Centered On The Pole: NCEI Interdisciplinary Arctic Data Stewardship

In 2014, NOAA’s data centers (National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanographic Data Center, National Geophysical Data Center and its affiliated program within the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and the National Coastal Data Development Center) merged to form NCEI, the National Centers for Environmental Information-- the largest repository of publicly accessible earth system science data in the world. The merger has forced a reconciling of different workflows, data types, and cultures. However, the Arctic has emerged as a common area where the different centers can integrate their expertise, data assets, and services, and use this information to better align the entire organization. The centers face a unique challenge as they move forward: how to archive, steward and provide access to environmental data to fulfil their mission of providing the best information to help protect life and property. A pressing national need for information that supports policy decisions drives our work.