The use of SYSTEM 2000 to help handle some of the scientific data needed by research programs with the Atmospheric Sciences Division of the Department of Energy and Environment at Brookhaven National Laboratory is discussed. The computing environment at the Central Scientific Computing Facility is briefly described, and similarities and differences with highly centralized corporate and administrative data environments are presented. Specific examples of SYSTEM 2000 scientific data bases in current use are described. Author experiences and conclusions in the use of this DBMS in a research environment are discussed, and future plans and alternatives are briefly presented. 6 figures, 4 tables.