NSIDC Data Stewardship Processes and Directions

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) data management and stewardship strategy has evolved considerably over its 34-year history, but never more so than over the past several years. This reflects changing community needs and challenging requirements of NSIDC constituent projects. The NASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC), NOAA at NSIDC, and the associated World Data Center for Glaciology are long-term programs that provided NSIDC's foundational data stewardship impetus. NSF funded projects at have also moved us forward, most notably the IPY Data and Information System, the Cooperative Arctic Data and Information System (CADIS), and Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA). Participation in new projects such as the NSF DataNet effort (the Data Conservancy), and several NASA-ACCESS projects promise to further drive our evolution.

NSIDC data stewardship focuses on several basic precepts: 1) All user community contributions to NSIDC will be evaluated, but not all data will be accepted for stewardship; 2) where data cannot be accepted, NSIDC will endeavor to support good community and individual-based data stewardship practices through mechanisms such as the Polar Information Commons and tools and materials developed through its funded projects; 3) recognizing the varying needs of different audiences for NSIDC's data products, NSIDC has adopted a level of service based approach to data management; 4) recognizing that data is a common good, NSIDC firmly subscribes to the principles of non-discriminatory and open access where not directly inhibited by law or agreement.

This paper discusses NSIDC's current data stewardship practices and strategies and our goals for the future.