Data Sharing Toolkit
BOX VII – Where to find the data I need
There is a wealth of open ocean data available via quality and trusted databases, portals and repositories. These range from international to national, and from multidisciplinary to thematic in focus.
Catalogue/ Portal/ Information system
Global
Descriptions
Link
Global
The ODIS ‘catalogue of sources’ is an online browsable and searchable catalogue of existing ocean related web-based sources/systems of data and information as well as products and services. It will also provide information on products and visualize the landscape (entities and their connections) of ocean data and information sources
Global
The Ocean InfoHub aims to build a sustainable, interoperable, and inclusive digital ecosystem for all ocean stakeholders. Existing and emerging data systems are linked, with the ultimate goal of coordinating action and capacity to improve access to ocean data and knowledge.
Global
OBIS is a global open-access data and information platform that document the ocean’s diversity, distribution and abundance of marine life. The evolving platform allows users to identify biodiversity hotspots and large-scale ecological patterns and plot species distributions in relation to abiotic variables such as temperature, salinity and depth.
World Ocean Database (WOD)
Global
The WOD is an NCEI product and an IODE (International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange) project. WOD is world’s largest collection of uniformly formatted, quality controlled, publicly available ocean profile data. It is a powerful tool for oceanographic, climatic, and environmental research, and the end result of coordinated efforts to incorporate data from institutions, agencies, individual researchers, and data recovery initiatives into a single database.
Global
The information system PANGAEA is operated as an Open Access library aimed at archiving, publishing and distributing georeferenced data from earth system research. PANGAEA focuses on georeferenced observational and experimental data that is open to any project, institution, or individual scientist to use or to archive and publish data.
Global
GBIF is an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world’s governments and aimed at providing anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth.
Global
The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) is a thematic node of the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON).
MBON is a global collaborative initiative that contributes to the effective management of marine biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Global
The NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), managed by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of Columbia University, archives and disseminates scientific data for applied and research uses.
SEDAC specializes in spatial data in support of human-environment research, in the context of NASA’s Earth science mission and the overall U.S. Global Change Research Program.
Global
GEOTRACES is an international program overseen by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR). It provides open access marine hydrographic and biogeochemical data (trace elements and isotopes).
4 ways to access GEOTRACES data to accommodate different users:
1. Bulk (full packages) download
(BODC site, 3 formats: CSV-ASCII, NetCDF and Ocean Data View (ODV) collections)
2.Online subsetting and extraction
(webODV Extractor, easy to select variables, region,
cruises, etc.)
3.Online analysis and visualization
(webODV Explorer, very user friendly, no need to download software or data)
4. eGEOTRACES.org Atlas (provides section plots and animated 3D scenes for many of the parameters)
(https://egeotraces.org)
The European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) service
Europe
CMEMS collects observations from data providers, mainly from EuroGOOS and ROOS members and Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) networks (Observations Programme Area). CMEMS also collaborates with SeaDataNet and EMODnet physics to improve the service for historical/reprocessed data and to involve new partners
Europe
CMEMS collects observations from data providers, mainly from EuroGOOS and ROOS members and Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) networks (Observations Programme Area). CMEMS also collaborates with SeaDataNet and EMODnet physics to improve the service for historical/reprocessed data and to involve new partners
Europe
The SeaDataNet infrastructure links national oceanographic data centres and marine data centres from 35 countries riparian to all European seas. The data centres manage large sets of marine and ocean data, originating from
their own institutes and from other parties, in a variety of data management systems and configurations. A major objective and challenge in SeaDataNet is to provide an integrated and harmonised overview and access to these
data resources, using a distributed network approach.
Europe
ICES is an intergovernmental body that provides scientific advice for sustainable management of the fisheries and marine resources, mainly in the North Atlantic. ICES publications include advice on fishing opportunities, fisheries and ecosystem overviews. ICES Data Centre manages a number of large dataset collections related to the marine environment.
Europe
JERICO-RI is an integrated pan-European multidisciplinary and multi-platform research infrastructure dedicated to a holistic appraisal of coastal marine system changes. It enables open-access to state-of-the-art and innovative facilities, resources, FAIR data and fit-for-purpose services, fostering international science collaboration.
Europe
The European Atlas of the Seas provides information about Europe’s marine environment. Users can view predefined and ready to use maps, covering topics such as environment, tourism, security, energy, transport, litter, sea bottom, fishing activity, aquaculture, and much more.
Europe
ODIMS is an online tool providing a single point of access to all the data and information gathered through OSPAR’s Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme across the different thematic work areas of the Convention. It will help ensure that data is readily accessible for OSPAR assessments, but also help a broad range of users to find data held by OSPAR, to facilitate access to it and make use of it.
UK
BODC is the UK national facility for looking after and distributing data concerning the marine environment. It maintains and develops the National Oceanographic Database, manages the data for the UK Tide Gauge Network, manages the Natural Environment Research Council environmental data, and hosts the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) core team.
UK
UKDMOS is a unique internet-based searchable database of marine monitoring conducted by UK organisations. UKDMOS is a tool for searching monitoring programmes and series based on information such as the parameters measured or the frequency of measurements taken.
UK
MEDIN is a UK group working together to improve access and stewardship of marine data. MEDIN is open to all with an interest in marine data and information.
America
The NCEI Data Access application offers a wide variety of download and subsetting options for a growing collection of environmental data. While current offerings are limited primarily to weather and climate information, the application has a data-agnostic infrastructure designed to accommodate a broad spectrum of observation formats from across science disciplines.
America
The Digital Coast was developed to meet the unique needs of the coastal management community. The website provides not only coastal data, but also the tools, training, and information needed to make these data truly useful. Content comes from many sources, all of which are vetted by NOAA. Data sets range from economic data to satellite imagery. The site contains visualization tools, predictive tools, and tools that make data easier to find and use.
Australia
The AusSeaBed Portal provides access to publically available acoustic datasets such as bathymetry, backscatter, side scan sonar data and other marine-related products, as well as a suite of analytical assessment tools to maximise the value of the data.
Australia
AODN staff provide a framework for data and information management that allows discovery and access of the data by scientists, managers and the public. The Portal incorporates a catalogue of metadata, a search interface driven by facets utilising controlled vocabulary terms, and a map interface that can be used to interact with AODN datasets and offers data download in a number of formats