Long-term Preservation of Earth Observation Data and Knowledge in ESA through CASPAR

ESA-ESRIN, the European Space Agency Centre for Earth Observation (EO), is the largest European EO data provider and operates as the reference European centre for EO payload data exploitation. EO Space Missions provide global coverage of the Earth across both space and time generating on a routine continuous basis huge amounts of data (from a variety of sensors) that need to be acquired, processed, elaborated, appraised and archived by dedicated systems. Long-term Preservation of these data and of the ability to discover, access and process them is a fundamental issue and a major challenge at programmatic, technological and operational levels.Moreover these data are essential for scientists needing broad series of data covering long time periods and from many sources. They are used for many types of investigations including ones of international importance such as the study of the Global Change and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Program. Therefore it is of primary importance not only to guarantee easy accessibility of historical data but also to ensure users are able to understand and use them; in fact data interpretation can be even more complicated given the fact that scientists may not have (or may not have access to) the right knowledge to interpret these data correctly.To satisfy these requirements, the European Space Agency (ESA), in addition to other internal initiatives, is participating in several EU-funded projects such as CASPAR (Cultural, Artistic, and Scientific knowledge for Preservation, Access and Retrieval), which is building a framework to support the end-to-end preservation lifecycle for digital information, based on the OAIS reference model, with a strong focus on the preservation of the knowledge associated with data.In the CASPAR Project ESA plays the role of both user and infrastructure provider for one of the scientific testbeds, putting into effect dedicated scenarios with the aim of validating the CASPAR solutions in the Earth Science domain. The other testbeds are in the domains of Cultural Heritage and of Contemporary Performing Arts; together they provide a severe test of preservation tools and techniques.In the context of the current ESA overall strategies carried out in collaboration with European EO data owners/providers, entities and institutions which have the objective of guaranteeing long-term preservation of EO data and knowledge, this paper will focus on the ESA participation and contribution to the CASPAR Project, describing in detail the implementation of the ESA scientific testbed

Managing Research Data in Big Science

The project which led to this report was funded by JISC in 2010--2011 as part of its 'Managing Research Data' programme, to examine the way in which Big Science data is managed, and produce any recommendations which may be appropriate. Big science data is different: it comes in large volumes, and it is shared and exploited in ways which may differ from other disciplines. This project has explored these differences using as a case-study Gravitational Wave data generated by the LSC, and has produced recommendations intended to be useful variously to JISC, the funding council (STFC) and the LSC community. In Sect. 1 we define what we mean by 'big science', describe the overall data culture there, laying stress on how it necessarily or contingently differs from other disciplines. In Sect. 2 we discuss the benefits of a formal data-preservation strategy, and the cases for open data and for well-preserved data that follow from that. This leads to our recommendations that, in essence, funders should adopt rather light-touch prescriptions regarding data preservation planning: normal data management practice, in the areas under study, corresponds to notably good practice in most other areas, so that the only change we suggest is to make this planning more formal, which makes it more easily auditable, and more amenable to constructive criticism. In Sect. 3 we briefly discuss the LIGO data management plan, and pull together whatever information is available on the estimation of digital preservation costs. The report is informed, throughout, by the OAIS reference model for an open archive

Managing Research Data: Gravitational Waves

The project which led to this report was funded by JISC in 2010–2011 as part of its ‘Managing Research Data’ programme, to examine the way in which Big Science data is managed, and produce any recommendations which may be appropriate. Big science data is different: it comes in large volumes, and it is shared and exploited in ways which may differ from other disciplines. This project has explored these differences using as a case-study Gravitational Wave data generated by the LSC, and has produced recommendations intended to be useful variously to JISC, the funding council (STFC) and the LSC community. In Sect. 1 we define what we mean by ‘big science’, describe the overall data culture there, laying stress on how it necessarily or contingently differs from other disciplines. In Sect. 2 we discuss the benefits of a formal data-preservation strategy, and the cases for open data and for well-preserved data that follow from that. This leads to our recommendations that, in essence, funders should adopt rather light-touch prescriptions regarding data preservation planning: normal data management practice, in the areas under study, corresponds to notably good practice in most other areas, so that the only change we suggest is to make this planning more formal, which makes it more easily auditable, and more amenable to constructive criticism. In Sect. 3 we briefly discuss the LIGO data management plan, and pull together whatever information is available on the estimation of digital preservation costs. The report is informed, throughout, by the OAIS reference model for an open archive. Some of the report’s findings and conclusions were summarised in [1]. See the document history on page 37

Report from the PV 2007 Conference, DLR Oberpfaffenhofen, October 9–11, 2007

This is a report from the conference PV 2007, held at the German Remote Sensing Data Centre, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, on October 9–11, 2007. The PV conference is held every two years, and is concerned with the preservation of scientific and technical data, and the activity of adding value to the data to ensure it can be widely used and re-used. The theme for 2007 was ‘the Challenge of Heterogeneity’, not only in the data being supported but in the tools used to access and process the data, and in the uses to which the data may be put

Towards the Preservation of the Scientific Memory

In this paper we consider the requirements for preserving the memory of science.  This is becoming more challenging as data volumes and rates continue to increase.  Further, to capture a full picture of the scientific memory we need to move beyond the bit preservation challenge to consider how to capture research in context, represent the meaning of the data, and how to interpret data in relation to other scientific artefacts distributed in multiple information spaces. We review the progress of scientific research into the digital preservation of science over the last decade, emphasising in particular the research and development programme of STFC. We conclude with a number of observations into the future directions of research and also the practical deployment of policy and infrastructure to effectively preserve the scientific memory

Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010

This selective bibliography includes over 500 articles, books, and technical reports that are useful in understanding digital curation and preservation. The Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography includes published articles, books, and technical reports. All included works are in English. The bibliography does not cover conference papers, digital media works (such as MP3 files), editorials, e-mail messages, letters to the editor, presentation slides or transcripts, unpublished e-prints, or weblog postings. Most sources have been published between 2000 and the present; however, a limited number of key sources published prior to 2000 are also included

The Fragile Menagerie: Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, and the Law

I. THE HIPPODROME OF THE GODS: RACING AGAINST ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY APOCALYPSE....................................................................... 304 II. ACROSS THE APOCALYPSE ON HORSEBACK: LEGAL RESPONSES TO BIODIVERSITY LOSS .................................................................................... 310 A. OVERKILL ........................................................................................... 310 B. ALIEN INVASIVE SPECIES ..................................................................... 316 C. HABITAT DESTRUCTION AND PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT .................. 321 1. ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY .............................................................. 321 2. PUBLIC LANDS MANAGEMENT..................................................... 325 III. THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: FROM PRIVATE LANDS TO GLOBAL COMMONS .......................................................................................... 329 A. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT MECHANICS .............................................. 330 1. LISTING ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES....................... 330 2. CRITICAL HABITAT ..................................................................... 333 3. INTERAGENCY CONSULTATION .................................................... 333 B. HABITAT CONSERVATION ON PRIVATE LANDS...................................... 335 C. ΑΡΚΤΟΎΡΟΣ: CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE “LAST GREAT WILDERNESS”... 340 IV. THE LAW OF BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND CLIMATE MITIATION IN THE ANTHROPOCENE ............................................................................................................................ 347 A. A NEW EPOCH..................................................................................... 347 B. AN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHOS INTENDED TO ENDURE FOR AGEST TO COME…353 C. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ON THE LAST PROMONTORY OF THE CENTURIES................................................................................... 354 1. REVITALIZING ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ......................................... 354 2. NEPA AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER ................................... 357 3. PRAGMATIC MODESTY ................................................................ 360 4. FOR NOWADAYS THE WORLD IS LIT BY LIGHTNING ..................... 36

Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works

In a rapidly changing technological environment, the difficult task of ensuring long-term access to digital information is increasingly important. The Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works presents over 650 English-language articles, books, and technical reports that are useful in understanding digital curation and preservation. This selective bibliography covers digital curation and preservation copyright issues, digital formats (e.g., data, media, and e-journals), metadata, models and policies, national and international efforts, projects and institutional implementations, research studies, services, strategies, and digital repository concerns. Most sources have been published from 2000 through 2011; however, a limited number of key sources published prior to 2000 are also included. The bibliography includes links to freely available versions of included works. It is under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Cite as: Bailey, Charles W., Jr. Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works. Houston: Digital Scholarship, 2012