Becoming the National Centers for Environmental Information: An Over 50-Year History of Climate, Oceans, Coastal, and Geophysical Data and Information

Becoming the National Centers for Environmental Information: An Over 50-Year History of Climate, Oceans, Coastal, and Geophysical Data and Information

Authors: Greg Hammer (Presenting Author), Tim Owen, Andrew Allegra, Heather McCullough, Sharon Mesick, Susan Osborne, and Katy Matthews

NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) houses and provides access to one of the most significant archives on Earth, with comprehensive oceanic, atmospheric, coastal, and geophysical data. NCEI, with more than 25 petabytes of data, is the world’s largest provider of environmental information that spans from the depths of the oceans to the surface of the sun and from prehistoric to modern times. NCEI preserves, stewards, and maximizes the utility of the U.S. Federal government’s multibillion-dollar investment in high-quality environmental data. Private industry and businesses, local to national governments, academia, as well as the public all utilize NCEI’s wide range of products and services.

The organization formed in January 2015 with the merger of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), including the National Coastal Data Development Center. It inherited the full spectrum of products and services as well as the tradition of excellence, unmatched expertise, and trusted, authoritative data the previous Data Centers established. Together, NOAA’s Data Centers had a combined total of more than 150 years of service to the nation. This presentation will reveal the history of each of these fascinating institutions, the landmark products and services they developed, and the integral role they played in the successful formation of NCEI.