Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) is an international initiative that monitors the world’s changing glaciers using data from optical satellite instruments. Its observations have relied primarily on imagery from the ASTER instrument aboard NASA’s Terra spacecraft, launched in 1999. More than 60 institutions around the world contribute to the effort, while the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado, provides general coordination, technical development, and data management.

GLIMS offers access to its Glacier Database, which brings together glacier observations and related information. Users can explore data through an interactive map or a text-based search application; an Earthdata Login is required to download datasets. The initiative also provides documentation, research resources, publications, workshop information, software, and mailing-list updates. The Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI), a complementary resource, supplies global glacier outlines for a specific period along with useful attributes. Together, these resources support the study of glacier distribution and change, helping researchers and the public better understand a dynamic part of Earth’s environment.