What We Do
NSF Unidata exists to engage and serve researchers and educators who are advancing the frontiers of the Earth Systems Sciences; we hope to support their efforts by creating opportunities for community members from many backgrounds and disciplines to share data, knowledge, methods, and expertise. As part of this effort, we strive to provide well-integrated data services and tools that address the entire geoscientific data lifecycle, from locating and retrieving useful data, through the process of analyzing and visualizing data either locally or remotely, to curating and sharing the results.
Specifically, some of the UPC’s most important activities include:
- Acquiring, distributing, and providing remote access to real-time ESS data.
- Developing software for accessing, managing, analyzing, visualizing, and effectively using a wide variety of ESS data.
- Providing learning experiences, training, and technical support to community members to help them be more productive in their scientific activities
Data Services
The NSF Unidata Program Center provides Earth Systems Science data from a variety of sources to researchers and educators at no cost. Data can be accessed by either “push” (event driven) or “pull” (select what you want when you want it) technologies.
For More information, see the Data pages.
Supported Software Tools
In an era of increasing data complexity, accessibility, and multidisciplinary integration, NSF Unidata provides community support for a rich set of software tools to access and visualize data. Some of the tools we support are created by NSF Unidata Program Center (UPC) staff, others are maintained elsewhere but supported by the UPC.
For more information, see the Tools pages.
NSF Unidata also provides access to cloud-computing resources using the NSF Jetstream2 infrastructure. For more information, see the NSF Unidata Science Gateway Request a Jupyterhub page.
Learning Experiences
The NSF Unidata Learning Program serves Earth Systems Science students, educators, and researchers by providing relevant, fit-for-purpose learning experiences. Our goal is to support the community's advancement through the creation of accessible, high-quality materials and services in addition to project collaboration and university partnerships.
For more information, see the Education Hub pages.
Community Support
Providing world-class support to our community is at the heart of the NSF Unidata Program.
Software and Data Support
In addition to our Learning Program, Program Center software developers work one-on-one with community members to answer their technical questions and participate in electronic forums related to the software. UPC staff also provide ongoing support to member institutions who participate in the Internet Data Distribution system or operate data servers for the benefit of the NSF Unidata community.
Visit our Support Portal to get help with software and data.
Data Advocacy
Advocating for full and open access to scientific data for the university community has always been a core activity for NSF Unidata. Program Center staff work with governing committees and data providers to negotiate for access to data and model output deemed important for teaching and research, and strive to provide robust and easy-to-use mechanisms for investigators to share or publish their data for use by colleagues.
Community Equipment Awards
Through the NSF Unidata Community Equipment Awards program, NSF Unidata distributes approximately $100,000 each year to member programs for the purchase of computing equipment. The goal of the program is to encourage new members from diverse disciplinary backgrounds in the Earth Systems Sciences to join the community, and for existing members to continue their active participation so as to enhance the community process.