1. Introduction
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Figure 1
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[2] The first large-scale international scientific enterprises were the International Polar Years
of 1882-1883 and 1932-1933, and inspired the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of
1957-1958. Planning of the IGY was coordinated by CSAGI, the Special Committee for
the IGY set up by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). CSAGI
established the World Data Center (WDC) system to serve the IGY, and developed data
management plans for each IGY scientific discipline. Because of its success, the WDC
system was made permanent and used for post-IGY data exchange.
Originally established in the United States, Europe, Russia, and Japan, the original WDC
system of 27 centers has since expanded to other countries and to new scientific
disciplines. The WDC system now encompasses 51 Centers in 12 countries as shown in
Figure 1.
[3] Its holdings include a wide range of solar, geophysical, environmental, and human
dimensions data. These data cover timescales ranging from seconds to millennia, and
spatial scales ranging from atomic to galactic dimensions; they provide baseline
information for research in many ICSU disciplines. WDCs are funded and maintained by
their host countries on behalf of the international science community. They accept data
from national and international scientific and monitoring programs as resources permit.
All data held in WDCs are available on a full and open access basis for no more than the
cost of copying and sending the requested information. In many cases, the data are
available online at no cost.
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