CISL Annual Report 2005 > Earth System Knowledge Environment accomplishments

Data services accomplishments

Data services accomplishments are a result of two ongoing thrusts, the Research Data Archives (RDA) and the Community Data Portal (CDP), that have interrelated and mutually exclusive independent developments.

The RDA activity focuses on data curation, stewardship, and user access, with an emphasis on obtaining datasets that help advance the studies of climate change and weather. Over 500 distinct data collections have been formed and developed through more than 40 years of activity.

The CDP provides an access point for the RDA by hosting a complete metadata catalog that permits data discovery. Full service (documentation, data access, consulting, etc.) is then provided from an associated data server (http://dss.ucar.edu/). The CDP extends similar and enhanced services to many other data providers at NCAR/UCAR/UOP and leads the institution in developing and implementing data portal technologies. This integrative approach promotes beneficial data services throughout the organization and has demonstrated success with connections to other national and international in-kind efforts, e.g. provisioning of IPCC AR4 results to the global research community.