Download

Quick Start

  1. Go to https://www.qgis.org/ and download the free QGIS software, available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. QGIS version 3.10 is the oldest version supported by QGreenland. 
  2. Download the QGreenland data package (see Download QGreenland below). Unzip and save the folder in a location of your choice. 
  3. To open the full QGreenland data package in QGIS, go to your QGreenland folder and open the 'qgreenland.qgs' file (this will automatically open QGIS). Or, you can first open QGIS and then open the 'qgreenland.qgs' project file from there. 
  4. If you only want to add specific QGreenland data layers to a QGIS project and not open the entire data package, you can add your desired layers individually by navigating to their respective topic folder within the main QGreenland folder (for example, 'Hydrology'). A full list of all QGreenland data layers can be found in the 'layer_list.csv' file included in the download package. 
  5. For more information and more detailed instructions, see the full QGreenland User Guide.

Download Package Information

The QGreenland download package is self-contained and ready for offline use (note there is one Internet-required data group). The QGreenland download package includes a full User Guide, Quick Start Guide, Data Layer List, Frequently Asked Questions, tips for making data compatible with QGreenland, and all QGIS layer source data.

Download QGreenland

1) Fill out our user information form.

2) Choose a mirror (we recommend a location close to you), and select a download link:

Country Hosting institution Download
United States National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, CO (primary server) http
United States Polar Geospatial Center, Saint Paul, MN http
Norway Norwegian Polar Institute, Oslo ftp
Japan Arctic and Antarctic Data Archive System at the National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo http
Australia Tasmanian Partnership for Advanced Computing at the University of Tasmania, Hobart ftp http
India National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa ftp http

Thank you to our mirror hosts! All hosts also mirror Quantarctica, so that you can explore data from both polar regions.

 

Additional Data for QGreenland

As QGreenland development continues, we will expand the QGreenland data packages available. But more data and higher resolution elevation information is already available via these resources:

  • Arctic Data Center QGreenland Portal: Explore all of the Greenland-focused geospatial data archived at the National Science Foundation Arctic Data Center. The collection includes more than 500 datasets!
  • 32-meter resolution ArcticDEM (digital elevation model): The Polar Geospatial Center has provided a custom Greenland 32-m resolution ArcticDEM for added detail. Download this add-on package and place it in a suitable location in your filesystem. Unzip the package and then follow the directions in the 'README.txt' file included in the package.
  • Check out these other resources for more data resources.

Want to Contribute? Information here.

QGreenland License Information

Copyright (c) 2020 Regents of the University of Colorado.

QGreenland software was developed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation EarthCube program.

QGreenland is licensed under the MIT License.

Please be aware that individual data layers may have additional licensing information. Whenever using data from QGreenland, users must cite the original data source. Citation information is provided with all QGreenland data layers. Please contact us with questions.

Disclaimer

QGreenland should not be used as a sole navigational aid while performing remote research activities in Greenland. Always bring appropriate safety and navigational aids (including hard-copies of topographic maps) when visiting the field.

QGreenland is a data-viewing platform, and the QGreenland Team does not create new data. QGreenland's layers may contain errors from the original data providers. QGreenland makes no guarantees about the accuracy and validity of data contained in QGreenland. Limited notes on known data issues have been added to the 'Towns and settlements' and 'Community map (crowdsourced)' layer metadata. Also, some layers may not perfectly align with each other due to unidentified georeferencing issues with the original data. We recommend using the 'Greenland coastlines 2017' layer as the best approximation reference layer for geolocating Greenland's coastline.

Greenland coast photo