Introduction

NASA Earth Science Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a quickly growing effort within the Earth Science Data System (ESDS) Program. GIS software is designed to capture, manage, analyze, and visualize all forms of geographically referenced information. It reveals relationships, patterns, and trends and integrates with other visualization platforms and non-scientific data formats. It can also be configured to be easily discovered, accessed and used via web data services and provides users the ability to quickly deploy powerful raster and vector analytical capabilities via maps and applications. With the advancements in geographic technologies, more Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) and Applied Science projects are organically organizing towards a collaborative effort to streamline and leverage best practices in order to geospatially enable and deliver their mission specific datasets directly to users in the government, academia and public sectors.