Space Observations

Ocean Observations

Land Surface Observations

Atmospheric Observations

Environmental Data at NOAA

NOAA’s National Data CentersCurators of the Nation’s Environmental Data

National Geophysical Data CenterBoulder, Colorado

National Climatic Data CenterAsheville, North Carolina

National Ocean Data CenterSilver Spring, Maryland

Mission: Provide Archive, Access and Stewardship of the Nation’s environmental data

Guidance to the Panel

• Mandate each agency has for data sharing/provision

• Limitations placed on the agency for data sharing

• Existing capabilities for providing data & services and what's planned for the future

• Who the known user communities are that the agency is attempting to serve (internal and external)

Mandate each agency has for data sharing/provision

Mandate for Data Management

Performance-based management concepts legislation:• The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)• The President’s Management Agenda• The Federal Enterprise Architecture

NOAA Biannual Data Management Report to Congress:• Manage, archive and disseminate environmental data…• Establish, maintain and develop environmental databases…• Develop effective interfaces among information systems…• Use nationally accepted formats and standards…• …produce information that can be used by decision makers…

Public Law (P.L. 102-567) Section 106 (c) and (2)

Ocean Action Plan – provides direction on Integrated Ocean Observing System, Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping, Committee on Marine Transportation System, Research and Development, and Ocean Data and Information management.

“This Order establishes a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) policy for acquiring, integrating, managing, disseminating, and archiving environmental and geospatial data and information obtained from worldwide sources to support NOAA's mission..”

NOAA National Data Centers and Centers of Data shall:a. maintain an environmental data and information metadata catalog;b. protect and preserve their environmental data and information holdings; andc. make their holdings accessible to users under uniform guidelines.”

-- NOAA Administrative Order 212-15 (updated 2008)

Mandate for Data Management

Examples Specific to the NESDIS Data Centers

Example NGDC: Provide data management stewardship for all MTS data from initial acquisition to long term archival and access - linked Drivers: Coast and Geodetic Survey Act; National Weather Service; The Hydrographic Services Improvement Act; Ocean Action Plan

Example NCDC: ranging from16, 1855 pp. 26-28 (1855)– Franking of observer reports & publication of observations

establishedWMO and other International Agencies (various years)– Archive, exchange, compile, produce, or publish certain

climatological summaries and atlases

Example NODC: Charter establishing NODCNational Spatial Data Infrastructure (e.g. Provide access to the long-term coastal data record to support monitoring, prediction, and analyses and create a unified long-term database of coastal and marine datasets)

• OMB Circular A-16 (Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data Activities)

Recommendations:

1) Develop a set of written guidelines or use existing government-wide guidelines, to clearly inform researchers of NOAA’s general expectations for data sharing

2) Develop mechanisms for agencies to be systematically notified when data have been submitted to archives, so that agency officials have current information about the extent of data availability in order to adjust data-sharing policies over time to best meet the needs of researchers and the communities that use their data

3) Use the grant review process, where their program offices are not currently doing so, to facilitate further data sharing by (1) evaluating researchers’ data-sharing plans as part of the grant review process and (2) using evidence of researchers’ past data-sharing practices to make future award decisions.

4) Evaluate whether additional strategies are warranted to facilitate the permanent archiving of relevant data

“CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH: Agencies Have Data-Sharing Policies but Could Do More to Enhance the

Availability of Data from Federally Funded Research”GAO-07-1172/September 2007

• Environmental data should be archived and made accessible.

• Data-generating activities should include adequate resources to support end-to-end data management.

• Environmental data management activities should recognize user needs.

• Effective interagency and international partnerships are essential.

• Metadata are essential for data management.

• Data and metadata require expert stewardship.

• A formal, ongoing process, with broad community input, is needed to decide what data to archive and what data not to archive.

• An effective data archive should provide for discovery, access, and integration.

• Effective data management requires a formal, ongoing planning process.

DATA MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES(NRC, 2007 Environmental Data Management at NOAA)

Environmental Data should be Archived and made Accessible

• Full and open access to data• Ensure that the broadest possible collection of environmental data is archived and made discoverable and accessible

Data Archive & Data Archive & AccessAccess

Data Archive & Data Archive & AccessAccess

Limitations placed on the agency for data sharing

NOAA follows the NRC 2007 Data Management principles which are consistent with the CCSP principles.

Exceptions may occur with NOAA data which cannot be widely or freely shared.

Examples of this exception include Classified data (e.g. catch statistics), Proprietary data (e.g. fishing company data), Survey data such as Ocean Exploration of vulnerable ecosystems (such as archaeological sites and deep coral ecosystems)Research or test data.

Limitations placed on the agency for data sharing

Existing capabilities for providing data & services and what's planned for the future

Existing NOAA Data Services

• NOAA offices currently implement a wide range of data access services, from FTP to OPeNDAP to Live Access Servers to THREDDS Data Servers to the OGC Web Services and more

• Some NOAA operational weather centers provide data via the WIS/GTS

• However, they are not all implemented for all all data at all offices

WMO Information System (WIS); Global Telecommunication System (GTS)

Future NOAA Data Services

• Future developments are focused on enhanced integration of NOAA’s diverse data collections

• To achieve this integration, metadata creation and management; file format standardization/translation; data server deployment; and IT security are all key areas of focus

• GEOSS and IOOS providing contextGlobal Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS); Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)

Who the known user communities are that the agency is attempting to serve (internal

and external)

NOAA’s User Communities

• A huge range…– private industry – universities and other educational facilities – research organizations – federal, state, and local governments – foreign governments, industry, and

academia – publishers and other mass media – the general public

DefenseDefenseIndustryIndustry

TransportationTransportation

AgricultureAgriculture

OceansOceans

ClimateClimate

Weather and HazardsWeather and Hazards

Environmental Data Management Activities should recognize User

NeedsFor instance, NOAA data and information are used for …

Success of data management enterprise is judged by its usefulness

to current and future users

Forecast Warning Analysis

Voluntary U.S. Observers

Global Weather Reports

NCEP Weather Charts

Ship, Buoy Reports

Rocketsonde

Weather Balloons

Storm Data

Doppler Radar

(GOES, POES, NPOESS, many other) Satellites

Aircraft Observations

Wind Profiler

Airport Weather Reports (ASOS)

U.S. Climate Reference Network

Data Received From Many Sources

The Environmental Spectrum

Solar ActivitySpace Environment

Upper Atmosphere

NGDC

Lower Atmosphere

NCDC

Wet Ocean

NODCLand Surface

Snow and Ice

NSIDC

Ocean Floor

Earth’s Interior

NGDC