NIFS announced that it  elevates demand-driven data service with the website redesign of the Korea Oceanographic Data Center (KODC) for capacity building in monitoring and prediction of climate change.

*The Korea Oceanographic Data Center (KODC) has been operated by the National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) since 1981 after it was established under the UNESCO recommendation. KODC is the only officially designated national oceanographic data center in Korea. 

The key improvements include △shortening the interval of time to release the observation data on temperature and salinity in the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula*- changing it from the following year to within 30 days after observation termination, △adding data on chlorophyll, which is a critical indicator of primary production, etc.

*Referring to the observation data drawn up by NIFS Serial Oceanographic Observation (NSO) in the East, West, and South Sea as well as the East China Sea 

Along with that, accessibility and convenience of the data were improved by making the system to be user-centered for downloading average year data for each sea area as well as the climate observation data, which facilitates the data to be utilized as the fundamental data in long-term oceanic climate analysis. 

For the first time in Korea, KODC has maintained the ISO 9001: 2015 certificate in oceanographic observation data for the tenth straight year. It has also consistently contributed to improving the data reliability and the level of standardization through data management in accordance with international standards. Being recognized for the contribution, NIFS won the PICES Open Data Excellence Award. 

NIFS president Kwon Soon-wook said, “The advancement of marine science and the response to climate change depend on how swiftly we can utilize the precise oceanographic observation data. As a national marine data hub to support scientific research and policy decisions, NIFS will strengthen its role through capacity building for field observation and high-quality data release.”