An all-in-one web tool to apply CTD quality control, format data, and generate metadata under SeaDataNet criteria

Professional data centres of the Pan-European region active in marine data collection, in particular National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs), routinely share diverse datasets through SeaDataNet, a distributed Marine Data Infrastructure. This network provides on-line integrated databases of standardized quality. Sharing marine data through SeaDataNet is an optimal way of ensuring FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. However, submission of data to this infrastructure demands a set of technical tasks that cover quality control processing, adoption of common vocabularies, implement file format standards and preparation of associated metadata. Although common software tools are made available to NODCs to facilitate data and metadata preparation (see https://www.seadatanet.org/Software) these tasks continuous to be complex and time-consuming. For example, the technician must use MIKADO software to generate INSPIRE-complaint metadata and adopt SeaDataNet Common Vocabularies; NEMO software to transform the original file to a common data transport format; and OCTOPUS software to check the compliance of a file. Additional software must be used to quality check and properly flag each individual record.En prens

Simplifying quality control and standardization of CTD data under SeaDataNet requirements

Sharing marine data through SeaDataNet infrastructure ensures preservation and promotes reusability. Submission of data to this infrastructure demands a set of technical tasks that cover quality control processing, adoption of common vocabularies, implement le format standards and preparation of associated metadata. Although common software tools are made available to Data Centres and/or End Users to facilitate data and metadata preparation, these tasks continuous to be complex and time-consuming. To speed-up this process, a Python-Flask web application is presented here to quality check and create metadata and data according to SeaDataNet requirements. The web tool focuses on CTD vertical pro les, although code could be easily adapted to process other type of records

The metadata catalogue of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography: a tool to implement the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC) is responsible, among other aspects, for scientific and technical advice for the Government's fisheries policy as well as for the protection and sustainability of the marine environment. Thus, the IEO-CSIC plays a key role in the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), an EU legislative act that seeks to achieve a good environmental status of European marine waters and protect the resource base on which sustain economic and social activities related to the sea. Under this commission, the IEO-CSIC generates a large amount of marine data characterized by its spatial dispersion during acquisition as well as by its different typology. One of the main tasks is to safeguard data and to disclose what data exists and where, how and when it has been acquired and, in addition, to provide access to that data through the collaboration with different national and international organizations. To this end, the data and metadata are subjected to quality control and formatted for integration into a national Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). This SDI has a GeoNetwork catalogue (http://datos.ieo.es) with ~ 2800 oceanographic campaigns. The metadata of the campaigns known as Cruise Summary Report (CSR) follow the ISO 19139, and although similar to those reported to the pan European SeaDataNet infrastructure, here they have been adapted following an XSL transformation to facilitate the data discovery to the Spanish community. CSRs constitute the parent metadata for ~ 250 layers associated with the implementation of the MSFD. Thus, the INSPIRE-compliant layers with biological, geological and physical resource data can be found through the catalogue and are linked to the corresponding map services. Finally, relevant metadata for the implementation of the MSFD are harvested in other national infrastructures, as the InfoMar catalogue (http://www.infomar.miteco.es/), promoted by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and maintained by the CEDEX

A new method to estimate cloud cover fraction over El Leoncito Observatory from an all-sky imager designed for upper atmosphere studies

A method for determining cloud cover fraction over El Leoncito Observatory (31.8°S, 69.3°W) is presented. Data from an all-sky imaging system, designed to measure nightglow originating from the mesosphere and thermosphere, is used to determine the fraction of the sky covered by clouds. More than 9,000 hr of observations from May 2006 to December 2010 are used to show that El Leoncito is clear approximately 75-80% of the time. No significant seasonal variations are observed. The optical ground-based data are compared with data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) instrument on board the TERRA and AQUA satellites.Fil: Martinis, C.. University Of Boston; Estados Unidos de América;Fil: Wilson, J.. University of New Hampshire; Estados UnidosFil: Zablowski, P.. University Of Boston; Estados Unidos de América;Fil: Baumgardner, J.. University Of Boston; Estados Unidos de América;Fil: Aballay, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Beatriz Elena. Universidad Tecnologica Nacional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Tecnología En Detección y Astropartículas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Detección y Astropartículas Mendoza | Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Instituto de Tecnología En Detección y Astropartículas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Detección y Astropartículas Mendoza | Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Tecnología En Detección y Astropartículas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Detección y Astropartículas Mendoza. ; Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Ristori, Pablo Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa. Ministerio de Defensa. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa; ArgentinaFil: Otero, Lidia Ana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa. Ministerio de Defensa. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa; Argentin

DIVERSIMAR Project: marine citizen science in the North and Northwest Iberian coast

Marine citizen science can play an important role in understanding the ocean responses to global change and other pressures to marine systems. Citizen science projects guide public participation combining research with environmental education and science divulgation [1, 4]. The DIVERSIMAR project (https://diversimar.cesga.es/) aims to register biodiversity data of the North and Northwest Iberian coast and is a way for science and society to interact and collaborate [3]. A system to integrate both the available scientific information (on distribution, biology and ecology of marine species) and the new information provided by volunteers has been designed. In a first step, volunteers contact directly the scientists providing photos, videos and any other information about their findings. Technological innovations such as smartphone devices equipped with cameras become a powerful tool for data collection because the images have associated metadata such as date and position [2]. In a second step, these records are verified, validated and stored in the project GIS database that can be consulted in the DIVERSIMAR Map Viewer (https://diversimar.cesga.es/visor/index.php). Different stakeholders, from scientists to citizens, and from fishermen to marine environmental organisations, can get involved in this citizen project. The wide-ranging observations on coastal flora and fauna (such as the occurrence and regularity of jellyfish blooms, the sporadic report of species that have never been observed in a region before, the apparition of invasive species, the presence of kelp forests or the sighting of protected species) allow to increase the temporal and spatial data acquisition and play an important role in monitoring the coastline and the intertidal zones. The information gathered by mapping habitats and by determination of abundance and distribution of native and invasive species demonstrate the scientific value of citizen monitoring to help managers to develop management plans and conservation strategies such as EU Marine Strategy framework Directive.Fundación Biodiversida

POLYBIUS2020, a cost-effective underwater autonomous video system to record fishing gear selectivity performance catching fish and marine litter

Underwater video cameras are a highly versatile survey solution for marine fisheries research. The POLYBIUS2020 is a system specially designed to be used as a tool for video recording inside towed fishing gears. Its design allows for rapid installation onboard commercial fishing vessels as well as for quick reconfiguration and battery replacement. The system is based on simple commercial components to ensure low costs and the opportunity of future studies using house technology. The field experiments carried out have shown the flexibility and ability of the system to obtain key information about fishing selectivity, flora and fauna characterization and marine litter presence

CleanAtlantic sea litter geographical web

A Sea litter data viewer has been developed in the framework of the CleanAtlantic European project. This web application allows access to the litter data of different compartments of the ocean as beach litter, floating litter, and seabed litter. The users can query the statistical distributions of litter concentrations, time series, and the composition of the most frequent types of litter of each geographical item. In order to facilitate access to this type of information to all types of users independently of their data analysis skills, the viewer has developed following criteria of simplicity and usability

Hydrographic variability (1994-2020) in the Ría de Vigo and adjacent shelf (NW Iberia)

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC) carries out monthly oceanographic samplings at across-shelf sections off the northern Spanish coast under the monitoring program RADIALES (https://www.seriestemporales-ieo.net/). This is a multidisciplinary marine research effort addressing long-term variability issues at the ecosystem level (Bode et al., 2015; Valdés et al., 2002). Currently, the monitoring program includes 5 perpendicular coastal transects in Northern Spain: Santander, Gijón, Cudillero, A Coruña and Vigo. Focusing on the section located in the Ría de Vigo and adjacent shelf, we have analysed a 27-year time series (1994 - 2020) of temperature and salinity obtained through CTD profiles in three stations, two inside the Ría (~30 and ~40 m depth) and one in the mid-shelf (~90 m depth). This study summarizes the hydrographic variability in the region through the construction of a local climatology. In addition, long-term trends and interannual changes in seasonality are examined. The results show a change in the salinity regime in medium depth waters in 2013, although not in temperature. Near the surface, the temperature undergoes a negative shift from 2016, in correspondence with the entry of the AMO into a new negative phase

Promoting FAIRness in marine data at Centro Nacional Instituto Español de Oceanografía

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography is responsible, among other aspects, for scienti c and technical advice for the Government's sheries policy as well as for the protection and sustainability of the marine environment. In this task, it generates a large amount of oceanographic data characterized by its spatial dispersion during acquisition as well as by its di erent typology. The purpose of both the National Oceanographic Data Center and the GIS team is to safeguard data and to disclose what data exists and where, how and when it has been acquired and, in addition, to provide access to that data through the collaboration with di erent international data infrastructures like EMODnet or SeaDataNet. To this end, the data and metadata are subjected to quality control and formatted for integration into a national Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). This SDI has a GeoNetwork catalogue with ~ 1750 oceanographic campaigns, together with (meta)data and services that are continuously being revised and incorporated. All this with the ultimate goal of making the data increasingly FAIR