USGS began collecting ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data at several glaciers during 2013, with a goal of improving winter mass balance estimates. Both airborne and ground-based data collections are disseminated here, including several efforts undertaken in collaboration with agency and academic partners.

These data provide extensive observations of snow and firn thickness. Data are collected in the spring close to the annual snow accumulation maximum. After processing, distributed snow thicknesses can provide inputs for glacier mass-balance calculations, local and regional hydrological modeling, and other snow and ice research efforts.

For each profile, the raw data available here includes: (1) a radargram file (.DT1; sensors and software proprietary files), (2) a header (.HD) file describing data collection parameters, and (3) a geolocation (.GPS) file. Proprietary files are hosted here for compactness, but can be viewed and processed using a number of freely available applications. These include the Matlab® toolbox MATGPR and GPRSoft viewer. Python, R, Octave, or other publicly available data software can be used to display the data visually.

Additionally, we provide coincident in-situ calibration data as available, including probed snow depth, snow pits, snow cores, and ablation stake data. For glaciers in the USGS Benchmark program, additional in-situ data may be available through the long-term mass-balance program.

Raw GPR Data Collection Metadata 
Version History
First release: July 2015
Revised: August 2017 (ver. 2.0)
Revised: September 2018 (ver. 2.1)
Revised: March 2022 (ver. 3.0)