PANGAEA information system for glaciological data management

Specific parameters determined on cores from continental ice sheets or glaciers can be used to reconstruct former climate. To use this scientific resource effectively an information system is needed which guarantees consistent longtime storage of data and provides easy access for the scientific community.An information system to archive any data of paleoclimatic relevance, together with the related metadata, raw data and evaluated paleoclimatic data, is presented. The system, based on a relational database, provides standardized import and export routines, easy access with uniform retrieval functions, and tools for the visualization of the data. The network is designed as a client/server system providing access through the Internet with proprietary client software including a high functionality or read-only access on published data via the World Wide Web

Towards Interoperability for Observed Parameters: Position Statement of an Emerging Working Group

For decades, many communities have worked on the definitions of parameters, specifically scientific observation and measurement parameters. A well known example are the climate and forecast standard names (CF) [1]. Controlled vocabularies (e.g. EnvThes [2], Anaeethes [3], BODC Parameter Usage Vocabulary [4], ...) are often used for describing parameters in different domains. PANGAEA [5] as a multidisciplinary data publisher for environmental sciences holds around 375 thousand citable data sets which have to be described with consistent semantics; this can be really challenging when dealing with complex parameters. Inconsistencies among existing parameter definitions as well as syntactic and semantic heterogeneity in their representation in systems prevent the integration of data about parameters from different providers. For individual providers, the growing number and complexity of observation and measurement parameters referred to in published data urgently demands viable approaches for their representation and organization. To address these problems and find common approaches, a group of interested scientists involved in different national and international initiatives and research infrastructures (PANGAEA, LTER-Europe [6], GFBio [7], BODC [8], ENVO [9], LifeWatch Italy [10], ICOS [11], AnaEE [12], AquaDiva [13], ...) decided to organize themselves as an RDA Working Group (WG). Having met several times via conference calls to present each other’s related work, it became clear that the problem has been recognized and tackled in various ways, reflecting the specific needs of data and semantic infrastructures of varying maturity. In this talk, we will describe the process of defining a common strategy with a clear output that will be beneficial for all involved communities, and beyond. This entails a consistent terminology used within the group, thorough SWOT analysis of the different methodologies in use (within and outside the group) and a synopsis of the current state. The ultimate aim of this undertaking is to elaborate a common concept for the definition of parameters and develop best practices illustrated on a number of use cases. We will highlight the problem, present and discuss the findings of the current working group, and provide an outlook for the planned work, in particular also a possible work plan for the RDA WG. The talk is an opportunity for this working group to reach out to other potentially interested parties. KEYWORDS: Network, Baltimore, Ecology, Long-term REFERENCES: 1. Climate and Forecast Standard Name Table. http://cfconventions.org/Data/cf-standard-names/49/build/cf-standard-name-table.html (accessed 10 April 2018). 2. EnvThes. http://vocabs.ceh.ac.uk/evn/tbl/envthes.evn (accessed 10 April 2018)

NFDI4BioDiversity - NFDI-Konsortium für Biodiversitäts-, Ökologische und Umweltdaten

NFDI4BioDiversity ist ein Konsortium innerhalb der Nationalen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur (NFDI) mit einem Schwerpunkt auf Services für die Biodiversitätsforschung und Ökologie. Unzählige Studien belegen den Rückgang der Biodiversität auf unserem Planeten. Drängende Fragen in diesem Zusammenhang sind unter anderem welche Auswirkungen der Rückgang der Biodiversität auf die betroffenen Ökosysteme hat und welche (anthropogenen) Einflüsse die Biodiversität reduzieren oder fördern. Um die komplexen Zusammenhänge zu verstehen und daraus Handlungsempfehlungen abzuleiten, werden vielfältige, qualitätsgesicherte und FAIRe[1] Daten benötigt. Diese umfassen das Vorkommen von Pflanzen, Tieren und Mikroorganismen, einschließlich ihrer genotypischen, phänotypischen und funktionalen Vielfalt, sowie deren Zusammenspiel in Populationen und Ökosystemen. In NFDI4BioDiversity haben sich 49 Partner aus Wissenschaft, Behörden und Bürgerwissenschaften zusammengeschlossen, um die Mobilisierung und Publikation vorhandener Daten voranzutreiben, effiziente Workflows zu entwickeln und Tools und Services zur Unterstützung von Analysen bereitzustellen. [1] FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable, aus: Wilkinson, Mark D., et al. „The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship”, Scientific Data 3:160018 (March 2016), doi: 10.1038/sdata.2016.1

From Conceptualization to Implementation: FAIR Assessment of Research Data Objects

Funders and policy makers have strongly recommended the uptake of the FAIR principles in scientific data management. Several initiatives are working on the implementation of the principles and standardized applications to systematically evaluate data FAIRness. This paper presents practical solutions, namely metrics and tools, developed by the FAIRsFAIR project to pilot the FAIR assessment of research data objects in trustworthy data repositories. The metrics are mainly built on the indicators developed by the RDA FAIR Data Maturity Model Working Group. The tools’ design and evaluation followed an iterative process. We present two applications of the metrics: an awareness-raising self-assessment tool and an automated FAIR data assessment tool. Initial results of testing the tools with researchers and data repositories are discussed, and future improvements suggested including the next steps to enable FAIR data assessment in the broader research data ecosystem

Archivierung und Zugang zu qualitativen Daten

Der vorliegende Band dokumentiert die Beiträge und Ergebnisse eines vom Rat für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsdaten (RatSWD) und dem Datenservicezentrum Qualiservice am 27. und 28. April 2018 an der Universität Bremen veranstalteten Workshops zum Thema "Archivierung und Zugang zu qualitativen Daten". Ziel des Workshops mit mehr als 50 Forschenden verschiedener sozial- und geisteswissenschaftlicher Disziplinen sowie Vertreterinnen und Vertretern von Forschungsdatenzentren war es, bisherige Erfahrungen zu evaluieren und Anforderungen für eine verbesserte Archivierungsinfrastruktur in der qualitativen Forschung zu benennen

PANGAEA - an information system for georeferenced data from Earth system research

The PANGAEA information system (http://www.pangaea.de) is operated to a long-term archive and publication unit of the World Data Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (WDC-MARE, http://www.wdc-mare.org) and efficiently distributes geological, biological, hydrophysical and meteorological data as well as any other georeferenced results from Earth system research. The system provides the data in consistent standard formats with search and access capabilities via Internet. The data are always stored with related meta-information necessary for their understanding. The system is designed as a network using client/server technology in a three-tiered architecture. The challenge of managing heterogenic and dynamic data was met through a flexible data model consisting of a relational data structure open to any kinds of scientific variables.The PANGAEA information system is operated by the AWI and MARUM institutions as an Open Access Library for any kinds of georeferenced data and also is used by individual scientists as well as by international and domestic programs as a repository. The data can be stored as supplements related to publications or stand-alone data collections. Each data set is published with a citation including a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for reliable access. The data are presented according to OAI-PMH standards for harvesting and thus can be accessed and distributed by portals.WDC-MARE was founded in 2001 as a member of the World Data Center System. By the beginning of 2008 WDC-MARE stored more than 4 billions data items in about 600 thousands data sets from more than 150 projects. Major geological project examples, served by PANGAEA, are ANDRILL (Antarctic Geological Drilling) and the European part of IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program). Within the project ARCOD (Arctic Ocean Sediment Database) geological data from the Arctic are retrodigitized and made available to the international scientific community by means of the PANGAEA technology. EUR-OCEANS funding program for hydrobiological, hydrophysical, and biogeochemical data rescue and integration results is also worth mentioning