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7 Integrated Data Management at NOAA
Pages 85-95

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From page 85...
... Perhaps the biggest deficiency in NOAA's current data management enterprise is the lack of a formal decision-making process for assigning specific archiving, stewardship, and access responsibilities for individual data sets. An additional, related concern is the absence of a clear, enterprise-wide framework to connect its many disparate data management activities.
From page 86...
... However, the recent and expected future increases in data volumes and complexity necessitate a highly coordinated, more defined process for managing the nation's environmental data, as well as a comprehensive, user-centric framework to guide the ongoing development of NOAA's data management activities. The principles and guidelines in this report provide not only guidance for determining which data sets to retain and provide access to, but also a foundation on which to build a comprehensive data management plan.
From page 87...
... described in Chapters 4, 5, and 6, as well as the overarching data management principles discussed in Chapter 3. In addition, the system will also need to be designed with sufficient flexibility, scalability, and adaptability to ensure that user needs and legislative and administrative mandates all continue to be met, despite growing data volumes and rapidly evolving user requirements.
From page 88...
... Collectively, these practical considerations demand an organizational structure for data management that is reliable, flexible, adaptable, scalable, cost-effective, and responsive to user needs; the nature of this organizational structure is the main focus of the next section. A System-of-Systems for Data Management The framework for NOAA's data management system should ultimately be driven by NOAA's mission objectives, with the system design and components based on existing infrastructure and plans, available resources, and, most importantly, the data archiving, data stewardship, and data access services required by its evolving set of user communities.
From page 89...
... A schematic diagram of an integrated data management system that illustrates and defines some of the components of the integrated system-of-systems concept is depicted in Figure 7-2. This framework for NOAA's data management enterprise, which combines the legacy discipline-specific National Data Centers, centers of data, and data portals with a central data archive and interconnected multi-portal data access, provides the fundamental mechanisms required to connect diverse communities of users with NOAA's broad spectrum of environmental data.
From page 90...
... The National Data Centers and centers of data are regarded as "disciplinary" data centers that are responsible for both user support and data stewardship. The central data archive and other data archives are responsible for central data storage and preservation, as well as the research and development of emerging technologies, standards, and protocols.
From page 91...
... However, they could and should be expanded and linked more effectively to meet the challenges associated with more complicated, multidisciplinary questions, to increase the realized value of collected data sets, and to make the overall system more cost-effective. GEO-IDE, which was discussed in detail in Chapter 2, provides an excellent starting point from which to develop an integrated data management system-of-systems at NOAA.
From page 92...
... Specific examples of missing elements include: an inventory of existing data and a structured process to review and determine the status of each environmental data set at key points during its life cycle; a clear mechanism or mechanisms for soliciting and incorporating user input into data archiving and data access decisions; a prioritization process for applying limited resources to various data management activities; and mechanisms to improve data discoverability and accessibility. If these and other changes are made in order to bring the GEO-IDE concept into better alignment with the principles and guidelines in this report, and sufficient resources can be made available for its implementation, the resulting data management system will yield significant benefits.
From page 93...
... This example illustrates both how advances in our understanding of the Earth System often require the merging and analysis of disparate data sets and how an integrated data management vision can be used to answer complex interdisciplinary questions. Box 7-2 Addressing Novel Applied Problems Derelict fishing gear and other marine debris pose increasing hazards to com mercial and recreational navigation, entanglement of endangered and protected species, and wasteful "ghost fishing." To mitigate the potential damage, NOAA has funded several efforts that use near real-time data from ocean transport models, satellites, piloted and autonomous aircraft, and drifting buoys to guide ships to interdict the debris before it reaches land.
From page 94...
... Although technological improvement will help, the resources currently allocated for data management across the agency may not be sufficient to ensure that NOAA continues to meet its basic data archiving and access requirements, and further resources may be needed to improve the discoverability, accessibility, and integration of different data sets needed to address important interdisciplinary problems. In light of these considerations, some modifications to NOAA's current plans and resource allocations will be needed to address all of the key issues involved in providing the focused user support demanded by NOAA's mission.
From page 95...
... NOAA and its partners are clearly dedicated to continue providing excellent service for their various user communities and to continue meeting their legal mandates and requirements. However, these goals can be achieved only if NOAA's data management system enables and promotes the discovery, access, and integration of a wide variety of environmental data by a broad range of users.


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