New NASA Earth science data and data access methods
J. F. Moses, Beth Weinstein, Jennifer Farnham · 2004
NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, working with its domestic and international partners, provides scientific data and analysis to improve life here on Earth. NASA provides science data products that cover a wide range of physical, geophysical, biochemical and other parameters, as well as, services for interdisciplinary Earth science studies. Management and distribution of these products is administered through the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), which all hold data within a different Earth science discipline. This work highlight selected EOS datasets and focuses on how these observations contribute to the improvement of essential services such as weather forecasting, climate prediction, air quality, and agricultural efficiency. Emphasis can be placed on new data products derived from instruments on board Terra, Aqua and ICES at as well as new regional data products and field campaigns. A variety of data tools and services are available to the user community. This work introduces primary and specialized DAAC-specific methods for finding, ordering and using these data products. Special sections focuses on orienting users unfamiliar with DAAC resources, HDF-EOS formatted data and the use of desktop research and application tools.