Introduction to BODC and GEOTRACES data office Edward Mawji British Oceanographic Data Centre

BODC’s Role A national facility for storing and distributing data concerning the marine environment (started in 1969). A resource for science, education and industry, as well as the wider public. Sole responsibility is data management. Starting premise - data must be secure and readily usable in the long term without reference to the originator. We are hosted by POL and based at Liverpool University, meaning: Whilst BODC is co-located with POL, we are an autonomous unit serving the entire marine community.

Expertise BODC deal with biological, chemical, physical and geophysical data and our data bases contain measurements of over 10,000 different variables. Our staff include a wide range of research scientists who have direct experience of marine data collection and analysis (PhDs, M Scs and degrees). They work alongside information technology specialists to ensure that data are documented and stored for current and future use. Are involved in International project such as Argo, CLIVAR< WOCE, GLOSS and GEBCO

Data Management Activities Data tracking Identify data sets and originators from field reports Point samples, time-series Monitored in data set inventory Overall aim To manage & secure marine data for the long-term through the use of stable & maintained data formats. Reception Long-term archive in accessible formats Linked to data set status in inventory Reformat Standardise file format(s) Assign BODC parameter code Standardise units Identify major problems with data

GEOTRACES DMO GEOTRACES DMO Main role of DMO will be to compile a global datasets for all key GEOTRACES parameters. Provide PI with guidance on Metadata requirements Make data easily accessible to participating scientists and the larger science community. The policy for data release will be determined by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC). Website for data delivery is under construction.

Data delivery Data delivery Users expect to search for, view & receive data via the internet Set up a subweb which will be linked to the official GEOTRACES website

Online data delivery Online data delivery Data will be available to download via the internet. Users will require a password to access data. Will eventually have interactive search facilities using programmes such as Google Earth