Abstract:
The NASA-developed Earth Observing System (EOS) Clearinghouse (ECHO) is a spatial and temporal metadata registry that enables the science community to more easily use and exchange NASA's data and services. ECHO's main objective is to enable broader use of NASA's EOS data. It allows users to more efficiently search and access data and services and increases the potential for interoperability with
... new tools and services. The value of these resources increases as the potential to exchange and interoperate increases. ECHO has been working with other organizations to provide their Earth science metadata alongside NASA's for users to search and access. ECHO stores metadata from a variety of science disciplines and domains, including Climate Variability and Change, Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems, Earth Surface and Interior, Atmospheric Composition, Weather, and Water and Energy Cycle.
NASA's Earth science data has already proven itself to be extremely useful in understanding the planet Earth as an integrated system. To help science communities that need data from multiple organizations and multiple disciplines, ECHO provides a uniform view of NASA's data. It allows users to more efficiently search and access data and services and increases the potential for interoperability with new tools and services. For examples of how NASA's Earth science data is helping scientists understand the complexities of our Earth, visit Sensing our Planet and Other Featured Research Articles at http://earthdata.nasa.gov/featured-stories/sensing-our-planet.
[Summary provided by NASA.] 
