Metadata Profile for Polar Data

1. Metadata Profile for Polar Data Task 1.1 of DIMS Implementation Plan Ira van den Broek Taco de Bruin - NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research - Netherlands National Polar Data Centre Joint SCADM/SCAGI meeting, Buenos Aires, 31-7-2010

2. Concurrent developments SCADM SAON: Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks Data and Information Strategy for SCAR data management workshop in Oslo (June 7 ‘10) purpose: to initiate the operational phase of SAON DIMS - implementation plan identified task 1.1: develop an ISO compliant metadata profile identified project: definition of a metadata profile Develop an ISO 19115 compliant metadata profile for polar data

3. Concurrent developments SCADM SAON: Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks Develop an ISO 19115 compliant metadata profile for polar data Small (ad-hoc) group met at Oslo IPY conference in June 2010: Mark Parsons (NSIDC) Øystein Godøy (METNO) Stephanie Grebas (NASA Global Change Master Directory – GCMD) Nathan Cunningham (British Antarctic Survey - BAS) Peter Pulsifer (National Snow and Ice Data Center – NSIDC) Ira van den Broek ( NIOZ Royal Netherlands Insitute for Sea Research Input and participation from all SCADM and SCAGI members is welcomed and very much needed !!!

4. Current situation Many metadata standards are being used within polar data management organizations: GCMD’s DIF / FGDC / ISO 19115 / OGC / ... Some examples: • BAS uses ISO 19115  • WMO Information Systems (WISs) – ISO 19115 • Norwegian system built on DIF which is ISO 19115 compliant • Antarctic community in general heavily invested in DIF • NSIDC maps to several standards including DIF and ISO 19115 • (European) Oceanographic community uses EDMED ... who needs another standard?

5. Implementation of ISO 19115 Full ISO 19115 standards is too extensive; minimal is not enough • Create a ‘polar bare minimum’, ISO 19115 minimal with extensions: • addition of a precise space / time model • support use of OGC web-based services • support documentation of multimedia data  • include metadata that supports long-term preservation

6. Vocabulary Some scientific disciplines use lists of keywords • GCMD DIF Science Keywords • CF Standard Names • GBIF • SeaDataNet (NERC Vocabulary Server) Others do not have formalised vocabularies => Seek collaboration with scientists to create or map vocabularies => Join forces – several initiatives already taking place

7. Documentation Known problems related to metadata: • Interference – semantics heterogeneity; • Interference – conflicting versions of metadata records (as a result of metadata harvesting); • Lineage aspects of ISO 19115 – ensuring that we know how data were created • Unique identifiers (DOI is not useful for datasets) => document known problems, find solutions or workarounds, describe best practices. Write “cookbooks”

8. Why another metadata profile? What are we trying to accomplish: • high level data discovery • web services, metadata harvesting, using OGC CSW, ISO23950 and OAI-PMH standards • all metadata linked to data (users are interested in data rather than metadata) AND: • interdisciplinary

9. Delivery Involvement of data management community => set up review process Involvement of scientific community => collaboration identifying vocabularies => build and demonstrate show-case

10. Next steps

11. Questions?