Strategies for the transition and sustainment of climate data records within operations at the National Climatic Data Center

NOAA's Climate Data Record (CDR) Program has transitioned over 15 polar-orbiting and geostationary satellite CDRs from research to operations since its inception in 2009. These CDRs are transitioned and sustained in operations at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in response to the needs and requirements of users and industry, with the ultimate aim to support informed decision-making. NCDC has developed a CDR framework to identify community needs, prioritize investment, and employ different strategies to sustain and preserve the skills inherent in the CDR algorithms as well as the information contained in the CDRs. This framework is being extended beyond satellite data to include in situ and blended products that describe climate variability in our atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, and ecosystems. A description of the status of the CDR Program, lessons learned, and future directions will be presented.