[2] World data centers in geosciences, in particular, the system of World Data Centers (WDCs) during the last 50 years have accumulated vast volumes of data, measured in terabyte. The Russian WDCs embrace the unique and impressive collection of the Russian and foreign data on topography and cartography, seismology, modern motions of the Earth's crust, geoecology, heat flow, bathymetry, altimetry, satellite geodesy, gravimetry, static and alternating magnetic field of the Earth, paleomagnetics, natural minerals, vertical ionospheric sounding, interplanetary data, space rays and solar activity. This data was obtained as a result of both the research carried out by the Russian observatories and stations, by expeditions and various experiments, implemented by the Russian institutes of scientific research (dozens of millions of files), and of the international data exchange. Enormous massifs of analogue data are stored by the Russian observatories and in the Geophysical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (GC RAS), comprising the two WDCs - in solid Earth physics and solar-terrestrial physics.
[3] Many WDCs are actively involved (for example, the WDCs on geomagnetism in India and Japan) in the process of unification of analogue and digital data into comprehensive information resources and their incorporation into the distributed system of WDC resources. These data are being used by scientists of the entire world.
[4] Providing the network access to the maximum data volumes, accumulated by WDC, thematic and problem-oriented databases and development of users interface is vitally important. The International Council for Science (ICSU) defines scientific data and information as a priority domain of development in the years to come, essential for all the spheres of life and activity of the world community and urges to undertake measures to replace the old analogue data with electronic data, for its active use in up-to-date and future scientific research. The ICSU WDC Panel calls upon all the centers to provide the Internet access to all data compiled by the WDC system and the opportunity to the scientific community to use it, ensuring convenient means for search, viewing and selection of data. The attitude to data on the international scale emphasizes the urgency and expediency for the Russian Federation of establishment of a system of integrated Russian language access to global data resources. This is extremely important nowadays, taking into account the insufficient development of the Russian geoscience systems of observation.
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