The current projects we are undertaking are:
WA Node of the Australian Ocean Data Network (WAODN)
The diversity and amount of marine data being collected is increasing dramatically in Western Australia. Similar data is being collected by government, universities and private organisations however it is rarely shared or made accessible. There is a need to improve the quality and discoverability of marine data available to support decision making, as well as the underlying infrastructure for accessing and disseminating marine spatial data in a timely manner.
The AODC-JF (Australian Ocean Data Centre - Joint Facility) came up with the vision for the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN) which was to put in place, by June 2011, an interoperable, online network of marine and coastal data resources, including data from the six AODCJF partner agencies. WA has been chosen as a demonstration for a 'regional node' of the AODN. This will build upon work already undertaken by IMOS, iVEC, WAMSI (Western Australian Marine Science Institution) and WASTAC (Western Australian Satellite Technology and Applications Consortium) in WA.
Building upon the AODN infrastructure, existing and new hardware / software would be used and installed (in particular the AODN portal and MEST) at iVEC and other locations as necessary. The two main categories for developing infrastructure will be:
- developing a comprehensive index of marine data and projects (metadata) in Western Australia and;
- developing the necessary hardware and software to support the delivery of marine data to users (portal)
Having a comprehensive index of marine projects will create a valuable resource for marine researchers to increase collaboration, reduce duplication and enhance re-use of data. This information is also harvested by ANDS to its Research Data Australia page (http://services.ands.org.au/home/orca/rda/) which creates highly-findable interlinked web pages that ensures the information in the iVEC MEST is searchable by Google and other search engines.
The WAODN will be the ‘enabler’ for the storage, management, discovery and exposure of marine data in Western Australia with the iVEC eResearch program playing a crucial role.
ANDS Data Capture at UWA
The University of Western Australia is currently involved in a number of ANDS* projects. iVEC is providing assistance in the form of expertise and use of iVEC's facilities. The projects involve:
- Setting up an institution-wide research data repository
- Automating the capture of data and metadata from scientific instruments.
- Ensuring that institution's metadata (data about data) is made available through the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) http://services.ands.org.au/
Much of the work will be of value for the entire University, however three group specific projects will be completed.
Centre for Microscopy Characterisation and Analysis
The project team will be automating the capture of data and metadata from microscopes within the centre's premises. Data owners will have the choice to make their data available to the wider research public.
Centre for Rock Art
The centre provides many services such as the curation of and research into indigenous Australian rock art. In order to improve access to these collections (largely secondary sources such as photographs) for other researchers and the general public, the project team will make it possible to manage these collections and make them available through the ARDC.
Ocean's Institute
The group is involved in several streams of marine research. Much of this research involves monitoring marine environments. This monitoring results in large amounts of data. Interesting challenges remain in identifying the best solutions for making this data available to other researchers.
* Australian National Data Service