Toward Improved Data Availability: the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office
Cynthia
L
Chandler, Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, cchandler@whoi.edu
(Presenting)
Robert
C.
Groman, Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, rgroman@whoi.edu
M.
Dicky
Allison, Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, mallison@whoi.edu
David
M.
Glover, Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, dglover@whoi.edu
Peter
H.
Wiebe, Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, pwiebe@whoi.edu
Data availability speeds knowledge discovery, increases the efficiency of the scientific enterprise, and rewards those that support its collection through better decision support at all levels. The first step in improving data availability is to increase the volume of data published electronically. But achieving this step alone does not guarantee the data will be usable. To make data truly available for scientific use, they must be discoverable and discernible. Whether the driver of a data access client is machine or human, availability of metadata is one of the most important agents of success. The Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) was created to serve investigators funded by the NSF Biological and Chemical Oceanography Sections and to support the scientific research community through improved accessibility to ocean science data. One of the goals of the BCO-DMO is to facilitate regional, national, and international data and information exchange. Biogeochemistry and ecosystem research projects are inherently interdisciplinary and benefit from improved access to well-documented data. The BCO-DMO is developing an open access data system that uses public domain software: project and data set metadata records designed to support accurate re-use of the data are stored in a relational database (MySQL); data are stored in or made accessible by the JGOFS/GLOBEC object-oriented, relational, data management system; and access to geospatial data will be provided via any standard Web browser client through a GIS (Geographic Information System) application (Open Source, MapServer). Storing metadata in a relational database permits data set descriptions to be generated in compliance with a variety of metadata content standards and provides mechanisms for exchange of data with other data repositories.
NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Active Awards Represented by this Poster: