1. Dan Kowal, Data Administrator
U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) Stewarding data from the surface of the Sun to the core of the Earth
The National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) is part of the National Environmental Satellite Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce. NGDC’s Web site is:
NOAA/NESDIS operates three national data centers: NGDC, the National Climate Data Center (NCDC), and the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).
NGDC is responsible for marine geological and geophysical data, Earth geophysical data, and solar-terrestrial data from the ionosphere to the surface of the sun. NODC is responsible for data from the wet ocean (except water column sonar data), and NCDC is responsible for data from Earth’s atmosphere and climate, and paleoclimate data.
Dan Kowal, Data Administrator
NSOF Data Workshop
Sept. 14, 2011

2. Three National Data Centers
The 3 data centers are:
NCDC (National Climatic Data Center) located in Asheville, NC.
They archive and serve online weather data. They are the largest of the data centers.
NODC (National Oceanographic Data Center) located in Silver Spring, MD.
They archive data within the water column - physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic data from coastal and deep ocean areas.
They are the second largest data center by budget.
NGDC (National Geophysical Data Center) located in Boulder, CO.
NGDC archives data from the surface of the Sun to the core of the Earth – excluding the non-sonar water column and
weather-generating atmosphere. NGDC is the smallest data center by budget but handles more diverse data than any
of the other Centers and more volume than NODC.

3. Long-Term Archive
NGDC provides stewardship, products and services for geophysical data describing the solid earth, marine, and solar-terrestrial environment, as well as earth observations from space.
Data Holdings
> 400 digital and analog collections
NAO and NSF-04
Designated archive for
NSF Academic and NOAA
Geophysical data.
Archive
We’re in it for the long haul,
preserving data for your great-grandchildren
Data Rescue & Digitizing
Rescuing data from old and obsolete media and formats
Data Access
Using standards to make data freely & publicly available
Archive Snapshot:
The Marine Geology and Geophysics Division of NGDC is responsible for stewardship of data from the ocean floor, from both coastal and open ocean areas, lakebed data, and natural hazards data and information.
In the area of marine geology and geophysics, key data types include bathymetry and gridded relief, trackline geophysics (gravity, magnetics, seismic reflection), sediment thickness, data from ocean drilling and sea floor sediment and rock samples, and digital coastlines. As of January 2011, NGDC is stewarding ~145Tb of multibeam sonar data, 40 Tb of marine geological / geophysical data, and 3 Tb of coastal Lidar data.
Archive Size - Cumulative One Copy.
FY07: Tb
FY08: Tb
FY09: Tb
FY10: Tb
FY11: Tb (estimated; Archive growing at 30%/year)

4. Preservation Planning
Archive vs archive NGDC and the Open Archive Information System (ISO 14721:2003)
Preservation Planning P R O D U C E C O N S U M E R
AIP
Data
Management
Archival
Storage
Descriptive
Info.
Descriptive
Info.
AIP
Access
DIP
queries
result sets
orders
SIP
Ingest
OAIS (archive)
Slide Talking Notes:
IV. OAIS
a) NGDC predicates its operations on a conceptual framework called the Open Archive Information System Reference Model, aka. OAIS. It's an ISO standard utilized by a myriad of digital archives and originated from the scientific community which involved participation from NOAA and USGS.
b) Four key roles in the OAIS Environment are:
1) OAIS (archive) itself where day-to-day administrative activities take place.
2) Producers of course provide the information to be preserved.
3) Consumers interact with the OAIS for data searches and retrievals.
4) Management sets up policy.
c) We refer to three key information packages that are handled in the OAIS: SIP, AIP, DIP.
d) The Producer provides the SIP and delivers to one of the six functions of the OAIS called Ingest where services are performed to accept the SIP and prepare it for the archive.
e.1) The Ingest Function assembles the AIP and hands off to the Archival Function to store, maintain and retrieve the AIPs.
e.2) Meanwhile, the Ingest function passes on descriptive information, metadata, to the Data Management Function that identifies, catalogs the archive holdings, even internal administrative data.
f. The Access Function supports consumers by using description information from Data Management to find data, retrieve the AIPs from Archival Storage and deliver DIPs back. Keep in mind the information products going out to consumers don't necessarily = the SIPs going in, or what is stored as the AIP.
g. An over-riding function of the OAIS is Preservation Planning. This entity monitors the environment of the OAIS and provides recommendations to ensure that the information stored in the OAIS remain accessible to the Designated User Community over the long term even if the original computing environment becomes obsolete.
h. To support that, another major function is Administration that manages the overall operation of the archive system.
* Include negotiating submission agreements as a key planning tool that captures important details about the who, what, when, how the data will be managed, and sets up a review period to check in with providers to see if anything has changed.
==========================================
Additional Description:
The OAIS treats the archive as a management entity.
The Open Archival Information System (OAIS) is an ISO standard reference model (ISO 14721:2003) which articulates the functional and informational requirements for the ingest, management and delivery of digital content to and from an archival repository.
It outlines the processes required for the long-term preservation and accessibility of objects within an archival framework, without specifying the nature of the implementation of such an archive system.
The model is not restricted to an exclusively technical environment and several of its components have a human or manual element.
The model is based on six functional entities and three persons or client systems (producers, consumers and managers).
Six Functional Entities
1. Ingest: This entity provides the services and functions to accept Submission Information Packages (SIPs) from Producers and prepare the contents for storage and management within the archive.
2. Archival Storage: This entity provides the services and functions for the storage, maintenance and retrieval of Archival Information Packages.
3. Data Management: This entity provides the services and functions for populating, maintaining, and accessing both descriptive information that identifies and documents archive holdings and internal archive administrative data.
4. Administration: This entity manages the overall operation of the archive system.
5. Preservation Planning: This entity monitors the environment of the OAIS and provides recommendations to ensure that the information stored in the OAIS remain accessible to the Designated User Community over the long term even if the original computing environment becomes obsolete.
6. Access: This entity supports consumers in determining the existence, description, location and availability of information stored in the OAIS and allowing consumers to request and receive information products.
The OAIS informational model is based on the creation and maintenance of three different Information Packages (namely Submission, Archival and Dissemination), which are composed of the data object and representation information (bundled together as content information) and preservation description information.
Administration
MANAGEMENT
SIP = Submission Information Package
AIP = Archival Information Package
DIP = Dissemination Information Package

5. Marine Geology & Geophysics
NGDC’s MGG Division provides scientific stewardship for geophysical data supporting:
Coastal resiliency, hazard warning & mitigation
Ocean and coastal charting and mapping
Exploration of the U.S. outer continental shelf

6. Data & Information DATA TYPES APPLICATIONS Bathymetry / LIDAR
DATA TYPES
Bathymetry / LIDAR
Digital Elevation Models
DART & Tide Gauge
Tsunami Events / Impacts
Significant Earthquakes
Volcanic Eruptions
Ocean Drilling
Seismic Reflection
Sea Floor Composition
Gravity & Magnetics
World Magnetic Model
APPLICATIONS
Charting & Inundation
Modeling
Hazards Assessment
& Economic Impact
Global Change Research
Fisheries / Habitats
Ocean Mapping
Defense Applications
Cable & Pipeline Routing
Minerals Exploration
Navigation / Charting
NGDC’s Marine Geology and Geophysics Division stewards a variety of data, including the fastest growing archive at NGDC (hydrographic data).
These data support 4 main projects – Tsunami, Marine Transportation, Integrated Ocean & Coastal Mapping, and the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf.

7. ETOPO1 – Global 1-km bathymetry and elevation
Marine Modeling
MGG develops, archives, and provides access to global, regional, and community level bathymetric-topographic digital elevation models (DEMs)
Products: 10-m coastal inundation DEMs, DART buoy deployment maps, Coastal Relief Models (30m-90m) for the U.S., ETOPO1, and Great Lakes bathymetry
Users: Coastal modeling, habitat characterization, circulation, climate change, community planning, forecast & warning, response & recovery
The Marine Modeling Team (MMT) develops, archives, and provides access to worldwide and regional bathymetric-topographic digital elevation models (DEMs), bathymetric maps, and derived products, including coastal tsunami inundation DEMs, the United States Coastal Relief Model, ETOPO1 - 1 arc minute global relief model that integrates land top and ocean bathy, and Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoy deployment maps.
Tsunami inundation grid, 1/3 arc-second, Monterey Bay, CA
Northern Gulf of Mexico CRM , 1 arc-second covering portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida
ETOPO1 – Global 1-km bathymetry and elevation

8. Hydrographic & Bathymetric Survey Data
Partnerships in Action
NOS Hydrographic Office Conducts Surveys
Acquire multibeam sonar and related data
Ship sends data to NGDC
Safe, secure storage against loss
And to Hydrographic Processing Center
Processing and charting product development
NGDC Archives and Delivers Data and NOS-derived Products
Raw data archived immediately
Processed data and products archive when complete from Hydrographic Center
NOS determines what data and products are public according to NOAA Administrative Orders and Policy
Public data and documentation incorporated into Web Services
NOS Hydrographic Office Plans Surveys
Inventory of archived data helps identify gaps
National Ocean Service (NOS) Hydrographic Survey Data
The NOS Hydrographic Data Base (NOSHDB), maintained by NGDC in conjunction with NOS, provides extensive survey coverage of the coastal waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the United States and its territories. The NOSHDB contains data digitized from smooth sheets of hydrographic surveys completed between 1851 and 1965, and from survey data acquired digitally on NOS survey vessels since Over 76 million soundings from over 6,600 surveys are now included in the NOSHDB.
Data products from NOS surveys, including Descriptive Reports (DRs), smooth sheet images, survey data images, textual gridded data, and sidescan sonar mosaics, are available for download from NGDC using the Hydrographic Survey Data Map Service. NOS DRs are approved metadata documents relevant to survey level hydrographic data and are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). NOS smooth sheets are available from NGDC as images in TIFF or SID format. A smooth sheet is the final, neatly drafted, accurate plot of a hydrographic survey using verified or corrected data. NGDC archives and disseminates over 11,000 smooth sheets and over 8,000 DRs dating from the mid-1800s to the present. The survey data images, gridded data, and sidescan sonar mosaics are available only for recent surveys where high-resolution data was collected.
Multibeam Bathymetry
NGDC is the United States national archive for multibeam bathymetric data and presently holds over 6.9 million nautical miles of ship tracklines from more then 990 surveys received from sources worldwide. In addition to deepwater data, the multibeam database also includes hydrographic multibeam survey data from the NOS. Associated NOS data products, including 3D images and grids, are available via the NOS Hydrographic Survey Data Map Service. The interactive map for these data displays the geographic locations of multibeam bathymetric data by institutional source or by instrument.
Multibeam bathymetric data at NGDC can be selected via an ArcIMS Web interface. Data selections are downloadable free. An on-line Autochart custom mapping feature is also available.

9. Bathymetric Data Viewer
Displays location and information about all bathymetry in archive
Enables download of descriptions, products, and data
Web services can be ingested into any viewer

10. NGDC Space Weather Program
Functional Elements
NGDC Space Weather Program

11. Ionospheric Data Services Data Acquisition and Field Work
NGDC acquires, processes and distributes approximately 6,000 real-time ionosonde observations per day from over 50 instruments worldwide. Ionosonde data sent to SWPC are used primarily to serve the general public, both industry and private citizens. Data from SWPC's servers indicate that about 12,000 unique customers access 650,000 to 825,000 ionosonde observations per month.
NGDC serves real-time ionospheric data through the Mirrion system.
Science On a Sphere
Ionospheric Sounding

12. Satellite Data Services
NOAA Operational Datasets
GOES Space Environment Monitor
Geosynchronous Orbit, since 1974
Elements: In Situ Magnetic Fields Whole Sun X-ray Flux Energetic Particles
Data Online at:
GOES Solar X-ray Imager – GOES 12-15
Geosynchronous Orbit, since 2003
X-ray Images taken every minute
All Data Are Online (once operational)
POES/MetOp Energetic Particle Detector
Polar Low Earth Orbit
Energetic Particles Archived Since 1979
Data Online at: 12

13. Solar Data Services Safeguarding Historical Datasets
Archives include a variety of solar synoptic drawings, sunspot images and photographs derived from mostly ground obser-vatories. Digitization done through the Climate Database Moderization Program.
Wendelstein Observatory*
( )
Boulder Composite Drawings*
(1972-present)
Fraunhoffer Institute
( )
Northwestern Observatory*
( )
Drawings from the IGY
( )
*Recently added to the archives ( )

14. Geomagnetic Indices and Sunspot
Indices Data Services
Geomagnetic Indices and Sunspot
NGDC acquires and archives a variety of solar and geomagnetic indices which are made available in tabular format or as time-series data. Archived indices include:
Daily/monthly/yearly sunspot numbers
Solar radio flux, F10.7, USAF data
Geomagnetic Kp, Ap, Dst, AA, AA*
AMIE derived indices (SWx Climatology)
Cosmic ray datasets

15. Operational SWx Datasets
USAF SWx Datasets – Satellite & Ground
Solar Electro-Optical Network (SEON)
Solar Optical Observing Network (SOON) – daily sunspot drawings from 4+ SEON sites
Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN) – Solar radio noise backgrounds at selected frequencies (245 MHz – 15.4 GHz)
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)
Operational Linescan System auroral imagery
Space Weather Sensors – SSJ / SSIES / SSM
SSUSI / SSULI tbd
MIRRION Ionosonde Data System
Digital Ionospheric Sounding System (DISS)
Vertical Incidence Pulsed Ionospheric Radar (VIPIR)
International ionosonde datasets

16. National Geodetic Survey (NGS)
Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS)
Background
CORS helps define the National Spatial Reference System. Provides the foundation for positioning in the nation.
In 2003, Parallel CORS facility and archive established at NGDC.
NGDC is the designated archive for NGS GPS data according to NOS Records Disposition Schedule
Migrating to CLASS IT Systems in 2011.
Data Types
RINEX format data
Binary Raw data
Station metadata
CORS facilities distribute historical data older than 30 days decimated down to a 30-sec sampling rate. NGDC archives original sampling rates (varying from 1-sec to 30-sec).
Uses and the Future.
-The positions from CORS data are used as input for essential NOAA activities such as monitoring water vapor in the atmosphere and total electron content in the ionosphere.
- Future Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) satellite systems data such as Russia’s GLONASS and China’s COMPASS will be incorporated into CORS.

17. NGDC Archive Status FY11 3rd QTR Highlights: Top Three: NOS - 156.1 TB
DMSP TB
CORS TB 17 17

18. CLASS-NGDC Archive Total CLASS -NGDC Archive Volume FY10 Q4 = 515 TB
NPP ingest volume will be 4-5 TB/day at each node 18 18

19. Metadata Data Centers transitioning from FGDC to ISO 19115/19115-2
Can Support Multiple Views of Metadata and Quality Reports

20. Metadata

21. Summary NGDC is 1 of 3 NOAA National Data Centers
We are responsible for the long-term stewardship of data from the surface of the Sun to the core of the Earth (except the wet ocean & weather layer)
NGDC delivers over 100 Tb per year (use and re-use) to a diverse set of customers.
NOAA Hydrographic data is one of the fastest growing data streams stewarded by NGDC