International Research Cruise Database and Website Status October ‘07

Initiative by POGO and CoML POGO (Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans) and CoML (Census of Marine Life) in 2006 have undertaken the initiative to set-up an International Cruise Information Database and related website from the perspective of international programmes and initiatives. To improve information sharing on planned, current and past cruises and on details of ocean-going research vessels to enhance awareness of opportunities, and to improve cost-effectiveness of cruises. Co-funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and NOAA. Tendering was won by subgroup from the SeaDataNet consortium, consisting of BODC, BSH, MARIS and EurOcean

SeaDataNet project a 5 year EU-funded project from April 2006 to April 2011 further development of the Pan-European infrastructure for marine and ocean data management. Partners in SeaDataNet are National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs) from 35 countries that are part of major marine and oceanographic institutes, well experienced and engaged in many national and international data management projects and programmes, and also active in international organizations, such as IOC/IODE and ICES.

Agreed set-up Development started end 2006 Dedicated website with 3 major databases of global fleet of Research Vessels > 60 m: Cruise Programmes (BODC + MARIS) Research Vessel directory (EurOcean + MARIS) Cruise Summary Reports (BSH) Supported by common vocabularies, and ICES Shipcode as linking pin between directories Embedded in SeaDataNet infrastructure Website launched in May

2 Phase approach Cruise Summary Reports database (past cruises) cruise database (CSRs) Research Vessel Cruise Programme Database Standardised ship code table Standardised research vessels database Other standard terms: Sea areas Scientist address book Scientific discipline Projects Phase 1; completed April 2007 Phase 2; post- April 2007 Standardised ship code table POGO, ISOM CoML Other Users Phase 1; completed April 2007 International Research Cruise web-site Map-based user interface with menu driven search

Technical and functional characteristics of RV’s with owner and operator contact details and link to RV’s website (if existing) Started with European RV Directory by EurOcean Expanded with other RV’s >60 m worldwide; now 149 RV’s In June 2007 new functionality was added enabling RV operators to edit and maintain the details of their RV’s themselves via an online Content Management System All identified operators have been invited and are encouraged regularly to validate and maintain their RV details Research Vessel Directory

Information on planned cruises per Research Vessel and operator Compilation of information is coordinated by BODC Survey format with instructions have been defined and have been distributed to operators (ISOM, UNOLS, JAMSTEC, NODCs,..) for collecting their cruise programmes as Excel sheets Versatile user interface launched in March 2007, developed by MARIS Response by operators must be improved; operators return incomplete forms which need extra work by BODC before these can be loaded into the database Cruise Programmes database

Details of completed cruises and providing a first level inventory of oceanographic measurements made and samples taken Based upon the ROSCOP (Report of Observations/ Samples Collected by Oceanographic Programmes), conceived by IOC/IODE in the late 1960s. Revised in the 90s by ICES and since then named Cruise Summary Report (CSR). As part of the SeaDataNet project BSH has developed a database with online entry and retrieval facilities, focussing on European RV’s. Present CSR database contains > CSRs For POGO-CoML work underway for including also non- European vessels and making a dedicated POGO-CoML retrieval interface. Will be operational end Cruise Summary Reports

Validation and maintenance by RV operators of the RV Directory coordinated by EurOcean; extra efforts needed for the non- European vessels, because present info is taken over from Oceanic and not up-to-date; difficulties in identifying operator contacts and uniq ICES shipcodes Collecting and compiling of the Cruise Programme database coordinated by BODC in dialogue with the RV operators Development of online entry and maintenance facility for the Cruise Programme database by MARIS (end 2007) to support the process Launching a dedicated POGO-CoML user interface for the Cruise Summary Reports, coordinated by BSH (end 2007), and inviting also non-European institutes by their chief scientists to report on cruises using the online CSR entry facility On-going activities

These POGO-CoML activities should be integrated into the EuroFleet proposal with an extension to all European Research Vessels of all lengths, thereby also looking at possible new useful functions POGO-CoML initiative is already embedded in the Pan-European SeaDataNet infrastructure; therefore the integration and cooperation is easy to achieve, moreover because SeaDataNet is already functioning as data management infrastructure for the European RV activities EuroFleet proposal