We are delighted to announce the publication of “A vision for FAIR ocean data products” in Nature Communications authored by the GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) Reference Group Co-Chairs Toste Tanhua (GEOMAR, Germany) and Siv Lauvset (NORCE, Norway) and others, including several current and former members of the IOCCP Scientific Steering Group.
The paper, informally known as the GLODAP Manifesto, highlights the critical role which the co-located high-quality measurements of physical and biogeochemical parameters collated in GLODAP play in quantifying and monitoring the ocean cycles of carbon and related biogeochemical EOVs, and thus informing the stakeholders (e.g. the IPCC assessments, the Global Climate Observing System indicators) on several critical processes. Making GLODAP fully FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) requires substantial upgrades to the existing data extraction system to benefit various users and their growing needs. Recognizing that GLODAP, just like SOCAT and other ocean data synthesis products, remains a largely unfunded, community effort, the paper calls for building and supporting a sustained infrastructure and associated resources to ensure that GLODAP continues to provide the global community with a unique service, the importance of which will only increase as we step up our climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
The paper is available in open access from here. It can be cited as:
Tanhua, T., Lauvset, S.K., Lange, N. et al. A vision for FAIR ocean data products. Commun Earth Environ 2, 136 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00209-4