WWC snapshot of http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/NODC-overview.html taken on Sun Jun 4 2:10:16 1995
NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center:
An Overview
NOTE: This contains a brief overview of the NODC. For complete and detailed information on the NODC's services and data, return to the
or refer to the
NODC's Gopher Server
.
The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) is one of the national environmental data centers operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The main NODC facility is located in Washington, D.C. The NODC also has field offices collocated with major government or private oceanographic laboratories in Woods Hole, MA; Miami, FL; La Jolla, CA; Seattle, WA, and Honolulu, Hawaii.
Besides the NODC, NOAA operates two other data centers:
- National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Asheville, N.C. and
- National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), Boulder, Colorado.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado is operated for NGDC by the University of Colorado through the Cooperative Institute for Research on Environmental Sciences (CIRES).
These discipline-oriented centers serve as national repositories and dissemination facilities for global environmental data. The data archives amassed by the NODC and the other centers provide a record of Earth's changing environment and support numerous research and operational applications. Working cooperatively, the centers provide data products and services to scientists, engineers, resource managers, policy makers, and other users in the United States and around the world.
NODC History and Mission
Established in 1961, the NODC was originally an interagency facility administered by the U.S. Naval Hydrographic (later Oceanographic) Office. The NODC was transferred to NOAA in 1970 when NOAA was created by Executive Order. In the words of its charter, the NODC serves to "acquire, process, preserve, and disseminate oceanographic data." Its primary mission is to ensure that global oceanographic data collected at great cost is maintained in a permanent archive that is easily accessible to the world science community and to other users.
NODC Data Holdings
The NODC holds physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic data collected by U.S. Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense (primarily the U.S. Navy); State, and local government agencies; universities and research institutions; and private industry. NODC does not conduct any data collection programs of its own; it serves solely as a repository and dissemination facility for data collected by others.
International Cooperation and Data Exchange
A large percentage of the oceanographic data held by NODC is of foreign origin. NODC acquires foreign data through direct bilateral exchanges with other countries and through the facilities of World Data Center A (WDC-A) for Oceanography, which is operated by NODC under the auspices of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. There are three World Data Centers for Oceanography:
- World Data Center A, Washington, D.C. United States,
- World Data Center B, Moscow, Russia, and
- World Data Center D, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
They are part of the World Data Center System initiated in 1957 to provide a mechanism for data exchange during the International Geophysical Year. The World Data Center System operates under guidelines issued by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU).
Data Management for Global Change Studies
The NODC provides data management support for major ocean science projects such as TOGA (Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere), WOCE (World Ocean Circulation Experiment), and JGOFS (Joint Global Ocean Flux Study). To promote improved working relations with the academic ocean research community, the NODC established three joint centers with university research groups. The three centers are:
- Joint Environmental Data Analysis Center
(with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego)
- Joint Archive for Sea Level (with the University of Hawaii)
- Joint Center for Research in the Management of Ocean Data
(with the University of Delaware)
NOAA Library and Information Network
The NODC also manages the NOAA Library and Information Network, which includes the NOAA Central Library in Silver Spring, MD; regional libraries in Miami, FL and Seattle, WA; and field libraries or information centers at about 30 NOAA sites throughout the United States. The combined libraries contain more than 1 million volumes, including books, journals, data and information CD-ROMs, and audio and video tapes.
Data Services
Each year the NODC responds to thousands of requests for oceanographic data and information. Copies of specified data sets or data selected from NODC's archive databases can be provided on magnetic media or on CD-ROM. Moderately-sized data sets can also be transmitted over computer networks via ftp. NODC data products are provided at prices that cover the cost of data selection and retrieval.
For Further Information:
Requests for further information about the NODC and its data holdings, products and services should be directed to:
National Oceanographic Data Center
User Services Branch
NOAA/NESDIS E/OC21
1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20235
Telephone: 202-606-4549
Fax: 202-606-4586
Internet: services@nodc.noaa.gov
NODC Home Page
Last Update: 27 March 1995 by N. Wong
Prepared by Natalie Wong (nwong@nodc.noaa.gov) and Judith Snider (jsnider@nodc.noaa.gov)
