The Path from Large Earth Science Datasets to Information

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data (GES) and Information Services Center (DISC) is one of the major Science Mission Directorate (SMD) for archiving and distribution of Earth Science remote sensing data, products and services. This virtual portal provides convenient access to Atmospheric Composition and Dynamics, Hydrology, Precipitation, Ozone, and model derived datasets (generated by GSFC's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office), the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) data products (both generated by GSFC's Hydrological Sciences Branch). This presentation demonstrates various tools and computational technologies developed in the GES DISC to manage the huge volume of data and products acquired from various missions and programs over the years. It explores approaches to archive, document, distribute, access and analyze Earth Science data and information as well as addresses the technical and scientific issues, governance and user support problem faced by scientists in need of multi-disciplinary datasets. It also discusses data and product metrics, user distribution profiles and lessons learned through interactions with the science communities around the world. Finally it demonstrates some of the most used data and product visualization and analyses tools developed and maintained by the GES DISC.