DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT

OAP scientists collect a variety of data to understand changing ocean chemistry and its impacts on marine organisms and ecosystems. The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) serves as the NOAA Ocean Acidification data management focal point through its Ocean Acidification Data Stewardship (OADS) project.  OA data will be archived at and available from an ocean acidification data stewardship system at NODC.

Ocean acidification data can generally be classified as either physio-chemical or biological.  Physio-chemical parameters include, among others, pCO₂ (measurement of carbon dioxide gas both in the air and dissolved in seawater), pH, total alkalinity, total inorganic carbon, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and current speed.  Physio-chemical data from the field are collected either by remote observing methods (buoys, gliders) or through direct measurement from ships (hydrographic cruises or volunteer observing ships).  

Biological data from the field can be collected in similar ways, either by remote collection techniques or through direct measurement by scientists.  For example, data about primary production (photosynthesizing activity) can be collected from buoys through measurement of chlorophyll a, nutrient levels and oxygen.  Biologists have many techniques for collecting biological data in the field, both from ships and on shorelines. These collections can be instantaneous or from gear placed to collect organisms over time for later retrieval and analysis. During laboratory experiments on marine organisms, scientists can measure calcification rates, shell growth, behavior, otolith growth (for fish), metabolic rate, reproduction, among others parameters.  Original datasets from all OAP research and the papers which analyze the data will be available through the OA Program and NODC.

The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) is serving as the NOAA OA data management focal point by providing online data discovery, access to NODC-hosted and distributed data sources, and long-term archival for a diverse range of OA data.  The OAP and NODC will build a collaborative relationship with shared responsibilities among scientists, data managers, and NODC staff towards the implementation of an OA data stewardship system (OADS).

CURRENT EFFORTS

In March 2012, the Ocean Acidification Program in collaboration with the University of Washington held an ocean acidification data management workshop in Seattle, WA which brought together a wide array of scientists and data managers from across US.  Given that successful and integrated OA data management requires looking beyond just the NOAA program, we convened researchers and program managers from across the spectrum of US funded OA research.  Representatives from NOAA, NSF, DOE, USGS and NASA attended as did academic researchers from a range of institutions.  The workshop generated both a Declaration of Data Interdependence and a longer Draft Integrated Data Management Plan. 

NOAA NODC Ocean Acidification Scientific Data Stewardship