Online Visualization and Exploration of NASA Earth Science Datasets with GIOVANNI

Observations are important for understanding and predicting weather and climate. However, sparse ground observations create large data gaps in research and applications because oceans alone cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, in addition to deserts, uninhibited regions, etc. Over the past several decades, satellite-based observations have been taking an important role to fill data gaps around the globe and accelerate the understanding of weather and climate on our planet.

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) is one of 12 NASA data centers that provide Earth science data, information, and services to research scientists, applications scientists, applications users, and students around the world. The GES DISC is the home (archive) of NASA Precipitation and Hydrology, as well as Atmospheric Composition and Dynamics remote sensing data and information.

The Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (GIOVANNI, http://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov/), developed at the GES DISC to facilitate data access and exploration, allows users to visualize, analyze, and explore satellite-based datasets using sophisticated analyses and visualizations without downloading data and software, which is particularly suitable for novices to use NASA datasets for STEM activities. In this presentation, we will introduce GIOVANNI and recommend datasets for STEM. Examples of using these datasets will be presented as well.