The Marine Metadata Interoperability Project A Model for Community Collaboration September 23, 2010 Nan Galbraith WHOI

Mission "Promoting the exchange, integration and use of marine data through enhanced data publishing, discovery, documentation and accessibility.”

Goals Support collaborative research Provide guidance on metadata practices Identify and describe existing standards, tools Develop tools and services when needed Community outreach and engagement

MMI Participants Workshop Planning – TAMU Website Development – WHOI Metadata Guides – SDSC (SIO) Technology and Services – MBARI Interoperability Demonstration – SURA, IOOS Strategic Planning - MBARI Funded by NSF, SURA, NOAA

Main MMI Projects Website: Resources & References Metadata Guides Ontology Development –Ontology Registry and Repository OOSTethys Demonstration Project

Website: Web Resources & References Documenting existing standards, tools etc. Emphasis on user-supplied content –Lots of volunteer labor –Team approach Constant feedback from users –User testing, surveys, analytics

Website: Community Building Provided workspace for groups –External and within MMI –Integrated services, group documents... –Varied success with external groups Used Plone and then Drupal (CMS)

Website: Community Building

Metadata Guides Web-based textbook (Drupal “book”) Readable metadata information Basic principles, best practices Options for documenting and sharing data Authored by Guides Team, 11 co-authors

Metadata Guides: Contents Introduction to Metadata Metadata Standards Vocabularies: Dictionaries, Ontologies Technical Tools Case Studies Interactive Dictionary

Ontology Work Document existing ontologies Create mapping tools Develop ontologies where needed Hold workshops –vocabulary mapping exercises Work with existing groups –SWEET, OGC, W3C

Ontology Development Platform Ontology –Stable, if not complete, possibly best available –Available on MMI ORR Device Ontology –Thorough model of attributes of data sources –Grew out of a 2005 mapping workshop –In development, but available on ORR

MMI Ontology Registry and Repository Serves environmental science vocabularies Supports cross-community use of terms Leverages MMI’s library of semantic resources Built on BioPortal (National Center for Biomedical Ontologies)

MMI Ontology Registry Ease of input a priority –User-input CSV to automatic network updates Currently 153 vocabularies –Each term has unique URI –Versioning enabled Associated semantic framework –infrastructure (tools, processes)

Sample Vocabulary Metadata

Sample Vocabulary Versions

Sample Vocabulary – RDF View

Interoperability Demonstration OOSTethys Provides users fast data publication Test bed for Semantic Framework Collaboration with SURA Next, working with OGC on Oceans IE

The Marine Metadata Interoperability Project What are our results? How do we judge our success? What’s next for the project?

MMI Results 453 members (> 300 active in last 2 years) > 100 presentations & posters > 4,600 documents on website 153 ontologies registered on ORR Hosted several workshops, tutorials

MMI Results Engaged domain scientists, technologists, data managers Involved most major US marine science institutions & many agencies Attracted some international participation Lots of volunteer labor

MMI Results Many groups produced lasting products Required intense commitment of PI Major challenge: long term funding –Longevity is critical for community projects –Really crucial for ORR –Difficult (and important!) for volunteers

The Marine Metadata Interoperability Project Marinemetadata.org Thanks!