National Geophysical Data Center

The United States National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) provided scientific stewardship, products and services for geophysical data describing the solid earth, marine, and solar-terrestrial environment, as well as earth observations from space. In 2015, NGDC was merged with the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Location and controlling bodies

The NGDC, was located in Boulder, Colorado as a part of the US Department of Commerce (USDOC), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS).

Data holdings

NGDC's data holdings contained more than 300 digital and analog databases, some of which were very large. As technology advanced, so did the search for more efficient ways of preserving these data. This data is now maintained by the NCEI.

Data contributors

NGDC worked closely with contributors of scientific data to prepare documented, reliable data sets. They welcomed cooperative projects with other government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and universities, and encourage data exchange.

Data users

NGDC's data users included:

• private industry
• universities and other educational facilities
• research organizations
• federal, state, and local governments
• foreign governments, industry, and academia
• publishers and other mass media
• the general public

Data management

The Data Center developed data management programs that reflect the changing world of geophysics. These programs are now part of the National Centers for Environmental Information.