ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE DATA CENTER

1. NASA Langley Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) Experience with Aircraft Data Lindsay Parker1,Susan E. Sorlie1, Jennifer L. Perez2, John M. Kusterer2, Pamela Rinsland2 (1) Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Hampton, VA, USA. (2) NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA. ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE DATA CENTER Aircraft Metadata Lessons Learned Over the past decade the NASA Langley ASDC has archived and distributed a variety of aircraft mission data sets. These datasets posed unique challenges due to the rigidity of the archiving system and its formats on the data center side as well as the lack of metadata on the researcher side. A sample of aircraft Collection Level Metadata and Granule Level Metadata parameters are shown. • Level of engagement of ASDC with a mission has depended on the mission lead • Some missions have chosen to manage all of the mission data themselves: Data • gathering, storage, and distribution • ASDC may not even be aware the data exists locally at Langley Research Center • Researchers may not provide secure backup and archive capabilities • Some missions have chosen to collect the data themselves and then send it to the • ASDC after the mission is completed • ASDC in “reactive” mode to accommodate what the mission wants archived • ASDC generates metadata for archived products by a time consuming manual • process that provides minimal metadata information provided to the user community • Some missions maintain a separate distribution site in addition to the ASDC that can • lead to provenance and metrics issues • ASDC is not always informed of the latest versions/editions of the data • Distribution metrics may not be collected and reported to appropriate organizations • Missions that engage the ASDC earlier minimize archiving and distribution issues • Facilitates improved planning and mission support • May involve ASDC real-time support during flights for the mission • Data formats, metadata, availability, and distribution all negotiated early to • ensures rapid delivery of approved products to the user community. Aircraft Missions DISCOVER-AQ The ASDC is currently providing guidance to the DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality) Earth Venture-1 project on developing collection, granule, and browse metadata as well as supporting the ADAM (Airborne Data For Assessing Models) MEaSUREs project site. Archive Next Generation (ANGe) The ASDC developed in 2007 a state-of-the-art data archive and distribution system to serve the atmospheric sciences data provider and researcher communities. The system, called Archive – Next Generation (ANGe) provides the ease and flexibility to ingest and archive aircraft data through an ad hoc workflow or to develop a new workflow to suit the provider’s needs. Aircraft Data Tools An aircraft mission can provide a suite of tools for mission scientists and the public to use to improve data access and data analysis. These tools could be made available through a common repository and used across multiple missions to improve data access and data analysis for the user community. http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov