| Environmental data centers have been successfully acquiring, disseminating, and archiving data for decades. However, the increasing volume and number of data sets, coupled with growing demands from a wide range of users, have made it difficult for data centers to maintain the record of environmental change. This workshop report focuses on technological approaches to help environmental data centers meet these challenges and make it easier for users to find and use information held in data centers. Among the major findings are that data centers should rely more on off-the-shelf technology--both software and commonly available hardware--and change its primary storage medium from tape to disk. Such technological improvements will help solve many current data management problems, but data centers and their host agencies will also have to continue to invest in the scientific and human elements of data center operations.
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