In this section, you’ll find some guidance to share ocean data with the global community of scientists, decision-makers, private industry, and general society. The places to which ocean data may be shared are listed in order of preference:

1. A member of the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO

• This is either a:

• • National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC);
  • an Associated Data Unit (ADU) (Some NODCs and ADUs are also nodes of the Ocean Biodiversity System (OBIS))
  • or a regional or thematic node of the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS)

Find below a list of NODCs, ADUs and OBIS Nodes

Note: NODCs and ADUs may contribute to data aggregators and systems, such as the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), the World Data System, or Global Data Assembly Centres for thematic products.

OR

• Connect to a network or regional alliance of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). Find below a full list.

2. Other appropriate and open thematic data repository:

• These may include:

i) Seabed 2030 / General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean (GEBCO) for bathymetric data

ii) PANGAEA as a specialist earth and environmental science repository

iii) Ocean Tracking Network for satellite telemetry data from large fish, marine mammals, or large seabirds

iv) Sustainable Development Goal 14.3.1 Data Portal for Ocean Acidification data

v) FishBase for fin fish marine biodiversity

vi) Atlas of Ocean Microplastics

vii) GEOTRACES for marine biogeochemical trace elements and their isotopes

3. An open, non-domain specific repository (this is the lowest preference):

• These non-domain specific repositories include:

i) Zenodo

ii) Figshare

iii) Dryad

Note: Please contact oceandatasharing@unesco.org before depositing ocean data in a non-domain specific repository. Using a non-specialist data repository carries several risks, and an assessment must be made of those. A toolkit such as the Generalist Repository Comparison Chart should be consulted before making the decision to use a non-specialist repository. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17315963 Ocean data deposited in a non-specialist repository must be accompanied by at least a minimal set of ocean domain metadata (see, for example, the essential metadata guidelines for offshore research).