The Impact of Current Events on Access to EOSDIS Data Centers

The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) has been collecting and analyzing information on the archiving, processing and distribution of Earth science data for over10 years. Long- standing approaches for evaluating the performance of systems managed by EOSDIS have provided insights into how system engineering requirements are being met, how user communities are being served and the levels of interest across the science data products. With data and services increasingly being made available to users via web-based applications, EOSDIS has implemented a system that collects measurements of web- based activity along with standard data system parameter counts and user access metrics. Tracking the access to Earth science data products serves as a key estimate of system utility since these products can be used for Earth science research. In today's world, system access, especially for new users, begins with the access to a web site to gain more information or understanding of the area of interest. Web based content and on-line services provide information and data directly from the web site that may satisfy the viewers' needs. The growing ability of EOSDIS to monitor this interaction provides increased understanding of user interest. And this interest may translate into access to science data products, the traditional measurement of system utility. Recent climate change predictions and the prevalence of natural disasters (flooding in Myanmar and Iowa, earthquakes in China, fires in California) have led to increased interest in Earth science data and information. These events, along with planned EOSDIS outreach activities, often show a corresponding increase in visits to EOSDIS web sites. Examination of the increased activity, e.g., number of unique visitors, their source domains, as well as the lack of activity during similar events, helps us understand what drives our users. The goal is to investigate the correlation between events, natural or man-made, that lead to a change in activity at the EOSDIS data center web sites and impact user access to science data products. We present metrics collected in response to real world events, the capabilities of our metrics collection tools to support detailed analysis, and the insights derived from this analysis.