OVERVIEW

"Liquid Assets" for Oceanographic Research

From its beginnings in the early 1990s to the present day, the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) has been a vital resource with global connections to the oceanographic research community. Oceanographic data from the GES DISC has been used for numerous scientific investigations in the oceanic realm.   The early activities of the GES DISC (formerly the Distributed Active Archive Center, or DAAC) established it as a preeminent source of oceanographic data. The Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) data archive was an unprecedented source of data for biological oceanography. The archive of oceanographic data grew with the data from SeaWiFS, OCTS, and MODIS.  MODIS data included sea surface temperature (SST), a basic data element for studies in physical oceanography. Other instruments, such as the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the Atmospheric Infrared Sensor (AIRS), provide data that can be used to investigate the energetics of ocean-atmosphere interaction.

IThe GES DISC is now pioneering methods to function as a research partner, providing data, analysis tools, and expert advice to assist and augment the efforts of scientists around the world.   Characteristic of this role is "Giovanni", the GES DISC Interactive Online Visualization and ANalysis Infrastructure.   Giovanni provides users with online capability to perform rapid assessment and analyses of many data types, including oceanographic data from SeaWiFS and MODIS-Aqua, and eventually multi-decade data products from the Ocean Color Time-Series Project.   Furthermore, the GES DISC provides informational pages describing ocean color science and applications, and also hosts tthe Laboratory for Ocean Color Users (LOCUS), an interactive segment of the Ocean Color Time-Series Project, dedicated to enabling and enhancing the utilization of ocean color data for research and education.

The Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG) is now designated as the data access and data distribution site for ocean color data from NASA missions, via the Ocean Color Web.     The OBPG provides access to SeaWiFS and MODIS-Aqua data products, and will provide access to reprocessed OCTS and CZCS data products when analysis and reprocessing is completed.   Current data products available from the Ocean Color Web include MODIS-Aqua SST data.

Questions about ocean color data products available in Giovanni can be sent to GES DISC Help, and questions about SeaWiFS and MODIS data can be submitted to the Ocean Color Forum, part of the Ocean Color Web/OBPG.

NEWS AND EVENTS

An article about Giovanni, "Online Analysis Enhances Use of NASA Earth Science Data" was published in the AGU weekly newspaper Eos on January 9.

FEATURED ITEMS

The NASA Ocean Biogeochemical Model (NOBM) assimilated data looks "under the clouds" to see daily chlorophyll variation.