The ability to archive and share datasets generated by field, experimental, and modeling activities is a critical component of Earth system and global change research. Several recent interagency efforts aim to support advances in global change data access, synthesis, and use. 

 

DOE recently launched the Environmental Systems Science Data Infrastructure for a Virtual Ecosystem (ESS-DIVE), a publicly accessible archive of Earth and environmental science data generated by DOE-supported ecosystems research. ESS-DIVE enables the user community to easily access the datasets underlying research results, review results that have already been published, and use data for new analyses. 

 

ESS-DIVE is a partner in the NSF-funded Data Observation for Earth Network (DataONE), which enables free and open sharing of scientific data across a platform of networked federal and non-federal data portals. DataONE supports enhanced search and discovery of Earth and environmental data across a number of repositories managed by its members, meaning that ESS-DIVE’s data contents will be discoverable by a broader user base. 

 

Together, these efforts broaden existing initiatives to help users efficiently access data that is easy to interpret, integrate, and analyze, enabling researchers to tackle critical global change research questions from a multi-disciplinary perspective.