SeaDataNet

SeaDataNet maintains and operates several discovery services with overviews of marine organisations in Europe and their engagement in marine research projects, managing large datasets, and data acquisition by research vessels and monitoring programmes for the European seas and global oceans. SeaDataNet provides online unified access to distributed datasets via its portal website to the vast resources of marine and ocean datasets, managed by the distributed data centres. The Common Data Index (CDI) is the key Discovery and Delivery service, giving users a highly detailed insight in the geographical coverage, and other metadata features of data across the different data centres. Users can request access to identified datasets in a harmonised way, using a shopping basket. They can follow the processing of requests via an online transaction register and can download datasets in the SeaDataNet standard formats. At present the CDI service provides metadata and access to more than 1.000.000 data sets, originating from more than 300 organisations in Europe,covering physical, geological, chemical, biological and geophysical data, and acquired in European waters and global oceans. SeaDataNet maintains and operates Common Vocabulary Web services for a broad spectrum of ocean and marine disciplines. The common terms are used to mark up metadata, data and data products in a consistent and coherent way. Governance is regulated by an international board. At present the Vocabulary Services comprise over 120000 terms in over 100 lists. The SeaDataNet infrastructure comprises a network of interconnected data centres and a central SeaDataNet portal. The portal provides users not only background information about SeaDataNet and the various SeaDataNet standards and tools, but also a unified and transparent overview of the metadata and controlled access to the large collections of data sets, managed by the interconnected data centres. The SeaDataNet infrastructure comprises the following middleware services: * Discovery services = Metadata directories and User interfaces * Vocabulary services = Common vocabularies and Governance * Security services = Authentication, Authorisation & Accounting * Delivery services = Requesting and Downloading of data sets * Viewing services = Mapping of metadata * Product viewing services = Viewing of generic and standard products in maps * Monitoring services = Statistics on system usage and performance and Registration of data requests and transactions * Maintenance services = Entry and updating of metadata by data centres Compared to the present state of SeaDataNet services a number of clear advances will be made in the SeaDataNet II project: * The discovery services will be made fully INSPIRE compliant * Machine to machine interaction will be implemented in support of regular and operational metadata and data exchanges with external systems such as for example the GMES Marine Core Service (MyOcean), the INSPIRE discovery service, the IOC-IODE Ocean Data Portal and the GEOSS data portal. * Improved cooperation with related projects and initiatives, such as Geo-Seas, EUROFLEETS, JERICO, EuroArgo, and the ongoing EMODNet lots (hydrography, geology, chemicals, biology and physical data). * Harmonisation of SeaDataNet services with real-time data services maintained by EuroGOOS and its Regions (ROOSes) and MyOcean (GMES-Marine cores services), so that users will be able to discover and access operational oceanographic data both in delayed and real-time modes. This will be integrated with the EMODNet Physical project. * Improved ability to handle biological data in cooperation with the marine biodiversity community by establishing interoperability and contributing to EurOBIS (European Ocean Biogeographic Information System). SeaDataNet has developed standards and tools, that will be upgraded.