April 20, 2006

As Earth Day approaches on April 22, NASA data archive centers are making available enormous quantities of important satellite data about many facets of the Earth.

The data available from NASA’s nine data centers across the country work to meet the needs of many users, from scientists to public officials, teachers and students. The centers support the production of and collectively manage enough unique data from the NASA Earth-observing satellites to fill a stack of DVDs almost two feet tall every day. Last year, NASA distributed nearly 60 million Earth Science data products — over 720 terabytes of data — to more than 2.5 million distinct users.

The value of NASA’s Earth observations from space is not just in its quantity but in the public benefit reaped from its use. Beyond scientific research, the data from NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) data centers, called Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAAC), is used in ecological and weather forecasting, responding to natural disasters, coastal management, agricultural forecasting, and air and water quality management.

Each DAAC maintains data on specialized Earth science subjects like sea ice, ocean biology, lightning, clouds and the upper atmosphere. Examples of how NASA’s wealth of Earth science data are improving our stewardship of our home planet include:

• The NASA-sponsored Alaska Satellite Facility DAAC, Fairbanks, assisted in a 2004 Bering Sea incident when an oil freighter ran aground and broke apart. The data requested by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Ice Center and NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite Data and Information System helped the U.S. Coast Guard in their efforts and enabled ongoing monitoring of the status of the vessel’s broken pieces and oil spillage.
• Detailed rainfall data from the Goddard Space Flight Center Data and Information Services Center DAAC, Greenbelt, Md., make important contributions to the Famine Early Warning System Network, a partnership of U.S. agencies with environmental monitoring expertise and several African regional early warning groups.
• In 2005, the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colo., and NASA scientists marked the fourth consecutive year using satellite data to track a major reduction in Arctic sea ice at the end of the northern summer. Satellite passive microwave data available through this data center were also used to track snowmelt on the Greenland ice sheet, where 2005 summer melt was the most extensive for the 27-year satellite record.
• Jason and TOPEX/Poseidon satellite data, made available through the Physical Oceanography DAAC, Pasadena, Calif., provided scientists the first detailed profile of wave height changes as they formed during the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami.
• The NASA-supported Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center at Columbia University in New York City provided data on the distribution of human population and urban settlements for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, produced by the World Health Organization in 2005. These data were used to study the interaction between ecosystem services and human well-being.

The EOSDIS data centers have reduced the lag time between Earth observations and data product generation, becoming valuable sources of reliable near-real-time data and information, potentially reducing the impact of weather hazards and improving emergency management of critical natural resources.

The NASA EOSDIS data centers simultaneously support science, applications, and educational users. For more information about the data centers and to access EOSDIS data, visit:

http://nasadaacs.eos.nasa.gov/about.html

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Contact:

Erica Hupp
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1237)

Lynn Chandler
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-2086)

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