Service and Data Access
This workpackage embodies the ultimate goal of the coastal observatories, i.e. the provision of useful data. All operating partners in this WP will provide free access to observations and well referenced metadata, with all technical requirements. Beyond these “raw” data, which have an interest per se, three targeted operations will demonstrate more elaborated applications aiming respectively at the marine environmental awareness of the public at large, the improvement of coastal operational oceanography systems and the scientific evidence of the complementarities of acquisition strategies.
In practice, data assembly will be targeted to be compliant with SeaDataNet standards and MyOcean requirements, as designed in the WP5. The added-value of JERICO is to provide data coming from different infrastructure types to be processed together.
The three Targeted Operation Phase (TOP) are proposed to offer access to data and value-added products, including:
– Multi parameters maps on a monthly basis, provided by a set of coastal observatories (moored buoys, floats),
– Data and demonstrative products on a monthly basis, collected from sensors on board fishing vessels,
– Data from buoys and collocated Ferry Box line, respectively in the south Aegean Sea and in the Kattegat. Modality of data access common to all WP7 installations:
All the data of the dedicated installations, available during the SA time scale (1 or 2 years), will be freely accessible on the JERICO portal via communication network. The access will be open to any user who has right of access by giving information of Identity, institute address and summary of task to perform with the required data (no restriction will be done as the identity of user is known. Unlike SeaDataNet, JERICO includes measurement costs in the operational costs of the service activities. The data policy can include requirements e.g. on registration/identification of users, on dissemination and on acknowledgement of the use of data etc. however there should be no restriction.
Support offered under this proposal to all WP7 infrastructures
JERICO will grant the open access to the data not only to the teams that operate the coastal observatories and the scientific community in general but also to a wider public community according to the recommendations of European directives for environmental data: WFD, MSFD and Inspire. This Service Activity will provide access to a unique and comprehensive dataset coming from a set of complementary observatories with very few equivalents in the world. The provided support includes delivery of data, in real time or in delayed mode, depending on the specific usage. Delivery implies the set up of several components including: transmission from the sea to the shore using adapted transmission, quality control, data distribution to users, processing of some value-added products to ease various data usages.
From the users side, provided services will be dedicated to data access including:
– Data discovery via adapted metadata catalogues which describes both observatories, conditions of observations (deployments…) and observational data;
– Data download which allows users to get a copy of data files;
– Advanced data services (web services) to display, map or get access to data subsets. Adapted protocols will be made available for users’ communities needs: ftp server (computer to computer real time distribution), web portal (access on demand), and web services (computer to computer data exchange and sub-setting).
Outreach of new users
This Service Access Activity provides open observations from a range of various coastal observatories in comprehensive and integrated data set. Several measures will be taken to insure a wide knowledge of the opportunities to access data made available, such as advertising in selected scientific media and forums related to the field. A particular attention will be paid to contact scientific teams and expert groups which traditionally have not access to such facilities due to the involved costs, e.g. small research laboratories with local knowledge and expertise, experts of professional organizations which are directly impacted by the quality of environment (aquaculture, fishery), etc… An effort will be undertaken to involve the public at large and to allow it to follow the activities of the different observatories by visiting the web pages of the project (see also Dissemination Action Plan). Specific web pages will be dedicated to this purpose.
Monitoring of data access common to all WP7 installation
The use of data repository and data access will be continuously monitored to evaluate the intensity of the usage of data and related services. The following indicators will be maintained in order to estimate the amount of available data and the audience of data services:
– Number of data made available in real time and in delayed mode in data archives
– Number of downloaded data,
– Number of requests of information, data and products using the web portal. The unit of usage will be the number of “hits” onto the portal.
JERICO will use the indicator tools developed by the SEADATANET consortium.
