CICS Client Memo (PDF)

Zachery Beitzel - zbeitzel@umd.edu

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The client that I intend to work with is the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites Maryland (CICS-MD). CICS is a national consortium of academic, non-profit, and community
organizations. CICS-MD “focuses on research in satellite observations and Earth system modeling in
support of the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service Center for Satellite
Applications and Research and the National Weather Service/National Centers for Environmental
Prediction” (http://cicsmd.umd.edu/about-us/, February 14th, 2017).
I have a limited understanding right now of specifically which project I will be assisting CICSCD on, but I believe it is related to their work with building an integrated U.S. National Climate
Indicators System. My understanding is that this project compiles various climate indicators (ranging
from global average atmospheric temperature, global sea level, annual and monthly precipitation, coral
thermal stress, and other indicators totaling to over 30). All of these indicators come from various sources
with a main goal being, “A set of indicators useful for ongoing tracking of critical changes and impacts
important to the NCA as well as indicators that could support adaptation and mitigation decisions by a
range of stakeholders” (Kenney, Janetos, & Lough, 2016). One challenging aspect of this project is
compiling all of these data indicators in a way that is easy to understand and useful to decision makers
and the general public, not just to scientists that already work with the data.

Three general questions to ask about how data are used and analyzed for DMP:
1. What data is currently being saved and where/how is it currently being saved?
2. How is the data being accessed in order to complete analysis on it?
3. How often and how much new data gets added to the data that is currently being saved?
One question I have about working with my client:
1. I have just recently acquired this client, and I would like to know the scope of my data
management plan, as I assume there is already a data management plan in place for the at large
indicators project. I would like to know if I will be working on a smaller subset of this indicators
project.

Zachery Beitzel - zbeitzel@umd.edu

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References
Kenney, M.A., Janetos, A.C. & Lough, G.C. Climatic Change (2016) 135: 85. doi:10.1007/s10584-0161609-1