Status of GOSIC

GOSIC provides on-line, one-window access to program information about GCOS, GOOS, GTOS, and their partner programs, and to the datasets, products, and services they provide.  More specifically GOSIC provides links to GCOS, GOOS and GTOS data, information, and science centers; access to historical data sets, dataflow diagrams and maps of observing system sites; and access to planning and design documents and information.

Philosophy and Approach

The observing systems use a highly distributed system of operational centers, data centers, and scientific organizations to collect, analyze and provide data and data products. To the extent practical, GOSIC links to the data, data products, and information in these centers. GOSIC also provides links to the GCOS, GOOS and GTOS planning and design documents wherever they may be held.

The goal is also to minimize the difficulties of navigating complex and vastly different organization web sites by providing standard format web pages in GOSIC that link directly to the relevant data center pages, or in some cases, to ask the data centers to provide common format pages that GOSIC can link to.

Management of GOSIC

The Joint Data and Information Management Panel (JDIMP) of the Global Observing Systems established GOSIC in 1997. It was established as a pilot project to develop methods for easy on-line access to the comprehensive base of GCOS, GOOS and GTOS data and information. GOSIC was developed at the University of Delaware building on experience with information systems for international climate research programs. For the first few years the development of GOSIC was guided by the JDIMP.After writing a high-level data and information plan for the Global Observing Systems, the JDIMP completed its work and was disbanded in 2000.

Guidance and evaluation of GOSIC is provided by the Steering Committees of the three observing systems. GOSIC reports at Steering Committee meetings and receives directions for further development. Performance evaluation is achieved by means of a review group appointed by the Secretariats. Reviews were conducted at the University of Delaware in April 2001, and October 2003. There were 2 experts present for each of the observing systems for these reviews. (1st review report / 2nd review report)

GOSIC Review and Evaluation

Reviews of the GOSIC program were held in 2001 and 2003 (1st review report / 2nd review report). The reviews were generally supportive of GOSIC and strongly supportive of several of the more unique features and content. Both review teams felt that GOSIC performs a necessary service and should be continued. Both reviews produced prioritized recommendations for improvements. All recommendations of the first and second reviews have been implemented.

Funding Status

GOSIC is funded by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and the US GCOS Program.