NCEI: The worldwide authoritative and trusted source for environmental data that documents and expands our knowledge of Earth and beyond.

The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) archives data that NOAA gathers, from the seafloor to the surface of the sun. Along with managing NOAA’s archive of environmental information, we conduct research on and monitor the environment and help you access and use the data. Our environmental information and tools enable people, businesses, and public entities to make informed, data-driven decisions. 

Our scientists study many aspects of Earth including the ocean, coasts, natural hazards such as tsunamis, solar phenomena, weather and climate, and systems such as El Niño, La Niña and the Gulf Stream. We work across Earth, marine, atmospheric, and geophysical sciences. Our environmental information helps inform decision-making in every sector in the U.S. economy, at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels, and in the fields of public safety, economic vitality, energy efficiency, and environmental conservation and sustainability. 

We help NOAA and NESDIS meet the growing need for value-added scientific data by producing the World Ocean Database, World Magnetic Model, Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters assessment, natural hazards data, space weather data, passive acoustic data, paleoclimate data, coastal elevation models, and many climate monitoring reports. We also support NOAA-wide projects including the NOAA blue economy initiative and NOAA science and technology focus areas. 

Our Leadership

Partners

We partner with other federal agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations throughout the country to conduct research and perform tasks that support our mission and goals. Some partners include several Cooperative Institutes, Regional Climate Centers, coastal research partners, state climatologists, and private sector experts.

Contact NCEI

If you need help with our products and services, please find the best way to contact us on our Contact webpage.

Locations

Our staff work across the country, including at:

• Boulder Labs in Boulder, Colorado;
• John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi;
• NOAA Silver Spring Metro Center in Silver Spring, Maryland; and
• Veach-Baley Federal Complex in Asheville, North Carolina.