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Glaciers/Ice Sheets Data Access and Tools
Glaciers and ice sheets data from NASA range from frequently updated high-resolution instrument imagery to radar altimeter measurements. Our datasets and tools help users find and integrate the data they need to measure the location, size, and other characteristics of glaciers and ice sheets.
Glaciers/Ice Sheets Datasets
| Dataset Sort descending | Version | Platform | Instrument | Temporal Extent | Spatial Extent | Spatial Resolution | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NISAR Beta Range Doppler Pixel Offsets (Version 1) | 1 | NISAR | L-SAR, S-SAR | 2025-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5, XML, YAML, PNG, KML, CSV, PDF | |
| NISAR Beta Range Doppler Single Look Complex Product (Version 1) | 1 | NISAR | L-SAR, S-SAR | 2025-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5, XML, PNG, PDF, CSV, KML, YAML | |
| NISAR Beta Range Doppler Unwrapped Interferogram Product (Version 1) | 1 | NISAR | L-SAR, S-SAR | 2025-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5, XML, YAML, PNG, KML, CSV, PDF | |
| NISAR Beta Range Doppler Wrapped Interferogram Product (Version 1) | 1 | NISAR | L-SAR, S-SAR | 2025-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5, XML, YAML, PNG, KML, CSV, PDF | |
| OMG Glacial Elevations from GLISTIN-A Ver. 1 | 1 | Airborne | GLISTIN-A | 2015-07-25 to 2019-11-30 |
N: 83.6 S: 59.1 E: -6.9 W: -73.6 |
0 Decimal Degrees x 0 Decimal Degrees | NETCDF |
| OPERA Coregistered Single-Look Complex from Sentinel-1 Static Layers validated product (Version 1) | 1 | Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-1B | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present | HDF5, XML | ||
| OPERA Coregistered Single-Look Complex from Sentinel-1 validated product (Version 1) | 1 | Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-1B, Sentinel-1C | C-SAR | 2016-07-01 to Present | HDF5, XML | ||
| OPERA Radiometric Terrain Corrected SAR Backscatter from Sentinel-1 Static Layers validated product (Version 1) | 1 | Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-1B | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
GeoTIFF, XML | |
| OPERA Radiometric Terrain Corrected SAR Backscatter from Sentinel-1 validated product (Version 1) | 1 | Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-1B, Sentinel-1C | C-SAR | 2016-04-14 to Present |
N: 90 S: -60 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5, GeoTIFF, XML | |
| Pre-IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength V001 | 1 | DHC-6, NASA DC-8, P-3A, P-3A ORION, P-3B | ATM | 1993-06-23 to 2008-10-30 |
N: 90 S: 60 E: 180 W: -180 N: -46 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
Binary | |
| Pre-IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness V001 | 1 | DHC-6, P-3A, P-3A ORION, P-3B | ATM | 1993-06-23 to 2008-10-30 |
N: -46 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 N: 90 S: 60 E: 180 W: -180 |
ASCII | |
| Pre-IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness V001 | 1 | DC-8, DHC-6, P-3A, P-3A ORION, P-3B | MCoRDS, ACORDS, ATM, ICORDS | 1993-06-23 to 2007-09-23 |
N: 90 S: 60 E: 180 W: -180 N: -53 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
CSV | |
| RADARSAT-1 Level 0 Product | 1 | RADARSAT-1 | SAR | 1996-02-01 to 2009-03-17 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| RADARSAT-1 Level 1 Product | 1 | RADARSAT-1 | SAR | 1996-02-01 to 2009-03-17 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Radiostratigraphy and Age Structure of the Greenland Ice Sheet V002 | 2 | C-130, DHC-6, NASA DC-8, P-3B, WP-3D ORION | MCoRDS, ACORDS, MCRDS, ICORDS | 1993-06-24 to 2019-05-16 |
N: 83.9 S: 58.9 E: -10.7 W: -73.5 |
5 Kilometers x 5 Kilometers | netCDF-4 |
| Sentinel-1 Single Look Complex (SLC) Bursts | 1 | Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-1B, Sentinel-1C | C-SAR | 2014-06-15 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Dual Polarization Full Resolution Ground Range Detected Product | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Dual Polarization Full Resolution Ground Range Detected Product Metadata | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Dual Polarization High Resolution Ground Range Detected Product | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Dual Polarization High Resolution Ground Range Detected Product Metadata | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Dual Polarization Medium Resolution Ground Range Detected Product | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Dual Polarization Medium Resolution Ground Range Detected Product Metadata | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Level 0 Product | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Level 0 Product Metadata | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| Sentinel-1A Single Look Complex Product | 1 | Sentinel-1A | C-SAR | 2014-04-03 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
Featured Observation Glaciers/Ice Sheets Method: ASTER
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is a high spatial resolution instrument aboard the Terra satellite. ASTER captures images of Earth in 14 different wavelengths from visible to thermal infrared light as well as provides a Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) of the planet's land surface with 30-meter resolution. ASTER data can be used to create detailed visualizations and maps of land surface temperature, emissivity, reflectance, and elevation including images of glaciers.
The final processing of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data will make its archive more accessible to users.
8 MIN READ
The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) initiative uses satellite data to track glacier changes, providing vital data for climate and hazard studies.
See ASTER instrument images revealing the transformation of South Korea's Mount Gariwang for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Version 3 of the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) provides new features and sharper imagery.
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