The mission of the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) is to provide scientific stewardship of national and international marine environmental and ecosystem data and information.

The NODC archives and distributes global oceanographic data and information. The data is used to preserve a historical record of the Earth's changing environment for ocean climate research, and for operational applications. NODC provides data products and services to scientists, engineers, resource managers, policy makers, outdoor adventurers and hobbyists, as well as other users in the United States and around the world.