The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is responsible for the stewardship of global climatological data to support the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). In the past, these data were processed through Quality Assurance/Control (QA/QC) systems that were primarily network-specific with no standard for rules/algorithms applied to similar parameters across the different observing networks. Therefore, NCDC implemented a plan to integrate surface climatological data into a common format and data model and process these data through one processing system that capitalizes on network independent standardized QA/QC algorithms and procedures.

NCDC developed an Integrated Surface Data (ISD) format and database and a new QA/QC processing system, the Integrated Surface Data Processing System (ISDPS). ISD and ISDPS integrate QA/QC algorithms into a unified system. Numerous historical datasets have been fully integrated into ISD. Data from several sources and networks, totaling nearly 20,000 active observing sites, are now operationally processed (eg, daily) through ISDPS. These sources include NOAA's Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS), global hourly and synoptic data from the Air Force Combat Climatology Center (AFCCC), U.S. Navy station data, the National Cooperative Observers (COOP) Network, and the Climate Reference Network (CRN). Additional historical datasets will be integrated into ISD, and additional data sources and networks will gradually be integrated into ISDPS. NCDC is working with partners (National Weather Service, Regional Climate Centers, State Climatologists, National Center for Atmospheric Research, AFCCC, etc.) to continue developing network-independent standards for QA/QC and to further expand ISD.

We will describe these efforts, focusing on the QC processing system, data integration, and future plans for ISDPS and ISD.