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About

Mission

NCEI provides environmental data, products, and services covering the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun to drive resilience, prosperity, and equity for current and future generations.

Vision

A tenacious and trusted leader in environmental information for a rapidly changing world with a focus on driving lasting good across our partnerships, our economy, around the U.S and the world.

Data in Action

NCEI data helps businesses and organizations across sectors operate more efficiently, safely, environmentally, and economically. 

Data Management

The NCEI archive and backup copy contains more than 60 petabytes of data.

Industry and Agriculture

NCEI data and products help decision makers address specific challenges and use cases in a variety of societal sectors.

Learn More About Our Impact

Products

Story maps transform NCEI data and products into a visual narrative by combining custom maps with storytelling.

View Story Map Gallery

Leadership

Deke Arndt

Deke Arndt

Director

Deke Arndt became NCEI's Director on January 30, 2023 after serving as Chief of NCEI's Climatic Science and Services Division (CSSD) for three years. He previously lead the CSSD Monitoring Section. Deke’s career began in 1996 at the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. He worked closely with public safety, agriculture, climate monitoring, the energy generation and transmission sectors. In recent years, he served on the Council of the American Meteorological Society, was a co-lead editor of the AMS's annual State of the Climate report, and co-chaired the US Global Change Research Program's Interagency Indicators Working Group.

Joe Pica

Joe Pica

Deputy Director

Joe Pica assumed the role of NCEI Deputy Director in 2018 after a three-year stint as Director of the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Observations, where he oversaw data collection operations to ensure accurate, comprehensive national forecasts. Before joining the NWS, Joe served as Commanding Officer of the NOAA Ships Ronald H. Brown and Okeanos Explorer, respectively the flagship and most technologically advanced vessels in the NOAA fleet. Between sea assignments, he brought operational, technical, and leadership skills to a variety of federal assignments including Deputy Director of the former National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and Executive Director to the Deputy Under Secretary for Operations. 

Scott Hausman

Scott Hausman

Chief, Information Technology Services Division

Scott Hausman became Chief of NCEI IT services in 2017 after two years as Director of NCEI Data Stewardship. Dr. Hausman previously served as Acting Director and Deputy Director of the former National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and as the Director of the Global Systems Division of the Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL). His 24-year career with the U.S. Air Force included command of the 14th Weather Squadron providing climatological support to the Department of Defense, intelligence community, and other federal agencies. 

Eric Kihn

Eric Kihn

Chief, Oceanographic And Geophysical Science And Services Division

Eric Kihn is the Chief of the Oceanographic and Geophysical Science and Services Division (OGSSD), taking the role in 2018 after serving as acting Director of the NGDC. Over more than 25 years of NOAA service, he was a researcher, group leader, and professional data manager whose efforts led or contributed to the development of projects like Space Weather Analysis (SWA), and two award-winning analytic systems in the Space Physics Interactive Data Resource and the Environmental Scenario Generator. He heads the World Data Service for Geophysics and actively contributes to the Earth System Information Partners professional organization.

Monica Youngman

Monica Youngman

Chief, Data Stewardship Division

Monica Youngman joined NCEI as Chief of Data Stewardship (DSD) in 2018 to manage the growing archive of environmental data under NCEI care. She led substantial, complex stewardship projects during her 10-year NOAA career, managing data collection, software development, metadata procedures, and archival processes for the National Geodetic Survey office’s multi-million dollar Gravity Program, as well as the Gravity for Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) project.

Locations

NCEI has four national locations, as well as regional centers, field sites, and cooperative institutes throughout the country.

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder, Colorado

Silver Spring, Maryland

Silver Spring, Maryland

John C. Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

Stennis Space Center, MS

Learn More About NCEI's National Locations

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News

There’s a lot going on at NCEI! Visit our news page to learn more about our organization and the Earth’s climate, oceans, coasts, and geophysics.

World Data System at NCEI

NCEI hosts World Data Centers and Services as a member of the ICSU World Data System, a collaborative effort to ensure universal, equitable access to environmental data around the world.

NCEI Cooperative Institutes

NOAA partners with academic and nonprofit institutions throughout the country to conduct collaborative research, connect with scientific communities, and sponsor student fellowships.