2016 marks 25 years of successful operations of NDACC for enabling and enhancing global atmospheric research. A comprehensive review article commemorating this anniversary appears in the September-October 2016 issue of NASA’s Earth Observer Newsletter. The newsletter is a bi-monthly publication that consolidates NASA Earth Science news and has a readership of more than 6000 internationally. The article “The Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change: 25 Years Old and Going Strong” can be accessed at http://eospso.nasa.gov/earthobserver/sep-oct-2016.
Following a general introduction to NDACC, the article includes information on the historical context for the formation of such a network leading to the initial establishment of the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC). Details on the original organizational structure of NDSC, an assessment of the first 10 years of NDSC operations, and the transition of NDSC to NDACC follow. Additional information is provided on the continuing evolution of NDACC, its current measurement capabilities, and the role of NDACC Cooperating Networks. Examples of several significant contributions and results from 25 years of NDSC/NDACC operations are also highlighted. The article continues with a section on “The Path Forward” in which the network’s organizational flexibility, data access improvements, and data quality assurance activities are described. The concluding section emphasizes that NDACC stands as a shining example of what can be achieved through international cooperation and from the continuity and quality assurance in measurements and their analyses. Past issues of the Earth Observer Newsletter are available at http://eospso.nasa.gov/earth-observer-archive.