Global Terrestrial Network - Glaciers (GTN-G)

Data Access

Data Availability: Data are available online for the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers (GTN-G). Advanced monitoring strategies developed by the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) for GTN-G within GTOS integrate detailed observations of mass balance and flow at selected reference glaciers for process understanding and numerical modelling, with more widely distributed determinations of changes in length, area and volume; repeated compilation of glacier inventories enables global coverage to be reached.

GTN-G Program Overview

Updated June 23, 2009

Access the Databases

• World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) provides standardized observations on changes in mass, volume, area and length of glaciers with time (Fluctuations of Glaciers), as well as statistical information on the distribution of perennial surface ice in space (World Glacier Inventory). In addition, information on special events are available, such as surges, calving instabilities, rock falls onto glaciers, lake outbursts, ice avalanches, eruptions of glacier-clad volcanoes or related protection work including prospection and scientific analysis.
  • Access Data

• The World Glacier Inventory (WGI) contains information for over 67,000 glaciers through out the world.Data are held at the National Snow and Ice Center (NDIDC)
  • Access the WGI database

• Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) Monitoring the World's Changing Glaciers. GLIMS is a project designed to monitor the world's glaciers primarily using data from optical satellite instruments, such as ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and reflection Radiometer).
  • Access Data
  • World Glacier Inventory Map Server

Data Quality

   The accuracy of the data is the responsibility of the data collectors in the individual countries. All data are subject to plausibility checks while loading them into the database (Haeberli and Hoelzle 1995, Hoelzle and Trindler, 1997). There are some exceptions which are marked with 'unchecked'. (from the WGMS web site)

Other Information

The WGMS exchanges data with the World Data Center A for Glaciology (WDC-A) and the Global Resources Information Database (GRID) of GEMS.