Randolph Glacier Inventory: Global Glacier Outlines

The Randolph Glacier Inventory provides a global snapshot of glacier outlines, intended for regional and global-scale analysis. This dataset is produced in coordination with the GLIMS initiative by the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences working group, with contributions from the glaciological community. Data is updated approximately annually and packaged globally and by region based on the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers.

Use Cases

• Estimating glacier volumes and mass change using hypsometric data (CSV files).
• Analyzing regional and global-scale rates of glacier elevation change from gridded auxiliary data (GeoTIFFs).
• Mapping cryospheric responses to climatic forcing using glacier outline Shapefiles.
• Conducting regional glacier inventory assessments based on the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers regions.

Strengths

• Provides a globally consistent set of glacier outlines from a coordinated international initiative (GLIMS).
• Includes multiple data types: vector outlines (Shapefiles), hypsometric data (CSV), and gridded auxiliary data (GeoTIFFs).
• Updated approximately annually, indicating ongoing maintenance.

Limitations

• Explicit row/glacier count and total size are not provided in the available metadata.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, reporting both 2010-12-31 and 2026-03-12.
• Not suitable for measuring glacier-by-glacier rates of area change.

Provenance

Source

Working Group on the Randolph Glacier Inventory and Infrastructure for Glacier Monitoring, International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS).

Collection Method

Glacier mapping data contributed from the glaciological community to both GLIMS and the RGI.

Time Range

Snapshot intended to represent the world's glaciers at a point in time; specific temporal coverage not stated.

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:30:15.156248

Geography

Global, packaged by regions based on the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers.