1. NSIDC DAAC Update 2016 UWG Annual Meeting Boulder, CO
Brian R. Johnson, DAAC Manager

2. 2016 Highlights & Accomplishments
NSIDC data system moved to Space Sciences Data Center
ICESat-2 development on track for launch in December 2017
SMAP released validated L2-L4 data products and expecting enhanced products
NSIDC Sea Ice Products: completed transition to DMSP F16/F18 [Donna]
Operation IceBridge portal updated laying ground work for data service “bridge”
NSIDC DAAC assigned to manage JPL’s Airborne Observatory (ASO) and NASA SnowEx airborne campaign data sets [Amanda]
ESDIS commercial cloud prototypes underway with DAAC participation [ESDIS update, Brian/CATEES] 2

3. Data System Equipment Move to SPSC
Space Science Data Center Facility (SPSC)
New facility on CU’s east campus providing space for up to 100 racks with 12 kW per rack; goal of reducing energy costs and carbon footprint
Design influence by NSIDC green data center
Robust UPS/diesel generator power backup
Room to grow
Physical security and restricted access (24/7)
Status: Move Completed!
July 12-14: Non-ECS equipment moved
July 18-21: NASA ECS equipment moved 3

4. Locations CU Space Science Data Center NSDIC
NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center

5. 2016 Highlights & Accomplishments
NSIDC data system moved to Space Sciences Data Center
ICESat-2 development on track for launch in December 2017
SMAP released validated L2-L4 data products and expecting enhanced products
NSIDC Sea Ice Products: completed transition to DMSP F16/F18 [Donna]
Operation IceBridge portal updated laying ground work for data service “bridge”
NSIDC DAAC assigned to manage JPL’s Airborne Observatory (ASO) and NASA SnowEx airborne campaign data sets [Amanda]
ESDIS commercial cloud prototypes underway with DAAC participation [ESDIS update, Brian/CATEES] 5

6. ICESat-2 Mission Support & Preparations
NSIDC DAAC Role:
Responsible for public distribution of ICESat-2 data and long-term science data archiving
Launch planned: December 2017
Mission operations readiness (MOR) review completed (8/2-8/3)
Achievements:
Installed GridFTP in ECS for ingesting data
ESDTs/L0 data from EDOS for GRT-4
EASE Grid 2 and DOI presentations to SDT
Data Services development
Requirements definition & development priority with SDT
ESDIS established coordination telecon
Established EED-2 delivery schedule to NSIDC (goal to have subsetting, reformating before launch)
Ice sheets
Sea ice
Vegetation 6

7. 2016 Highlights & Accomplishments
NSIDC data system moved to Space Sciences Data Center
ICESat-2 development on track for launch in December 2017
SMAP released validated L2-L4 data products and expecting enhanced products
NSIDC Sea Ice Products: completed transition to DMSP F16/F18 [Donna]
Operation IceBridge portal updated laying ground work for data service “bridge”
NSIDC DAAC assigned to manage NASA SnowEx airborne campaign data sets and evaluate distribution of JPL’s Airborne Observatory (ASO) data [Amanda]
ESDIS commercial cloud prototypes underway with DAAC participation [ESDIS update, Brian/CATEES] 7

8. What drives the DAAC tasks/priorities
Adapted from PO.DAAC presentation - thanks

9. Progress on Initiatives
Data Access & Services (Amanda)
Data Access, Discoverability and Usability initiative (DADU) to improve workflow and services for our research community
Big Earth Data Initiative:
Developing a Polar-focused map utilizing GIBS imagery
Operationalizing LP DAAC AppEEARS access to MODIS snow products
Data Tools Evaluation (Shannon session)
User Services: re-envisioning how to best serve the DAAC and its user community (Lisa)
Data Documentation: where is our greatest value in our guide documents? 9

10. Guidance from HQ
From Kevin Murphy Program Executive, Earth Science Division DAAC Managers F2F meeting Jan, 2016 10

11. Communities/Disciplines we support
NSIDC DAAC serves the cryospheric research and broader Earth sciences, applications and education communities
Polar science traditionally an interdisciplinary research endeavor:
Involving collection and management of large, diverse data sets composed of satellite observations and dedicated airborne and field measurements
Operational agencies also use DAAC data products:
Air Force Weather (Near-real-time snow water and cover)
USDA (weekly snow products)
U.S. Forest Service (MODSI 8-day snow cover)
NOAA (sea ice concentration)
Canadian Metrological Centre (PM sea ice concentration)
Snow
Sea Ice
Glaciers
Ice Sheets
Soil Moisture
Permafrost
Data and information products
(from 2014 ACSI survey results) 11

12. Changing mission needs
EOS Missions
Decadal Survey Missions
Data products to support mission science objectives and facilitate processing
Provide infrastructure to meet User needs ... enable assimilation of data from multiple sensors and sources
Need to provide infrastructure for ‘users’, i.e. that meets user needs as opposed to mission needs.
Need tools that remove culture divide between experts and novices (Currently data sets are developed to facilitate mission scientists and processing, not users)
Expand definition of ‘decadal missions’ to include other missions and measurements from other sources besides NASA including international missions, other US agencies
Addition of applications communities to missions
Notes from Decadal Survey Data System Workshop (2007) 12

13. How should we focus our priorities?
Our primary NASA cryospheric research community
Interdisciplinary Earth science researchers
Earth science research applications community
From Kevin Murphy Program Executive, Earth Science Division DAAC Managers F2F meeting Jan, 2016
Super user: mission scientists & highly published cryospheric scientists
Power user: routinely downloads large volumes of data or uses advanced computer hardware, web services, software programming languages
Non-expert in remote sensing data
Graduate/undergraduate students 13

14. Enhancing our engagement with science communities
New approaches:
Onsite visits … request from Tom Wagner
User Profiles being developed by USO
User Forum being studied
Changing emphasis in USO: tapping our science and data expertise in User Services and Technical Writers
Summer graduate student intern(s) & visiting scientists
Workshops, science-driven hackathons as a means to better understand scientific workflow and data services pain/gain points 14

15. Guide documentation study
Study conducted by Science Communications Group (Led by Ann Windnagel)
Answer several questions about our Documentation
Example: What are we trying to accomplish with our guide documents and how do we know if we are succeeding?
Expected outcomes:
1.) Want users to find what they need as quickly and painlessly as possible.
2.) Want writers to be able to be thorough but efficient, so need to know where to spend their time.
“Ensure data is documented precisely and fully, …”
“... new data products at lower cost … data available … as soon as it is ingested.” 15

16. Methodology Consulted 7 sources for information
Other NASA DAAC web sites
USO’s Zendesk ticketing system
NASA ACSI survey user comments and scores
UWG user comments and action items from UWG 33, 32, and 31
NASA DAAC Blink study
USO survey about effectiveness of our guide docs
Tech Writer survey on most challenging aspects of creating guide docs 16

17. Top 5 Problems Uncovered
Users not finding information that is available
Projection/Grid info, software tools, processing steps
When users do find the information, it isn’t always written or coded in a way that is immediately usable
Projection and Grid information – users want this in a certain format or file that is easily plugged into other software
Users not able to read/use files
Usually for binary files but other files types come up with respect to how to get them into GIS
Users have trouble deciding what data set to use
Tech writers overwhelmed with the number of data sets coming in - need ways to be efficient to complete all the work but still meet the users’ needs 17

18. Study Next steps
Study just completed Science Comm. Group creating some action items; expect this “body of Knowledge” will help inform several ongoing and planned activities:
Levels of Service
Usability testing
Evolution of our Landing Pages
Re-Projection tools 18

19. Challenges
Breadth of user community needs and differing expectations among stakeholders
Balancing our ongoing core activities like mission and user support, and data systems operations and sustainment with making progress on engineering, applications development & ESDIS initiatives
Cross functional skills required; i.e. SA, Operations, User services and technical writer staff support needed in projects
Some new potential challenges with cross-DAAC collaboration projects
Focus has been on enabling project development (ECC, etc.) but sustainment is another major factor: system maintenance, change control, user support
Timing of ESDIS cloud technology studies & adoption
NSIDC will want to identify an “on-ramp” that does not interfere with ongoing ICESat-2 or SMAP mission support 19

20. Looking Ahead … Strategic Priorities:
Engagement with our science and applications user communities
Focus on new mission and science support
Adopting an “integrated” approach to data discover and usability
NSIDC DAAC Activities
ICESat-2 data services development starting w/ availability of test products
SMAP enhanced products (Dec. 2016)
MEaSUREs: Enable data services via OPenDAP; Several product releases/updates
SSM/I-SSMIS: Updating data sets through F17 period: 0046, 0192, 0116, 0611
Release of VIIRS snow products
SnowEx 1st snow off flights in Sept. 2016/snow on in early 2017
NASA ESDIS Commercial Cloud Study
Ingest/archive prototype
Continuing with CATEES 20