A research center at UC Santa Barbara advancing ecological knowledge through data analysis and synthesis.

The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) is a research center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Opened in 1995 with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, NCEAS supports cross-disciplinary research that analyzes and synthesizes existing data to address fundamental issues in ecology and allied fields. The center has played a key role in developing ecological metadata standards such as EML (Ecological Metadata Language) and promotes the application of science to natural resource management and public policy.