Geosciences

Community recommendations for geochemical data, services and analytical capabilities in the 21st century

Community recommendations for geochemical data, services and analytical capabilities in the 21st century The majority of geochemical and cosmochemical research is based upon observations and, in particular, upon the acquisition, processing and interpretation of analytical data from physical samples. The exponential increase in volumes and rates of data acquisition over the last century, combined with advances in instruments, analytical methods and an increasing variety of data types analysed, has necessitated the development of new ways of data curation, access and sharing. Together with novel data processing methods, these changes have enabled new scientific insights and are driving innovation in Earth and Planetary Science research. Yet, as approaches to data-intensive research develop and evolve, new challenges emerge. As large and often global data compilations increasingly form the basis for new research studies, institutional and methodological differences in data reporting are proving to be significant hurdles in synthesising data from multiple sources. Consistent data formats and descriptions as well as appropriate information on data quality are becoming crucial to enabling reproducibility and integration of results and fostering confidence for data reuse. Here, we explore the key challenges faced by the geo- and cosmochemistry community and, by drawing comparisons from other communities, recommend possible approaches to overcome them. The first challenge is bringing together the numerous sub-disciplines within our community. One key factor for this convergence will be gaining endorsement from the international geochemical, cosmochemical and analytical societies and associations, journals and institutions. Increased education and outreach, spearheaded by ambassadors recruited from leading scientists across disciplines, will further contribute to raising awareness, and to uniting and mobilising the community. Appropriate incentives, recognition and credit for good data management as well as an improved, user-oriented technical infrastructure will be essential for achieving a cultural change towards an environment in which the effective use and real-time interchange of large datasets is common-place. Finally, the development of best practices for standardised data reporting and exchange, driven by expert working groups, will be a crucial step towards making geo- and cosmochemical data more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable by both humans and machines (FAIR).

Data Management Plan (DMP) Example

Data Management Plan (DMP) Example Participants of the TRR 170 Data Webinar (May 18, 2021) can use this example to set up a brief DMP.

Discovery and reuse of FAIR planetary science data: The interdisciplinary TR170-DB data repository

Discovery and reuse of FAIR planetary science data: The interdisciplinary TR170-DB data repository Abstract: The TRR170-DB data repository, hosted at https://planetary-data-portal.org/, serves as a plat-form for storing and managing interdisciplinary research data from the DFG funded collabora-tive research center 'Late Accretion onto Terrestrial Planets' (TRR 170).Thisrepository pro-vides open access toTRR 170 data and also data from other planetary science research in-stitutions.The TRR170-DB repository is alignedwithFAIR principles (Wilkinson et al., https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18),promotingthe discovery and reuse of data. Datain the repository reflect diversemethods and approaches applied in theinvestigation ofplanet for-mation processes,includingplanetary sampledata, experimental studies, remote sensing data, and geophysical modeling data. In line with our commitment to interoperability, the TRR170-DB repository is accessible to other databases and repositories through an Application Programming Interface (API) allowing to derive knowledge from its data. TRR170-DB accepts research data in digital formatsusing open electronic formats such as csv, pdf, jpeg, and tiff. Presently, the majority of datasets archived in the repository originate from TRR 170 authors and constitute replication data associated with peer-reviewed articles published in international journals since 2016. These replication datasets are freely accessible throughdigital object identifiers(DOIs)and are licensedwith theCreative Commons license CC0 1.0ensuringse-cure public domain use.The global discoverability of TRR170-DB’s research data has been increased by mapping its metadata content to the electronic library system system 'Refubium' ofFreie Universität Berlin. This integration seamlessly incorporates our published data into Refubium, enabling discovery and access through internet search engines and other interlinked academic libraries and global information services.Thecollaboration with Freie Universität Berlin’s Refubium expands the visibility of the TRR170-DB repository and also establishes a sustainable framework for long-term accessibility to its data for the global planetary science community. Furthermore, this data integration promotesthe adoption of best practices and fosters collaborative and interdisciplinary research workwithin the planetary science domain
Poster presentation at the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Conference Germany 2024 in Potsdam, February 20 and 21, 2024

Future NFDI4Earth Interest Group: Metadata Standards for Geochemical Data

Future NFDI4Earth Interest Group: Metadata Standards for Geochemical Data Talk at 1st NFDI4Earth Plenary Meeting in June 9, 2022, Dresden, Germany