSIDC Lisa M. Ballagh and Florence Fetterer e-mail: vtlisa@nsidc.org

National Snow and Ice Data Center

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) distributes over 400 cryospheric and related products. We are part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

NOAA program at NSIDC

NOAA@NSIDC supports over 60 cryospheric data products. With an emphasis on data rescue and collections of in situ measurements, the team develops new and value added products and updates existing products, while contributing to broader NSIDC and NOAA goals. Here we highlight new data in glacier and sea ice products.

The NOAA program is affiliated with the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) through a cooperative agreement with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

See Also

Here are a selected number of data sets distributed through the NOAA@NSIDC program:

Sea Ice Index:

http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/

Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) Data Products at NSIDC: http://nsidc.org/data/g02158.html

This data set contains grids of snow water equivalent (SWE) and seven other variables for the continental United States at 1-km spatial resolution and 24-hour temporal resolution.

IMS Daily Northern Hemisphere Snow and Ice Analysis at 4 km and 24 km Resolution: http://nsidc.org/data/g02156.html

NOAA teamAs of December 2006, the NOAA@NSIDC team consists of: Florence Fetterer (program manager); Lisa Ballagh (project manager); Jonathan Kovarik (operations support); Jane Beitler (writer support); and Molly McAllister (user services support).

We also work with the NSIDC Librarians, Allaina Howard and Gloria Hicks. Allaina Howard is the NSIDC Analog Data Collection Archivist and maintains the analog Glacier Photograph Collection.

The NOAA program at NSIDC (NOAA@NSIDC) archives and distributes the following products.

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http://nsidc.org/data/g02169.html (site available soon)

Please cite the data set as follows:

Divine, D. V., and C. Dick. 2006. March through August Ice Edge Positions in the Nordic Seas, 1750-2002. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media.

March through August Ice Edge Positions in the Nordic Seas, 1750-2002

A new sea ice edge position data set extends from 1750 through 2002. It is based on observational (ship log books, for example) and remotely sensed data, with the highest data density after 1850. Investigators with the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Climate and Cryosphere International Program Office used data from several existing data sets to construct a continuous record of sea ice position. The ice edge in this data set is defined as the 30% ice concentration contour. The long-term coverage allows for better interpretations of how the sea ice edge has varied over time.

This image shows an example of sea ice edges from July 1956 from two contributing data sets: the Arctic Climate System Study (ACSYS) Mission archive (dashed line) and a data set based on data from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg. (solid line).

http://nsidc.org

http://nsidc.org/noaa/

Submarine Upward Looking Sonar Ice Draft Profile Data and Statistics

http://nsidc.org/data/g01360.html

When using the data in a publication, please cite the data set as follows:

National Snow and Ice Data Center. 1998, updated 2006. Submarine upward looking sonar ice draft profile data and statistics. Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology. Digital media.

Submarine data from upward looking sonar provides ice draft measurements. These can be used to estimate sea ice thickness. Because thickness cannot be measured using satellite data, observations of thickness are in great demand for model verification and to study changes in arctic ice mass balance. Data from 15 cruises have been added to our data set of 25 cruises by investigators at the University of Washington Polar Science Center. These investigators developed a way to digitize analog records and make them consistent with the other digitally recorded ice draft data in this data set. In all, the data now cover almost 122,000 km of submarine cruise tracks, with cruises dating from 1975 to 2000.

The rectangular bounding box (left) shows the spatial coverage of this data set (Nordic Seas).

Photograph taken by William O. Field, 1941. Photograph taken by Bruce F. Molnia, 2004.

Photograph by Harry F. Reid, 1896.

Muir Glacier (Alaska)

AGU Fall Meeting 2006 Paper Number C21C-1183

With this data set, researchers can track ice anomalies as they happenand compare past years and months.

An example GIF browse file from December 5, 2006 showing snow in white and sea ice in yellow (image on right).

The original release of submarine data within a certain area was encouraged by the advocacy of Al Gore. The “Gore Box” was later expanded by the Chief of Naval Operations.

An example of submarine ice draft measurements from an analog draft recording system.

This image shows the submarine tracks from most cruises in this data set (the image excludes the analog data and the submarine tracks from the Scientific Ice Expeditions (SCICEX) from 1999).

The data are available in GeoTIFF and ASCII format in addition to GIF browse files.

The Northern Hemisphere trend for November from 1979 to 2006. Note the record low in November 2006.

A tool is available that compares sea ice from user-selected years, months and hemispheres.

April (above, left) and August (above, right) sea ice edge positions based on observations from sealers and whalers , 1850-1899.