The National Virtual Ocean Data System (NVODS) is an effort to build the data access component of an integrated ocean observing and prediction system - a framework for broad access to ocean information. The key to success of NVODS will be the ability of a user to easily access data for specified locations and times, without special efforts or insights about the data source(s). The NVODS project brings together academic, Federal, and state institutions as well as corporate and non-profit interests.

System components, important to the overall success of NVODS, that will be discussed are:

1) the Distributed Ocean Data System (DODS), the foundation for data communications within NVODS;

2) the Live Access Server (LAS), which provides a uniform minimal ability to visualize, subset, and "fuse" (overlay and compute differences between) NVODS data via standard web browsers; and

3) the Unidata Aggregation Server, designed to provide a single file virtual view from a multi-file collection.

These components make it possible for suppliers of ocean data to offer their data on the Web at minimal effort - in some cases requiring only the effort of dropping a DODS server binary onto their computer. Users can access the data in a uniform manner through the NVODS.

Further information about NVODS, DODS, and LAS may be found at DODS - http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/dods/ LAS - http://www.ferret.noaa.gov/Ferret/LAS/ NVODS - http://www.nvods.org/