Mark Parsons

Lead Project Manager, Senior Associate Scientist

MA,Geography, University of Colorado, 2010
BSc, Cornell University, 1988

Specialties

Data stewardship processes; interdisciplinary data management; data policy; long-term data stewardship

Current Roles

Mark coordinates data management projects and informatics research efforts at NSIDC. He also leads several national and international data management and informatics projects of his own. His focus is on open sharing, preservation, and interdisciplinary use of Arctic information ranging from satellite remote sensing data to the in-depth knowledge of an Inuit hunter. He is active in several national and international data committees and publishes and presents frequently on data management issues. Mark won the 2009 American Geophysical Union Charles S. Falkenberg Award for contributing to "the quality of life, economic opportunities and stewardship of the planet through the use of Earth science information and to the public awareness of the importance of understanding our planet."

Current Projects

PI, Semantic Sea Ice Interoperability Initiative (SSIII)

The Sematic Sea Ice Interoperability Initiative (SSIII) is a collaborative project to create an ontology of sea ice that considers local and traditional as well as formal scientific perspectives. SSIII also seeks to create a sustained network of practitioners using and enhancing the ontology.

PI/Co-PI, Libre Data Services

Libre (lee-bray) is a project devoted to liberating science data from its traditional constraints of publication, location, and findability. Building from existing open-source technology and data management standards, Libre makse it easy for scientists to make their data discoverable and usable by the whole world. Libre is a collaborative project supported by NSF, NASA, and the Polar Information Commons.

Co-PI, Advanced Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service (ACADIS)

ACADIS is a collaborative project between NSIDC, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and Unidata to provide archival and access services for all data collected by Arctic researchers funded by NSF.

Co-PI, Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge in the Arctic (ELOKA)

ELOKA works to provide data management and user support to facilitate the collection, preservation, exchange, and use of local observations and knowledge of the Arctic.

Activities

Member, Data Review Board for the NOAA Climate Services Portal, April 2011 - present.

Member, Joint International Arctic Science Committee/Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research Bipolar Action Group on Science Cooperation, December 2010 - present.

Member, Global Research Data Infrastructure 2020 Technical Working Group, spring 2010 - present.

Member, National Ecological Observing Network (NEON) Data Services Working Group.

Ex-officio Member of the National Research Council's Board on Research Data and Information (BRDI), spring 2009 - fall 2010.

Associate Editor, Permafrost: Ninth International Conference 29 June - 3 July 2008.

Co-Chair International Polar Year Data Management and Policy Subcommitttee; November 2005 - October 2010 .This committee has also served as an official task group of the International Council of Science Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA).

Member, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) Commission for Data and Information, December 2007 - present. IUGG Liaison to CODATA, August2011 - present.

Member, American Geophysical Union Information Technology Committee, 2006 - 2010.

Member, National Academy of Sciences National Research Council Committee on Archiving Environmental and Geospatial Data at NOAA, February 2006 - November 2007.

Member, U.S. Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Data Management Working Group, 2006-2008.

Co-Chair, International Permafrost Association Standing Committee on Data, Information, and Communication; Member 2003-2008, Co-Chair 2008 - present.

Development of many data sets and collections.

Designed and implemented NSIDC’s overall data management process.