29 June 2002
On 27 June OGS was designated as the Italian National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) within the International Oceanographic Data Exchange System (IODE) of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). The IODE/IOC programme supports marine research and development, by facilitating the exchange of oceanographic data and information between participating Member States, and by meeting the needs of users for data and information products. The NODC system to collect, standardize, validate and store marine data, from the wide range of national research and monitoring institutes, is integrated into the international network of data centres led by the IOC/UNESCO. The NODC makes marine data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable to fulfill the need of information mainly by scientists and policy makers.