Standard Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2023

Enhancing Marine Data Accessibility and Usability through FAIR Principles: The Case of Seamap Australia, GlobalArchive, Geoscience Australia and Squidle+ (#154)

Jacquomo Monk 1 , Emma Flukes 1 , Peter Walsh 1 , Ariell Friedman 2 , Tim Langlois 3 , Scott Nichol 4 , Vanessa Lucieer 1
  1. Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, College of Sciences and Engineering, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  2. Greybits Engineering, North Bondi, New South Wales, Australia
  3. School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
  4. Oceans, Reefs, Coasts and the Antarctic Branch, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Marine data quality is highly variable, and its accessibility is often fragmented, hindering its full potential. The FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles provide a framework to make data more accessible, usable and trustworthy in a wide range of applications including decision support.

This presentation we will showcase the recent initiatives of Seamap Australia, GlobalArchive working with fish imagery data, Geoscience Australia working with bathymetry and seabed sediment samples, and Squidle+ working with benthic imagery data (through the IMOS Understanding Marine Imagery Subfacility) in applying FAIR principles. We will demonstrate how these platforms are being used synergistically in near-real-time to generate immersive and dynamic data-driven content, leveraging the strengths of each to provide user-focused information. Our examples will include dynamic links between platforms to avoid duplicating effort, maintain data provenance, and syndicating state-of-knowledge reporting.

The presentation will provide insights into the current state of marine data management, highlighting the progress made in making marine data FAIR, with a focus on timeliness and ease of use for a wide range of end users. The findings will contribute to ongoing research community efforts to improve the accessibility, quality, and impact of marine data for scientific research, policy-making, and sustainable management.