HR: 0830h
AN: C21B-0816    [PDF]
TI: Frozen Ground Data Center at NSIDC: New Data and Improved Access
AU: * Yohe, E
EM: yohe@nsidc.org
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado 449 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0449 United States
AU: Sheffield, E
EM: betsys@nsidc.org
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado 449 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0449 United States
AU: Parsons, M
EM: parsonsm@nsidc.org
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado 449 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0449 United States
AU: Zhang, T
EM: tzhang@kryos.colorado.edu
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado 449 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0449 United States
AU: Barry, R G
EM: rbarry@kryos.colorado.edu
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado 449 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0449 United States
AB: Permafrost and seasonally frozen ground regions occupy about 24% and 60%, respectively, of the exposed land surface in the Northern Hemisphere. Frozen ground data and information are critical for understanding fundamental cold regions processes, detecting environmental change, assessing climate impacts, validating models, and for engineering applications. However, much of the information collected over past decades, and currently being collected, remains widely dispersed and unavailable to the science, engineering, and modeling communities. To meet the requirements of these users for data and information management, the International Permafrost Association (IPA) developed the Global Geocryological Data (GGD) system, an internationally distributed system linking investigators and data centers around the world. The World Data Center (WDC) for Glaciology at Boulder and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), in collaboration with the International Arctic Research Center (IARC), have established the Frozen Ground Data Center (FGDC) as a central node of the GGD. The FGDC identifies, archives, documents, and distributes data related to permafrost and seasonally frozen ground. The FGDC currently holds over 100 data sets and information products and contains detailed metadata records describing over 100 additional data sets available at other GGD nodes around the world. The data center has improved access to these data through an online search and order system and availability in the Global Change Master Directory. The FGDC's holdings include summary data, metadata, and maps describing the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program sites, and comprehensive metadata describing the IPA's Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) boreholes. The FGDC also holds site metadata and photos from the Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD) program, as well as products of the Permafrost and Climate in Europe (PACE) program, and the IPA's Southern Hemisphere Working Group (SHWG) and Cryosol Working Group. The FGDC holds maps of permafrost, soil temperature, ground ice, soil classification, vegetation, and landscape in their original formats (for example, ESRI Shapefiles or binary) and as browse images. It also houses a comprehensive permafrost bibliography containing 14,000 citations for materials dating from 1783 to the present, as well as specialized bibliographies. The FGDC recently released Version 2.0 of its Circumpolar Active-Layer Permafrost System (CAPS) CD-ROM set, a compendium of GGD data and metadata currently available in the FGDC and around the world. It serves as a snapshot of frozen ground and related data holdings available as of spring 2003 and enables access to these data for users lacking ready Internet access or high-speed connections. The FGDC welcomes data and information submissions for all participating countries, institutions, and individual investigators. Visit the FGDC web site (http://nsidc.org/fgdc/) for additional information on data availability and submissions.
UR: http://nsidc.org/fgdc/
DE: 1823 Frozen ground
DE: 1863 Snow and ice (1827)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting