National Centers for Environmental Information

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National Centers for Environmental Information
Noaa-emblem-rgb-2022 (1).jpg
Agency overview
Formed2015 (2015)
Preceding agencies
Jurisdiction United States government
Headquarters Asheville, North Carolina
Employeesapproximately 500
Annual budget$71.4 million (2023)
Agency executives
  • Deke Arndt, Director [1]
  • Joe Pica, Deputy Director [1]
Parent agency National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
Website www.ncei.noaa.gov

The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is a U.S. government agency that manages one of the world's largest archives of atmospheric, coastal, geophysical, and oceanic data. The current director is Derek Arndt. [2]

Contents

NCEI is operated by the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), an office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which operates under the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In addition to archiving data, NCEI develops products and services that make data readily available to scientists, government officials, the business community, academia, non-governmental organizations, and the general public.

NCEI provides environmental data, products, and services covering the depths of the ocean to the surface of the Sun. [3]

History

Formation

NCEI was created in 2015 from the merger of three NOAA data centers:

NCEI was established by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113-235 in response to increasing demand for environmental information. The organization was created by merging the three existing NOAA National Data Centers with the goal of streamlining the collection and preservation of environmental data.

The merger, which came in response to increasing demand for environmental information, was intended to make NOAA's data more useful through the application of consistent data stewardship practices across all science disciplines. NCEI works with the ISC World Data System to make data free and accessible. [4]

Hurricane Helene

In September, 2024, the NCEI headquarters in Asheville were buffeted by storm conditions and flooding from Hurricane Helene. [5] Severe damage was done to infrastructure, limiting network services and website availability. Archived data was rendered inaccessible, certain webpages suffered limited availability, and the monthly climate reports for September were postponed. They confirmed on October 4th that all data products, however, were safe.

Data and services

This graphic from a study by NCEI 2023 billion dollar disasters.jpg
This graphic from a study by NCEI

The NCEI archive contains more than 60 petabytes of data, equivalent to more than 700 million filing cabinets filled with documents. NCEI offers users access to tens of thousands of datasets and hundreds of products. Data are collected by NOAA, other agencies and departments of the U.S. government, as well as by other institutions, organizations, and governments around the world. [6]

Environmental data are collected from many sources, including satellites, land-based stations, ocean buoys, ships, remotely operated underwater vehicles, weather balloons, radar, forecasting and climate models, and paleoclimatological research. Once transmitted to NCEI, data are archived and made available for use by researchers and others in public and private sectors. The data and products offer information about climate and weather, [7] coasts, oceans, [8] and geophysics. [9]

NCEI Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) collaborate on national and international research projects. In 2022, they collaborated with scientists from across the globe to produce world-class research and authored more than 90 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Areas of study were as varied as the environmental data housed at NCEI: hurricanes, drought, ocean warming, fire science, solar flares, artificial intelligence, marine microplastics, and many more. [10]

NCEI data users

NCEI resources are used for scientific research and commercial applications in many fields, including agriculture, forestry, marine and coastal ecosystems, tourism, transportation, civil infrastructure, energy, transportation, water resources, energy, health, insurance, litigation, and national security. [11]

For example, retail and manufacturing businesses use climate data to assess how weather has influenced past sales so they can better plan for the future. [12] Corn farmers rely on NCEI data to decide how much fertilizer to apply. [13] The reinsurance industry—which offers insurance to insurance companies—uses NCEI data to determine risks associated with natural disasters. [14] Cattle ranchers use NCEI's weekly U.S. Drought Monitor [15] to make decisions about land management, herd size, and feed purchases. [16] The freight railway industry uses a number of NCEI products—including Local Climatological Data, Integrated Surface Daily Database, and Global Historical Climatology Network [17] —to predict where tracks might be blocked by landslides and to help trains avoid the path of severe storms. [18] U.S. fishing boats use NCEI ocean and coastal data to determine where fishing conditions are most promising. [19] The third-party weather service industry uses NCEI data to create customized forecasts and other tools to serve a wide range of clients, such as transportation companies seeking to build facilities where fog or snow is less likely to create problems. [20]

Locations

Map of NCEI Locations as of 2021 NCEI GEO Locations (May 2021-V9-01).png
Map of NCEI Locations as of 2021

NCEI is headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, with other primary locations in Boulder, Colorado; Silver Spring, Maryland; and Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi. [21]

NOAA's six Regional Climate Services Directors, which are part of NCEI, represent the Eastern, Central, Southern, Pacific, Western, and Alaska regions. They work with a broad range of partners to provide climate information specific to each region. [22]

Map of NCEI's regional climate center locations and coverage areas NCEI Regional Climate Center Locations.gif
Map of NCEI's regional climate center locations and coverage areas

NCEI manages the Regional Climate Center Program, [23] which provides services through six regional offices:

NCEI partners with academic and nonprofit institutions known as cooperative institutes to conduct research and perform tasks that support its mission and goals. [24] The cooperative institutes affiliated with NCEI are as follows:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</span> US government scientific agency

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploration, and managing fishing and protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the US exclusive economic zone. The agency is part of the United States Department of Commerce and is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Weather Service</span> U.S. forecasting agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the purposes of protection, safety, and general information. It is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) branch of the Department of Commerce, and is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, within the Washington metropolitan area. The agency was known as the United States Weather Bureau from 1890 until it adopted its current name in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Climatic Data Center</span> Active US archive of weather data.

The United States National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), previously known as the National Weather Records Center (NWRC), in Asheville, North Carolina, was the world's largest active archive of weather data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Geophysical Data Center</span> Former data center of the U.S. NOAA

The United States National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) provided scientific stewardship, products and services for geophysical data describing the solid earth, marine, and solar-terrestrial environment, as well as earth observations from space. It was established in 1965 as part of the new Environmental Science Services Administration until that organization became the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1970. In 2015, NGDC was merged with the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) was one of the national environmental data centers operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The main NODC facility was located in Silver Spring, Maryland, and consisted of five divisions. The NODC also had field offices collocated with major government or academic oceanographic laboratories in Stennis Space Center, MS; Miami, FL; La Jolla, San Diego, California; Seattle, WA; Austin, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia; and Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015, NODC was merged with the National Climatic Data Center and the National Geophysical Data Center into the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental Modeling Center</span> United States weather agency

The Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) is a United States Government agency, which improves numerical weather, marine and climate predictions at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), through a broad program of research in data assimilation and modeling. In support of the NCEP operational forecasting mission, the EMC develops, improves and monitors data assimilation systems and models of the atmosphere, ocean and coupled system, using advanced methods developed internally as well as cooperatively with scientists from universities, NOAA laboratories and other government agencies, and the international scientific community.

This is a list of meteorology topics. The terms relate to meteorology, the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research</span> NOAA environmental products and services

Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). OAR is also referred to as NOAA Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory</span> U.S. Government research laboratory

The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), a federal research laboratory, is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), located in Miami in the United States. AOML's research spans tropical cyclone and hurricanes, coastal ecosystems, oceans and human health, climate studies, global carbon systems, and ocean observations. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs).

The Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO) is one of 16 NOAA Cooperative Institutes (CIs), hosted at the University of Oklahoma. Before Oct. 1, 2021, it was known as the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS). The CIMMS/CIWRO, a research organization created in 1978 by a cooperative agreement between the University of Oklahoma (OU) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), promotes collaborative research between NOAA and OU scientists on problems of mutual interest to improve basic understanding of mesoscale meteorological phenomena, weather radar, and regional climate to help produce better forecasts and warnings that save lives and property. CIMMS/CIWRO research contributes to the NOAA mission through improvement of the observation, analysis, understanding, and prediction of weather elements and systems and climate anomalies ranging in size from cloud nuclei to multi-state areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Weather Center</span> Building in Oklahoma, United States

The National Weather Center (NWC), on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, is a confederation of federal, state, and academic organizations that work together to better understand events that take place in Earth's atmosphere over a wide range of time and space scales. The NWC partners give equal attention to applying that understanding to the development of improved observation, analysis, assimilation, display, and prediction systems. The National Weather Center also has expertise in local and regional climate, numerical modeling, hydrology, and weather radar. Members of the NWC work with a wide range of federal, state, and local government agencies to help reduce loss of life and property to hazardous weather, ensure wise use of water resources, and enhance agricultural production. They also work with private sector partners to develop new applications of weather and regional climate information that provide competitive advantage in the marketplace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences</span> Research institute

The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is a research institute that is sponsored jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and the University of Colorado Boulder (CU). CIRES scientists study the Earth system, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, and communicate these findings to decision makers, the scientific community, and the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of California</span>

The climate of California varies widely from hot desert to alpine tundra, depending on latitude, elevation, and proximity to the Pacific Coast. California's coastal regions, the Sierra Nevada foothills, and much of the Central Valley have a Mediterranean climate, with warmer, drier weather in summer and cooler, wetter weather in winter. The influence of the ocean generally moderates temperature extremes, creating warmer winters and substantially cooler summers in coastal areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service</span>

The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to operate and manage the United States environmental satellite programs, and manage the data gathered by the National Weather Service and other government agencies and departments.

The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) is a research institute where scientists study the use of data from geostationary and polar orbit weather satellites to improve forecasts of weather (including tropical cyclones and severe storms. CIMSS was formed through a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. CIMSS parent organization, the Space Science and Engineering Center is a primary developer and operator of environmental satellite technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate Prediction Center</span> United States federal weather agency

The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is a United States federal agency that is one of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, which are a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. CPC is headquartered in College Park, Maryland. Its roots trace back to the climatological work of Thomas Jefferson, with the United States Army Signal Corp taking over responsibility of the climate program in the late 19th century. Once it became part of the United States Weather Bureau, it was known as the Weather Bureau Climate and Crop Services. From 1957 through 1966, the United States Weather Bureau's Office of Climatology, located in Washington, D.C., and then Suitland, Maryland, published the Mariners Weather Log publication. Late in the 20th century, it was known as the Climate Analysis Center for a time, before evolving into CPC in 1995. CPC issues climate forecasts valid for weeks and months in advance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Gulf Institute</span>

The Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institute started in October 2006. It is one of 20 NOAA Cooperative Institutes (CIs). The NGI is a partnership of six academic institutions and NOAA. The collaboration led by Mississippi State University (MSU), includes the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Louisiana State University (LSU), Florida State University (FSU), the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL). The NGI defines the Northern Gulf of Mexico region as the upland, watershed, coastal zone, and coastal ocean areas from the Sabine River in Louisiana east to the Suwannee River in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Integrated Drought Information System</span> US legislative instrument

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Act was signed into law in 2006 and was reauthorized in 2014 and 2019. The Western Governors' Association described the need for NIDIS in a 2004 report, Creating a Drought Early Warning System for the 21st Century: The National Integrated Drought Information System. The NIDIS Act calls for an interagency, multi-partner approach to drought monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of New England</span>

The climate of New England varies greatly across its 500-mile (800 km) span from northern Maine to southern Connecticut.

References

  1. 1 2 "About". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. January 27, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  2. ↑ "About". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). January 27, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  3. ↑ "About". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). January 27, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Regular Members-World Data System". ICSU WDS. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Helene Devastates Southeast, Impacts NOAA NCEI Headquarters". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Day In, Day Out, NCEI Takes Data Seriously". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). July 6, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  7. ↑ Corbett, Jessica (August 8, 2023). "A Record 15 Billion-Dollar Disasters Have Hit US So Far This Year: NOAA". www.commondreams.org. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  8. ↑ "ECO Environmental, Coastal & Offshore". May 16, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ "NCEI: NOAA's Data Archive and More". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Moving Science Forward". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). February 13, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Sectoral". NCEI. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Retail and Manufacturing" (PDF). NCEI. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Agriculture" (PDF). NCEI. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Value of the Data Case Study: Reinsurance". NCEI. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  15. ↑ "National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) | Drought.gov". www.drought.gov. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Value of the Data: U.S. Drought Monitor". NCEI. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Weather and Climate Quick Links". NCEI. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ "NOAA Climate and Weather Data Carry Weight in Transportation Sector". NCEI. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  19. ↑ "NOAA Data Help Land the Next Catch". NCEI. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Weather Data: Beyond the Forecast". NCEI. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  21. ↑ "NCEI Locations". NCEI. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Regional Climate Services Directors". NCEI. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Regional Climate Centers". NCEI. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  24. ↑ "NCEI's Cooperative Institutes: Partners in Science". NCEI. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
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