World Data Center-A for Paleoclimatology at the NOAA Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder, CO

World Data Center-A (WDC-A) for Paleoclimatology was established in 1992 and is located in the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder, CO, USA. The WDC-A serves as a coordination center for paleoenvironmental data management activities needed by the international research community. The WDC-A is working closely with this community to generate a global network of proxy environmental records (e.g. climate, hydrologic, oceanographic, biologic) that extends beyond the 150 year limit of most instrumental observations of past climate and global change. As part of this effort, an easily accessible international data system for the acquisition, management, and distribution of paleoenvironmental data is currently being developed.