Finding NCDC Climate Data and Resources

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration presented an online webinar on Feb. 26, 2014.  From their description:

  • Duration: 40 minutes
  • Speakers:
    • Greg Hammer , Meteorologist, NCDC
    • Scott Stephens, Meteorologist, NCDC
    • Stuart Hinson, Meteorologist, NCDC
    • Mara Sprain, MALS Librarian, NCDC
    • Susan Osborne, Technical Writer and Communications Specialist, NCDC

“Summary: NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) maintains the world’s largest climate data archive and provides climatological services and data to every sector of the United States economy and to users worldwide. Records in the archive range from paleoclimatic data, to centuries-old journals, to data less than an hour old. The Center’s mission is to preserve these data and make them available to the public, business, industry, government, and researchers.

Data come to NCDC from not only land-based stations but also from ships, buoys, weather balloons, radars, satellites, and even sophisticated weather and climate models. With these data, NCDC develops national and global datasets. The datasets are used to maximize the use of our climatic and natural resources while also minimizing the risks caused by climate variability and weather extremes. NCDC has a statutory mission to describe the climate of the United States, and it acts as the “Nation’s Scorekeeper” regarding the trends and anomalies of weather and climate. NCDC’s climate data have been used in a variety of applications including agriculture, air quality, construction, education, energy, engineering, forestry, health, insurance, landscape design, livestock management, manufacturing, national security, recreation and tourism, retailing, transportation, and water resources management.”

“Participation is free, however registration is required. Upon registering, an e-mail confirmation of registration will include instructions for joining the Webinar. …Parts 2 and 3 of the webinar series will be presented in the spring of 2014. More information will come out on those individual webinars later.”

The NCDC webinar is directly at: http://login.icohere.com/connect/d_connect_itemframer.cfm?vsDTTitle=NCDC%20%2D%20The%20World%3Fs%20Largest%20Climate%20Data%20Archive&dseq=18332&dtseq=84935&emdisc=2&mkey=public1172&vbDTA=0&viNA=0&vsDTA=&PAN=2&bDTC=0&blog=0&vsSH=A

Government webinars are listed here: http://login.icohere.com/public/topics.cfm?cseq=1172.

 

New Ocean Climate Change Web Portal (NOAA)

The NOAA and NOAA Fisheries are collaborating in a new ocean climate change Web portal in trying to assess the effects of climate change on fish.

What is the Ocean Climate Change Web Portal?

“It’s an online system that provides an easy way to display maps of climate data, such as ocean temperature and salinity, over portions of the globe. For example, it can allow you to view how the temperature in the North Atlantic would change in the 21st century as compared with the 20th century.”

Reported by ResearchBuzz, Tara Calishain, Mar. 5, 2014.

Bioinformatics Organization

From GEN’s “Best of the Web”, Jan. 15, 2014, there is a glowing review of http://www.bioinformatics.org  which makes available an assortment of resources for everyone, from beginners to experts.  There is introductory information, databases, software development projects, and analytical tools, such as PrimerX, which automate the design of mutagenic PCR primers.

GenEngNews – http://gen.epubxp.com/t/13060/2

Brain Facts — Website

This excellent website is divided into 6 parts:  Neuroscience, Brain Basics, Sensing/Thinking/Behaving, Diseases and Disorders, Across the Lifespan, and In Society

http://www.genengnews.com/best-of-the-web/brainfacts-org/2853/

Reviewed by GEN, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Dec. 2013

FlyExpress for Developmental Biology Research

FlyExpress, for Drosophila development study has received a 4-star (excellent) review in the October 15, 2012, issue of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News,  www.Genengnews.com  (page 62).

www.flyexpress.net has “> 100,000 images depicting expression patterns of > 4000 genes” over time.  There are various ways to search this database, including the spatial search feature based on GEMs, Genome Expression Maps.

70 million substances (CAS)

“CAS Registry registers 70 millionth substance – 07 Dec 2012

Chemical information provider Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the American Chemical Society, has announced a major milestone for the CAS Registry, the largest collection of publicly disclosed chemical substance information. CAS scientists registered the 70 millionth substance from a patent application submitted to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO).

The 70 millionth substance is a potential T-type calcium channel blocker discovered at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), a multidisciplinary research institute in Seoul, South Korea. Assigned CAS Registry Number® 1411769-41-9, the substance is one of several pyrazolyl-piperazine compounds disclosed in the patent application published by KIPO on November 14, 2012. This molecule may be useful in the treatment of epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and other conditions.

Similar to the 60 millionth substance registered in May 2011, the 70 millionth substance again reflects the value of patents as an important source of chemical information. In fact, more than 70 percent of new substances from the literature registered in 2012 originated from patents. To ensure the completeness and quality of the CAS premier substance collection, CAS scientists analyse, organise and curate chemistry in patents from 63 patent authorities around the world.

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Source:  today’s Knowledgespeak Newsletter