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National Oceanographic Data Center

Annual Report FY2009 

Message from the Director/ 2 

Background 

NODC Strategic Goals and Accomplishments 3 

 

NODC Cross-Cutting Functions 6 

Path Towards Achieving Our Vision 7 

 

NODC Employees 8 

-Employees of the Season 

-FY09 Certificates of Appreciation 

-New Faces 

Publications 11 

NODC Major Products and Information 14 

NODC Communications 15 

 
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Message from the Director

As I look back on this past year, I continue to be impressed by the breadth and depth of the data 

and information services provided by the National Oceanographic Data Center. NODC serves a 

highly diversified ocean community ranging from college students and teachers, to 

meteorologists, oceanographers and resource managers, to sailors planning their voyage (see the 

section on Communications). This past year was marked by an aggressive campaign to engage 

with the ocean community both within and outside of NOAA, and to further develop our 

international relationships. The Data Center increased its interactions with users, strengthened 

partnerships with national and international organizations, and enhanced its ability to provide data 

access through new products, tools, and systems. NODC was an active leader or participant in 

major national and international conferences, workshops and planning meetings. This document 

provides us with an opportunity to highlight some of our accomplishments during fiscal year 

2009 and provides an introduction to the strategies we are implementing during fiscal year 2010. 

As NOAA moves into Fiscal Year 2010, NODC will continue to provide reliable ocean 

information and services to assist the Nation in adapting to the many challenges ahead. 

The progress NODC made this year was possible because of the outstanding service provided by 

our team members. The support and partnerships of our constituents has been very valuable in 

meeting our goals over the past year. From access and archiving, to providing products and tools 

for data discovery, NODC employees continued to show their dedication and understanding of 

NOAA’s mission with valuable contributions to the Nation. 

Background 

The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) is the Nation’s permanent archive for 

oceanographic data, ensuring the public access to and the scientific stewardship of the long-term 

observational record of the global ocean, U.S. coastal waters and their ecosystems. These 

holdings document the physical and chemical properties of the oceans, currents, and biota as 

observed from ships, buoys, satellites and other ocean and coastal platforms extending back 

nearly 150 years. NODC directly supports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration’s mission “To understand and predict changes in Earth’s environment and 

conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation’s economic, social, and 

environmental needs.” 

Our Mission: To provide scientific stewardship of marine data and information 

Our Vision: To be recognized as the Nation’s premier repository and provider of marine data 

and information 

Our Service to the Nation: To identify, archive, and disseminate marine data, 

information, and products useful to the marine community 
NODC FY 2009 Accomplishments

The following are NODC’s accomplishments during Fiscal Year 2009. These accomplishments are 

associated with each NODC strategic goal. 

NODC Goal 1: A comprehensive ocean archive recognized by data providers and 

data users. 

Under this goal, NODC identifies and acquires coastal and ocean data and information; it automates 

the ingest of data wherever possible; it leverages national and international data management 

efforts; and it implements archive activities following the principles of the Open Archive Information 

System. 

NODC employees received the “NOAA Regional Collaboration Award, 2006-2008”. Mary 

Glackin, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, recognized Russ Beard, Joe Stinus 

and Hernan Garcia for their significant contributions to NOAA’s regional collaboration efforts. 

NODC Wins NOPP Award: The Multi-sensor Improved Sea Surface Temperatures (MISST) for 

the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) Project was selected to receive the 

National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP) Award for Excellence in Partnering. NODC serves 

as the long-term stewardship center for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature 

(GHRSST) data, including data produced by the MISST Project. 

NODC coordinated and signed the Jason-2/OSTM Project Agreement that documents the 

transmission and stewardship of the data, and monitors the data quality, metadata, and data set 

attributes. NODC is responsible for meeting the archive requirements for the Jason-2 mission data 

and products. By ensuring the long-term preservation of these products, we extend the time series 

of satellite altimetry observations and enable future study and understanding of ocean surface 

topography as it relates to climate variability and change. 

A NODC Working Group was established in the fall of 2008. Colleagues from both outside of 

the data center and internal to NODC were invited to discuss current activities and challenges. 

The group provided perspectives for future directions such as the need for a strategic plan and a 

public affairs campaign, further development of interactions with major ocean initiatives and 

programs, identification of users and products, and active engagement with other NESDIS data 

centers. 

NODC was a leader in the winter 2008 meeting of the 

Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP), 

Washington, DC with NODC Director Margarita Gregg 

serving on the plenary Data Policy Panel. The NESDIS data 

centers hosted two NOAA Data User workshop breakouts 

focused on data stewardship. NODC won the ESIP poster 

award for its poster highlighting several key NODC data sets 

and activities. 

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NCDDC received a 2nd Place (as a partner w/NOS) 2009 Gulf Guardian Award for their 

support to the Marine Debris Program. 

NODC Goal 2: NODC data used for a multitude of purposes 

Under this goal, NODC provides data discovery protocols for coastal and ocean data; develops 

tools that support NOAA’s requirements for data integration; engages with the data providers to 

ensure appropriate metadata are submitted; and trains and educates data producers and 

consumers in metadata production and utilization. 

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One of approximately 15 layers of ocean information of 

the new Google Earth’s ocean component comes from a 

paper co-authored by NODC Technical Director Ken 

Casey “A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine 

Ecosystems” (Science, vol.319, no.5865, pp.948-952) 

The Coastal Water Temperature Guide (CWTG) was updated with two new temperature stations 

in the northeast (Sandy Hook, NJ and Montauk, NY). NODC’s Dr. Charles Sun also successfully 

added 25 near real-time water temperature stations deployed by the U.S. National Park 

Service in the Florida Bay area and the Everglades National Park to the CWTG Web pages.

An interactive map of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary developed by 

the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC) is now available online. NCDDC 

worked with the Sanctuaries Office to develop an interactive map illustrating geologic banks, 

buoys, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives, and ship operations. 

For the first time in the nearly 20-year history of the AVHRR Pathfinder Program, data for 

September of 1981 through January of 1985 from the NOAA-7 Polar-orbiting Operational 

Environmental Satellite is now available to the public through NODC’s data services. 

NCDDC operated the OKEANOS EXPLORER’s Cruise Information Management System 

(CIMS), both at sea in the Pacific Ocean and back on land, by supporting the operation remotely. 

The (CIMS), developed by NCDDC, standardizes and automates metadata for ocean 

expeditions, and provides secure, web-based data entry to digitally document the planning, 

staging and operations associated with ocean-going expeditions. 
NODC’s summer interns worked on projects including: the effects of using a climatological 

silicate vs. observed silicate in the calculation of absolute salinity; various related IT tasks like 

solving computer problems; carrying out software requests and file procurements for the IT 

department; working with the Navy Ocean Coastal Model (NCOM) data, and the Cruise 

Information Management System (CIMS). 

NODC Goal 3: NODC products recognized as authoritative data records 

Under this goal, NODC works with the ocean science community to develop products based on 

user requirements; develops ocean climatologies of key ocean variables with increasingly higher 

spatial and temporal resolution; will develop coastal climatologies for key climate, ecosystems, 

commerce, transportation, and weather applications; and leverage expertise in the ocean and 

coastal communities, particularly the academic community, to build quality products 

The warming of the global ocean was captured in the 

publication, “Global Ocean Heat Content 1955-2007” 

(Levitus et al., Geophysical Research Letters). The results, 

based on NODC’s long term archive of ocean data, shows a 

strong interdecadal variability of global ocean heat content. 

The linear trend on ocean heat content remained similar to 

earlier estimates. 

NODC’s newest contributions to climate understanding at regional scales include “The Climatic 

Atlas of the Sea of Azov 2008”, which contains water temperature and salinity data collected in 

the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait during 1891-2006, and “Mixed layer depth in the Aegean, 

Marmara, Black and Azov Seas: Part I: General Features” in The Journal of Marine Systems (T.P. 

Boyer). 

NODC also contributed to our understanding of the impact of climate change on ecosystems 

with the publication, “A map of human impacts to a "pristine" coral reef ecosystem, the 

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument” (K.S. Casey, NODC Technical Director, is 

one of the authors in the journal Coral Reefs). The paper uses the NODC Coral Reef Temperature 

Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) as one of its analysis layers. 

“Barents Sea Multidecadal Variability” was accepted by the Journal Geophysical Research 

Letters. The figure shows the time series (1900-2006) of annual mean water temperature for the 

100-150 m layer of the Barents Sea as a black line. There is substantial scientific interest on 

multidecadal climate system variability and its relation to global warming. 

NODC Goal 4: NOAA staff using the NOAA Central and Regional Libraries 

as sources for information and research support 

Under this goal, NODC meets the expanding needs for information services; maintains, 

preserves, and protects library collections; will build a NOAA-wide institutional repository to 

provide access to, and archive NOAA’s electronic publications; and will expand desktop access 

to journals, databases, e-books, and other online services across NOAA.

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New NOAA Photo Library Albums were created in the NOAA 

Central Library. Among them include themes such as the 

Caribbean Sea, Vertebrates and Invertebrates, and “Voyage to 

the Inner Space”, which includes bathymetric maps. 

A global collaborative website, Protect Planet Ocean, featuring MPA tropical content provided 

by the NOAA Library was launched in October 2008. This website was launched at the 

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Spain. 

NODC Cross-Cutting Functions

Under NODC’s cross cutting functions, NODC develops and maintains a secure, reliable, 

technically robust operating environment to support the NOAA mission goals and ensure 

accessibility and the highest data quality for the public. This is achieved through implementing 

processes that challenge and expand the core competencies of all NODC personnel; leveraging 

the capabilities of NODC employees across organizational structures within NODC, NESDIS, 

and NOAA; interaction with data users through our services and communications; increasing the 

efficiency of NODC’s financial, acquisition, and administrative functions; and maintenance and 

support of network connectivity, email, and Web servers. 

NODC contributes to hurricane preparedness in the Gulf States through the publication and 

distribution of the NOAA Extreme Weather Information Sheets (NEWIS). These one-page 

documents contain critical phone numbers and Web site information that residents can use during 

potentially life-threatening weather emergencies for the coastal communities of Texas, Louisiana, 

Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. NEWIS was created by personnel at NODC’s National 

Coastal Data Development Center, located at the Stennis Space Center on the Mississippi Gulf 

Coast. The idea grew out of the Center’s experiences after Hurricane Katrina. 

NODC implemented a new User Services and Communications Team which focused on 

customer service and outreach. Throughout the fiscal year, NODC answered 888 requests for 

oceanographic data and information. The efficiency of this service has been greatly increased, 

with all responses being made within a 48-72 hour period, while the compilation of more 

difficult data sets were completed within one week.

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NODC continues to inform the national and international community on NOAA ocean 

activities through the Earth System Monitor publication. During this past year, issue topics 

included: an “Ocean Theme” based on observations from ships, satellites and buoys with Dr. 

Richard Spinrad (AA OAR) as author for the lead article, a “Hidden Gems within NESDIS” 

theme with the NESDIS Data Directors as lead authors, and a theme for how “NOAA Fisheries 

Supports Healthy Marine Ecosystems” led by Dr. James Balsiger (NMFS).

Internationally, NODC was an active participant in a wide range of meetings. NODC shared its 

scientific expertise when oceanographer Tim Boyer visited various research institutions in India 

in order to resolve XBT biases found in some of the oceanographic instrument databases. NODC 

Technical Director, Dr. Ken Casey, participated in the North Pacific Marine Sciences 

Organization (PICES) International Summer School in Satellite Oceanography for the Earth 

Environment. NODC also visited scientists and data managers in South Korea and Canada. 

NODC hosted numerous visitors this year. This included the 

Library Director of Norway, members of the South Scientific 

Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Shirshov’s Institute 

of Oceanology, Russia, and the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute 

(TORI). The center also hosted the National Marine Data and 

Information Service and the State Oceanographic Administration 

from the People’s Republic of China in a joint panel meeting for 

data and information. 

NODC increased its engagement in the area of information management with the selection of 

NODC Librarian Linda Pikula as Chair of the International Oceanographic Data and Information 

Exchange (IODE). Operational oceanography took another step forward when Dr. Charles Sun, 

brought three more countries into the Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Program (GTSPP). 

Path towards Achieving Our Vision - Key Focus Areas for FY2010 

During FY10, NODC will focus on the activities associated with its core requirements for access, 

archive, and scientific stewardship of marine data. These activities will be guided by a strategic 

plan that incorporates input across NOAA, the external community, and other federal partners. 

Parallel to this plan is the development of a three year road map to implement the strategic plan 

taking into account emerging requirements. Key to these activities is the development of 

performance measures for each major goal of the office. 

The NODC goal for a comprehensive archive recognized by data providers and data users

will be met by increasing the amount of data ingested annually and placed in the archives from 

satellites and in situ data. This will be accomplished by increasing the number of NODC 

relationships with data producers as documented in Submission Information Forms; working with 

data producers in preparing a guide to metadata and other information to facilitate automated 

acquisition and ingest; automation of the ingest of data wherever possible, and decrease in mean 

time between data reception at NODC and data availability online. 

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NODC’s goal for data used for a multitude of purposes is a priority in FY10. NODC will focus 

on developing discovery and access tools for the easy access to the NODC archive, it will 

increase the number of web applications/tools and GIS applications developed to support 

ecosystem observing systems, engage with the data providers to ensure appropriate metadata are 

submitted; and train and educate data producers and consumers in metadata production and 

utilization. 

NODC’s role as scientific stewards for the data and associated goal for NODC products to be 

recognized as authoritative data records will be furthered by publishing two additional global 

and regional atlases and providing quarterly updates of the ocean heat content time series and 

World Ocean Database. 

NODC will work with the NOAA councils to develop funding priorities and needs for NOAAwide information resources in order to support its goal for staff using the NOAA Central and 

Regional Libraries as sources for information and research support

NODC depends on its workforce and in FY10 we will focus on training both internally and 

externally. Internally, NODC will implement an informal mentoring program tailored after the 

NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center. In addition, NODC will increase the number of 

participating NGI internship students from 10 in FY09 to 12 for FY10. The data center will also 

support the NODC Communications Team through tracking customer requests, attending 

scientific meetings, enhancing our web presence, generating publications and other outreach 

activities. 

These activities will not be possible without NODC’s ability to recertify its IT networks. NODC 

will continue to advance its goal of secure access to its data holdings. 

NODC Employees 

Department of Commerce Awards

NODC’s Skip Theberge of the NOAA Central Library Received a Department of Commerce 

Group Gold Medal for Leadership Award "For the design, development and opening with the 

Smithsonian Institution of the Sant Ocean Hall, the national exhibition on the global ocean."

Employee of the Season 

John Relph – Fall 2008 

Joseph Shirley – Winter 2009 

Michele Newlin – Spring 2009 

Barbara Ambrose – Summer 2009 
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FY 09 Certificates of Appreciation & Awards

Service to the Community

Angela Sallis for her Enthusiasm and Professional Contributions to the Gulf of Mexico Coastal 

Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) Regional Association Education and Outreach Council 

Queen Jones (NESDIS Assistant Coordinator), Cheryl Ingram (NODC Chairperson), Igor 

Smolyar (Key Person), Linda Salyers (Key Person), Margaret Eggleston (Key Person), and 

Julie Bosch (Key Person) for your Participation in the 2008 NODC Combined Federal Campaign 

Angela Sallis On Behalf of the NOAA Office of Education for Her Can-Do Spirit and 

Determination, “She Epitomizes the Very Best of NOAA” 

Sheri Phillips, Shannon Niou, Cynthia Ziegler, Kelly Logan, Christopher Paver, Zachary Bronder, 

Sean Moore, Hernan Garcia, Sarah O’Connor, Cheryl Ingram, Bhaskar Mylavarapu, Helen 

Gibson, Anna Fiolek, Mary Hollinger, Olga Baranova, Linda Salyers, Tess Brandon,Donald 

Collins, Thomas Ryan and Margaret Eggleston for their Contributions to the NODC 

Diversity/Halloween Potluck – October 2008 

Bill Burton, Mike Chepurin, David Teferi, Jefferson Ogata and Cynthia Zeigler Recognized by 

Mary Kicza for Outstanding Support to the Second Annual NOAA-Sponsored CEOS-GEO 

Remapping Conference 

Sheri Phillips, Shannon Niou, Cynthia Ziegler, Kelly Logan, Christopher Paver, Zachary Bronder, 

Sean Moore, Hernan Garcia, Sarah O’Connor, Cheryl Ingram, Queen Jones, Bhaskar 

Mylavarapu, Linda Salyer, Anna Fiolek, Thelma Johnson, and Margaret Eggleston For their 

Contributions to the NODC Holiday Team Building Event – December 2008 

 

Brenda Robinson, Cheryl Ingram, Cynthia Ziegler, Diana Abney, Jacqueline Shapo, Kelly Logan, 

Li Zang, Linda Salyers, Mary Lou Cumberpatch, Sarah O’Connor, Shannon Niou, Steve Quillen, 

Tess Brandon, Thelma Johnson, and Zachary Bronder for Participation in Bring Your Daughters 

and Sons to Work Day 

Helping NODC meet its goals

Tim Boyer, Kenneth Casey, Donald Collins, and John Relph for Automating the Ingest and 

Archive of Complex Environmental Data Sets from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

(WHOI) 

Jefferson Ogata, Joseph Shirley, Bill Burton, Mike Chepurin and John Relph For Critical and 

Timely Support to NODC IT Operation during the AC System Failures on February 16, 2009 and 

March 30, 2009 
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George Sinclair, Cheryl Ingram and Cynthia Zeigler for Developing a Baseline NODC Archive

and Backup Media Inventory and an Automated Process for Updates 

Barbara Ambrose for the Beautiful Design of NODC’s New Certificates of Appreciation that 

Capture Many Aspects of Our Coastal and Ocean Mission 

Omar Selehdar for Teamwork and Accuracy on a unique Special Project that inventoried the 

NOAA Heritage Assets of the NOAA Central Library 

New Faces for FY2009

Michele Newlin, Chief of Staff - OC 

Meilin Chen, Physical Oceanographer – OC1 

Jacqueline Shapo Rauenzahn, CoRIS Operations Manager – OC1 

Zachary Bronder, Programmer/Analyst – OC1 

David Teferi, System Administrator – OC3 

Amy Haase, Physical Oceanographer – OC5 

Philip Cantin, General Dynamics – OC6 

McKinley Freeman, General Dynamics – OC6 

Viki Goff, General Dynamics – OC6 

Bracey Summers, General Dynamics – OC6 

Chris Jeffery, NRC Post Doctoral Candidate – OC1 
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FY2009 Publications 

Blower, J.D., Hankin, S.C., Keeley, S., Pouliquen, J. de la Beaujardiere,Vanden Berghe, E., Reed, G., Blanc, F., 

Gregg, M.C., Fredericks, J., Snowden, D. “Ocean Data Dissemination: New Challenges for Data Integration” in 

Proceedings of OceanObs’09: Sustained Ocean Observations and Information for Society (Vol. 2), Venice, 

Italy, 21-25 September 2009 

Caldwell, P. and Aucan, J.P., Vitousek, S., 2009. “Frequency and Duration of Coinciding High Surf and Tides 

along the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii 1981-2007”. Journal of Coastal Research, 25(3), pp. 734-743. 

Caldwell, P. and M. Merrifield, 2009. Joint Archive for Sea Level Annual Data Report: May 2009. JIMAR 

Contribution No. 09-369, Data Report No. 21, SOEST, University of Hawaii, 48 pp. 

Conkright Gregg, M., M. Newlin, & Co-Authors (2010). "Ocean and Coastal Data Stewardship" in Proceedings 

of OceanObs’09: Sustained Ocean Observations and Information for Society (Vol. 2), Venice, Italy, 21-25 

September 2009, Hall, J., Harrison D.E. & Stammer, D., Eds., ESA Publication WPP-306. 

Fredericks, J.J., Botts, M., Cook, T., Bosch, J. "Integrating Standards in Data QA/QC Into OpenGeospatial 

Consortium Sensor Observation Services". Proceedings, OCEANS  ́09 IEEE Bremen. Bremen, Germany. May 

11–14, 2009. 

Gentemann, C.L., P.J. Minnett, J. Sienkiewicz, M. DeMaria, J. Cummings, Y. Jin, J.D. Doyle, L. Gramer, C.N. 

Barron, K. Casey, and C. Donlon (2009). The Multi-sensor Improved Sea Surface Temperature (MISST) 

project. Oceanography, vol. 22, no 2, pp 76-87. 

Kara, A.B., C.N. Barron, and T.P. Boyer, 2009: “Evaluations of SST climatologies in the tropical Pacific 

Ocean”, J. Geophys. Res., 114, C02021, doi:10.1029/2008JC004909

Kaske, N., and Lyons, R. “Honorable Mention: What Public Library National Ratings Say” in Public Libraries 

(vol. 47, no.6, pp36-43) 

Keeley, R., Woodruff, S., Pouliquen, S., Conkright-Gregg, M., Reed G., 2009. “Collectors to Archives” in 

Proceedings of OceanObs’09: Sustained Ocean Observations and Information for Society (Vol. 2), Venice, 

Italy, 21-25 September 2009 

Levitus, S., J.I. Antonov, T.P. Boyer, R.A. Locarnini, H.E. Garcia, and A.V. Mishonov, 2009: “Global Ocean 

Heat Content 1955-2008 in light of recently revealed instrumentation problems.” Geophys. Res. Lett. , 36, 

L07608, doi:10.1029/2008GL037155. 

Levitus, S., G. Matishov, D. Seidov, I. Smolyar, “2009: Barents Sea Multidecadal Variability” Geophys. Res. 

Lett. , 36, L19604, doi:10.1029/2009GL039847. 

Matishov, G., D. Matishov, G. Gargopa, L. Dashkevich, S. Berdnikov, V. Kulygin, O. Arkhipova, A. Chikin, I. 

Shabas, O. Baranova, I. Smolyar, 2009: “Climatic Atlas of the Sea of Azov 2008, G. Matishov, S. Levitus, 

Eds., World Data Center for Oceanography-Silver Spring, International Ocean Atlas and Information Series, 

Volume 11, NOAA Atlas NESDIS 65. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C., 148 pp., CD-ROM. 

O’Connor S., Newlin M., Remer D., Collins D., Picciolo A., Shao G., Wright R., Phillips S., and Bronder Z. 

2009. “Responding to the Coral Reef User Community: NOAA Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS) 

Regional Data Portals.” Poster Session - Coastal Zone '09, Boston, MA, July 19-23, 2009. 
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Selkoe, K.A., B.S. Halpern, C.M. Ebert, E. C. Franklin, E.R. Selig, K.S. Casey, J. Bruno, and R.J. Toonen 

(2009). A map of human impacts to a “pristine” coral reef ecosystem, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National 

Monument. Coral Reefs, vol. 28, pp. 635–650 (doi: 10.1007/s00338-009-0490-z). 

Shapo, J. and O'Connor, S. 2009. NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Coral Reef Information System 

(CoRIS). CoRIS/CRED 2009 Workshop, Honolulu, HI, July 7-10, 2009. 

Son, Y. B., W.D. Gardner, A.V. Mishonov, and M.J. Richardson, 2009: “Multispectral remote sensing 

algorithms for particulate organic carbon (POC): the Gulf of Mexico”, Remote Sensing of the Environment, 

113, 50-61. 

Son, Y. B., W.D. Gardner, A.V. Mishonov, and M.J. Richardson, 2009: “Model-based remote sensing 

algorithms for particulate organic carbon (POC) in the North-eastern Gulf of Mexico”, Journal of Earth System 

Science, 118 (1), 1-10. 

Sun, C., Thresher, A., Keeley, R., Hall, N., Hamilton, M., Chinn, P., Tran, A., Goni, G., PETIT de la 

VILLEON. L., Carval, T., Cowen, L., Manzella, G., Gopalakrishna, V., Guerrero, P., Reseghetti, F., Kanno, Y., 

Klein, B., Rickards, L., Baldoni, A., Lin, S., Ji, F., and Nagaya, Y. "The Data Management System for the 

Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme", in Proceedings of the "OceanObs.09: Sustained Ocean 

Observations and Information for Society" Conference (Vol. 2), Venice, Italy, 21-25 September 2009, Hall, J., 

Harrison D.E. and Stammer, D., Eds., ESA Publication WPP-306, 2010. 

Vance, Tiffany C., Mesick, S.M., Reusser, D. “HabitatSpace – Describing Three-Dimensional Marine Essential 

Fish Habitat” In Proceedings of the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting. March, 2009. San 

Francisco, CA. 

Accepted for Publication 

Bosch, J., Fredericks, J., Botts M.,Cook, T.,Haines, S., Bogden, P., Bridger E., "Applying OGC's Sensor Web 

Enablement to Address Real-time Data Quality, Secondary Data Use and Long-term Preservation," Oceans'09, 

Biloxi, MS 

Fiolek, A., Gottfried S., Ladnier, S., Mesick, S., Mapping, Cross-Walking, Converting And Exchanging 

Oceanographic Metadata Information In Video Data Management System. Proceedings, MTS/IEEE OCEANS 

2009 October 26-29, 2009, Biloxi, MS. 

Mesick, S., Vance, T.C. Beegle-Krauss, C.J., "HabitatSpace: Multidimensional characterization of pelagic 

essential fish habitat" Proceedings, MTS/IEEE OCEANS 2009 October 26-29, 2009, Biloxi, MS. Proceedings, 

MTS/IEEE OCEANS 2009 October 26-29, 2009, Biloxi, MS. 

Mize, J., Robertson, C., "A Solution to Metadata: Using XML Transformations to Automate Metadata." 

Proceedings, MTS/IEEE OCEANS 2009 October 26-29, 2009, Biloxi, MS. 

Mize J.,Roby, E., Martinolich, K., Collazo, L.,Sallis D.E. (2009). Automated Metadata Generation Using 

Extensible Markup Language (XML) Techniques. NOAA Technical Memorandum NODC-NCDDC-1, 

National Coastal Data Development Center, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529. 

Selig, E.R., K.S. Casey, and J.F. Bruno (2009), New insights into global patterns of ocean temperature 

anomalies: implications for coral reef health and management, Global Ecology and Biogeography, in press. 

Vance, T.C., Mesick, S.M., Cross, S. "Integrating particle tracking models into a GIS for analysis and display 

of environmental phenomena" ACM GIS '09 , November 4-6, 2009. Seattle, WA, USA (c) 2009 ACM ISBN 

978-1-60558-649-6/09/11...$10.00 
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Vazquez-Cuervo, J., E.M. Armstrong, K.S. Casey, R. Evans, and K. Kilpatrick (2009). A comparison between 

the Pathfinder Version 5.0 and Version 4.1 sea surface temperature data sets: A case study for high resolution. 

Journal of Climate, accepted. 
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2009 NODC Products and Information

Product Description Location 

NOAA Mission Goal: Weather & Water 

NOAA Extreme 

Weather Information 

Sheets (NEWIS) 

Contains valuable state and local emergency 

numbers, NOAA websites, media outlets, and 

evacuation information for residents. 

http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/activities/noaa

-extreme-weather-information-sheetnewis/view 

NODC Coastal Water 

Temperature Guide 

(CWTG) 

Near real-time temperatures from NOAA's tidal 

stations and moored buoys. 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/abou

tCWTG.html 

NOAA Mission Goal: Ecosystem 

Ocean Exploration 

Digital Atlas 

Selected data from NOAA’s Ocean Exploration 

expeditions. 

http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/interactivema

ps/oceanexploration-digital-atlas-northatlantic 

NOAA Mission Goal: Climate 

Global Temperature 

Salinity Profile 

Program (GTSPP) 

A cooperative international project with Canada's 

Marine Environmental Data Service (MEDS), GTSPP 

is a global ocean Temperature-Salinity resource with 

timely, high quality data. 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/GTSPP/gtspphome.html 

Global Argo Data 

Repository 

Argo daily data include real-time and delayed-mode 

profiles of ocean temperature and salinity measured 

by the Argo profiling floats. 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/argo/latest_dat

a.html 

World Ocean 

Database 

Global scientifically quality-controlled ocean profile 

and plankton data that includes measured variables 

gathered since 1773. 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/WOD/pr_

wod.html 

World Ocean Atlas 

Series 

Contains objectively analyzed climatological fields of 

in situ temperature, salinity, oxygen, and other 

measured variables at standard depth levels. 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/WOA05/p

r_woa05.html 

4 km Pathfinder Data Extension of and improvement on sea surface 

temperature (SST) fields from the older NOAA/NASA 

AVHRR Oceans Pathfinder project. 

http://pathfinder.nodc.noaa.gov/ 

Group for High 

Resolution SST 

(GHRSST) 

Individual and multi-sensor blended SST products 

with high accuracy and fine spatial resolution. 

http://ghrsst.nodc.noaa.gov/ 

NODC Altimeter 

Archive 

Altimeter data and products from the Geosat and 

Jason-2 Missions. 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/SatelliteData 

NOAA Ocean Data 

Education (NODE) 

Effort 

Educational materials that deliver scientific data and 

information to the classroom. Current modules 

include Sea Level, El Nino, and Water Quality. 

http://dataintheclassroom.org/ 

NOAA Mission Goal: Commerce & Transportation 

NOAA Marine 

Environmental Buoy 

Database 

Official archive of historical wind, wave, and other 

marine data collected by the NOAA National Data 

Buoy Center (NDBC). 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/BUOY/buoy.ht

ml 

NOAA Mission Goal: Cross-cutting Products 

NOAA Photo Library Contains over 32,000 images & photos which 

capture the work, observations, and studies of NOAA 

employees. 

http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/ 

Earth System Monitor Free publication that reports on NOAA environmental 

data and information programs, projects, and 

activities. 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ESM/ 

NOAA Library 

Website: 

Ask-A-Librarian & 

Full-Text Digital 

Collections 

Provides a gateway to the public as a rich collection 

of online resources, digital historical documents and 

maps. Public can ask questions about any NOAA 

related subject. 

http://www.lib.noaa.gov/ 

http://www.lib.noaa.gov/askref.html 

http://www.lib.noaa.gov/collections/imgdo

cmaps/index.html 

Ocean Archive 

System 

World’s largest oceanographic archive. http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/search/prod/ 
 15

NODC Communications 

Notable Customer Comments and Requests 

Because of the increased customer service efforts, NODC has been able to identify who our 

customers are and what they are looking for. Some of the more interesting requests and 

enthusiastic comments can be found here. 

“I appreciate the info you gave me so much. I am so grateful. I got all the information I needed to 

complete my project and remembered to cite the websites you gave me! Thanks so much again.” 

– From a college student (SUNY) 

“Absolutely fantastic!”, was the comment from the Senior Collections Manager at the Peabody 

Museum of Natural History, Yale University, when we were able to provide him with the Robert 

H. Parker Benthic Ecology data from the 1960s. 

A specialized US Air Force test organization that has some maritime items entering the 

developmental test phase needed help finding extreme environmental conditions to perform their 

tests. For example, water temperature less than 32 degrees, and another spot greater than 90 

degrees. 

Chief meteorologist from NBC in Augusta, Georgia, contacted NODC for wind and wave data of 

South America. After successfully answering his request, the customer said, “This points me in 

the right direction, and I think my viewers will be pleased. Thanks so very much for your rapid 

response and help. I appreciate it!” 

From a fellow NOAA employee, Weather Forecast Office, NJ...”Just wanted to thank you all for 

your efforts today. Your site is terrific and used all the time in this office.” 

NODC’s User Services team provided wave climatology to a customer who was developing a 

pre-sail route to sail his family to the Bahamas from Florida around the Thanksgiving holiday. 

A high school biology teacher contacted User Services to find monthly water temperature data 

dating back 25 years for the southern California coast. The teacher is also trying to incorporate 

lessons in data discovery by allowing the students to download the data themselves from the 

World Ocean Database. 

From the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Lab in Highlands, NJ, the customer responded 

graciously, “WOW what a fast and thorough response. Thank you so much!” 
WorldOceanAtlas2005

GlobalTemperatureSalinityProfileProgram GulfofMexicoHypoxiaWatch

NationalOceanographic

DataCenter

SSMC3,4thFloor

1315EastWestHighway

SilverSpring,MD20910

NOAACentralLibrary

SSMC3,2ndFloor

1315EastWestHighway

SilverSpring,MD20910

NationalCoastalData

DevelopmentCenter

Building1100,Suite101

StennisSpaceCenter,

MS39529

www.nodc.noaa.gov

AnOceanofDataandInformation