 About Metadata
The general definition for metadata is "data about data". Here at NCDC there are abundant resources for metadata. This site tries to provide a central location for access to all metadata resources. Below you will find links to various databases, portals, and resources. Most are available within NCDC, but we have provided some that are available outside of the NCDC.
Station Histories
- MMS (Multi-network Metadata System)
MMS provides metadata on station histories, data inventories, data catalogs, and directories.
Users can search for stations according to a variety of criteria, display summary information for
stations matching the criteria and drill down to high levels of detail for each individual station.
- Observers Privacy Policy
Access procedures and Cooperative Observers privacy policy.
- Inventories/Station Lists
Provides quick access to other NCDC inventories and information.
Datasets and Products
Standards and Tools
- Federal Geographic Data Committee
The Geospatial Data Clearinghouse is a collection of over 250 spatial data servers,
that have digital geographic data primarily for use in Geographic Information Systems
(GIS), image processing systems, and other modelling software. These data collections
can be searched through a single interface based on their descriptions, or "metadata."
The following files consists of NCDC guidelines for writing FGDC compliant metadata.
Portals
- Global Change Master Directory Portals
NASA's GCMD goal is to enable users to locate and obtain access to Earth science data sets and services relevant to the global change and Earth science research. The GCMD database holds more than 15,000 descriptions of Earth science data sets and services covering all aspects of Earth and environmental sciences. Users will find NCDC's metadata portal among many others here.
- NCDC's GIS Portal
NCDC's GIS Portal allows users to view, access, and utilize in situ station data through
NCDC's Geographic Information System (GIS) portal. Interactive maps,
associated metadata, and advanced Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)
services, such as Web Map Services (WMS) and Web Feature Services
(WFS) are available.
- Geospatial One Stop
geodata.gov is a geographic information system (GIS) portal, also known as the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS), that serves as a public gateway for improving access to geospatial information and data under the Geospatial One-Stop E-Government initiative. Geospatial One-Stop is one of 24 E-Government initiatives sponsored by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to enhance government efficiency and to improve citizen services.
The portal is a catalog of geospatial information containing thousands of metadata records (information about the data) and links to live maps, features, and catalog services, downloadable data sets, images, clearinghouses, map files, and more. The metadata records were submitted to the portal by government agencies, individuals, and companies, or by harvesting the data from geospatial clearinghouses.
- Climate and Forecast Metadata
The CF conventions for climate and forecast metadata are designed to promote the processing and sharing of files created with the netCDF API. The conventions define metadata that provide a definitive description of what the data in each variable represents, and of the spatial and temporal properties of the data. This enables users of data from different sources to decide which quantities are comparable, and facilitates building applications with powerful extraction, regridding, and display capabilities.
Observing Systems
|
