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Interactive Cryosphere Explorer

3D ICE: The Polar World at Your Fingertips

Explore Antarctica and Greenland like never before.

Start the guided tour Open the research edition

The tour takes about six minutes, on a phone or a computer. Not sure which to choose? Compare the two editions.

3D ICE turns state-of-the-art Antarctic and Greenland datasets into a 3D world you can explore in your browser, from the bedrock hidden under kilometres of ice to the ocean currents around it. It comes in two editions: a public edition with a guided tour, and a research edition with every dataset and layer.

Tap to explore in 3D

Editions

Two ways to explore

Both editions run the same explorer on the same data. Start with the public edition if you are new to the ice sheets, and open the research edition when you need every dataset and layer.

For everyone

Public edition

A guided first look at the ice sheets, with the science explained as you go.

  • A nine-stop guided tour, from the ice continent to the land hidden beneath it, the Southern Ocean, Antarctica's future and Greenland
  • A plain-language note beside every layer, citing the data it draws on
  • Ice flow, ocean currents, sea level, and the land that rises once the ice is gone
  • Made for phones, tablets, classrooms and outreach stands

About six minutes · English and 中文

Start the guided tour Explore on your own

For researchers

Research edition

Every dataset, resolution and layer, with the sources behind them.

  • Bed topography from BedMachine and Bedmap3 in Antarctica, and from BedMachine and QRF in Greenland, each at two resolutions
  • Ice velocity, basal friction and ocean currents in four depth bands, for both ice sheets
  • In Antarctica, subglacial effective pressure and channels and, on the BedMachine terrain, ice-shelf basal melt and thermal driving
  • The ice-free rebound from the published Paxman et al. (2022) response, with idealised ELRA and Airy models for comparison
  • A data snapshot that links the datasets in view to their sources, and an along-flow profile of the ice surface, ice base and bed for any flowline you click

Best on a computer · English and 中文

Open the research edition See the source data
Compare the two editions
What each edition offers
Feature Public edition Research edition
Guided tour and layer explainers Yes No
Bed topography BedMachine, one resolution per region BedMachine, Bedmap3 (Antarctica) and QRF (Greenland), two resolutions each
Ice flow Animated flowlines coloured by speed Flowlines, the surface velocity field and flowline profiles
Ocean currents One layer, all depths together Four depth bands, each on its own
Basal friction, subglacial water and ice-shelf melt No Yes; subglacial water and ice-shelf melt in Antarctica only
Ice-free rebound The published Paxman et al. (2022) response The published response, plus idealised ELRA and Airy models with an adjustable sea-level datum
Place search, names and research stations Yes Yes, plus drainage basins
Sources Cited in the layer explainers A data snapshot linking the datasets in view to their sources
Best on Phones, tablets and computers Computers with a larger screen

Antarctica

Discover Key Features of the Antarctic Ice Sheet

A vast, frozen desert at the bottom of the Earth, Antarctica holds 90% of the world’s ice and hides a dynamic, hidden landscape of subglacial lakes and rivers that shape our future coastlines.

Greenland

Seamlessly Transition to Greenland in One Unified 3D Environment

Serving as the Arctic’s climate sentinel, the Greenland Ice Sheet is a rapidly transforming giant whose accelerating melt directly drives global sea-level rise and influences ocean circulation.

Latest Updates

What’s new in 3D ICE

Follow the newest ways to explore polar data, with each release dated so you can quickly see what changed.

  1. Public edition

    Meet the public edition, with a guided tour

    3D ICE now comes in two editions. The new public edition keeps the core of the explorer for visitors, classrooms and outreach stands, and explains the science as you go, in English and Chinese. The research edition keeps every dataset and layer at its usual address.

    • Tour: Nine stops take you from the ice continent to the bedrock beneath it, the Southern Ocean, Antarctica's future and Greenland.
    • Explainers: Open the (i) beside any layer to read, in plain language, what it shows and the data it draws on.
    • Remove the ice: Watch the ice melt away and the land beneath it rise, over three seconds.
    Start the guided tour
  2. Interactive explorer

    Watch the bed rebound once the ice is gone

    A new isostatic-rebound layer shows how far the solid Earth springs back once the present ice load is removed, so you can see which bed that sits below sea level today would rise above it, in both Antarctica and Greenland.

    • Scenario: Scrub Deglaciation & rebound from today through to full equilibrium.
    • Earth response: The published response of Paxman et al. (2022) by default, with regional flexure and local Airy isostasy as idealised what-ifs.
    • Emergence: Highlight newly emergent land and read the uplift, area and sea-level-equivalent figures alongside the model assumptions.
    Open the research edition
  3. Interactive explorer

    Find polar places and geographic features

    The Antarctica and Greenland explorer now brings research stations, curated geographic names, and refined basins into one searchable experience.

    • Layers: Choose the Places & Geographic Features layers you want to see.
    • Search: Find places and features by name, including refined basins.
    • Focus: Jump between Antarctica and Greenland and move directly to a result.
    Open the research edition

Key Features

What makes 3D ICE different

Real 3D, right in your browser

Rotate, zoom and tilt the ice sheets, make the ice see-through and exaggerate the relief, as if you were holding a physical model. There is nothing to install: any browser with WebGL will do.

Traceable to its sources

Every layer is drawn from a published dataset, model or preprint and names its source, so what you see can be traced back to the original product.

Both ice sheets in one place

Switch between Antarctica and Greenland in one environment, with the same controls and the same core layers for each: land, ice, ocean and the rebound once the ice is gone. Subglacial water and ice-shelf melt are for Antarctica only.

Smooth on phones, sharp on large screens

Balanced terrain keeps phones and tablets smooth. For a large desktop screen, the research edition’s HD terrain (4 km in Antarctica, 1 km in Greenland) shows much finer detail.

Source Data

The datasets behind 3D ICE

Every layer comes from a published dataset, model or preprint. The research edition’s data snapshot links the datasets in view to their sources, and the public edition’s layer explainers cite the data they draw on. 3D ICE itself is open source under the MIT License: the code, and the scripts that prepare the data packages, are on GitHub.

Antarctica

Greenland

Community

Let’s Build the Ultimate Cryosphere Hub Together

3D ICE is continually evolving, and I’d love to hear feedback from the glaciology community to help me improve it further.

  • Have data to share? If you have Antarctic or Greenland datasets you’d like me to integrate into 3D ICE, please reach out.
  • Spread the word: If you find this tool useful for your research, teaching, or outreach, please feel free to share it with your network.
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