From Observations to Models: Evolving NCEI’s Archive of and Access to NOAA’s Environmental Data

NCEI stewards one of the largest and most diverse collections of environmental data. This includes data from the surface of the sun to the bottom of the ocean and from satellites to ships. It includes significant volumes of historical weather and climate data as well as forecasting and model data. The supply and demand for data is increasing while data and models are becoming larger, more complex, and diverse. As a result, data repositories have a huge challenge to meet stakeholder expectations while also adapting to new technologies. In addition, NCEI was formed in 2015 from the consolidation of four independent data centers (National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanographic Data Center, National Climatic Data Center, and National Coastal Data Development Center). These internal and external changes provide an opportunity to evolve data stewardship services to further realize the goal of providing trusted, timely and efficient archive of and access to NOAA’s environmental data.

To realize this opportunity, NCEI is focusing on 1) updating and consolidating procedures, 2) improving data stewardship tools, and 3) preparing to migrate to the Cloud. This presentation will discuss how NCEI is approaching each of these areas, including current status of NCEI’s archiving process, plans for near-term improvements, and development of best practices and guidance. Emphasis will also be placed on how users can engage with NCEI, stay abreast of changes, and provide feedback.