Data Management and Digitalisation
Data Strategy for German Marine Research
In marine research, a wide variety of data is collected every day—ranging from information on water temperature and current speeds to species population counts and indicators of coastal and marine use and pollution. This data collection is labor-intensive and costly. A central goal of DAM is therefore to help preserve these research data for the long term and make them available to science and society in a sustainable manner.
Coordinated Data Management for Marine Research
Together with its member institutions, DAM is developing an integrated, reliable, and sustainable data management concept for the research landscape. The focus is on open and uniform access to data collected in marine research in accordance with the FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The data management concept is being developed in close coordination with and as a complement to the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).
Working in close collaboration with non-university research institutions and universities, the DAM develops standards—in line with the Helmholtz Association’s mission—that facilitate access to and the use of decentralized datasets. Existing repositories and shared services are integrated and, where appropriate, consolidated. Furthermore, DAM aims to strengthen its connections to national, European, and international data platforms.
GERMAN MARINE RESEARCH DATA PORTAL
The German Marine Research Data Portal, marine-data.de, is Germany’s central platform for data collected in marine research. Developed and implemented by the marine science research institutions of the Helmholtz Association, Marine Data is aimed at the German marine research community as well as international partners and supports the efficient discovery, access, and sharing of high-quality marine data. The goal is to promote collaboration and innovation among individual institutions and stakeholders. Marine Data provides centralized, user-friendly access to distributed data repositories, supports the use of modern data analysis methods, and increases the international visibility of research through data visualization and aggregation via web services.
underway research data
The Underway research data project, coordinated by the DAM, establishes a standardized, cross-institutional data infrastructure for continuously collected measurement data from German research vessels. This ship-based data—e.g., temperature, salinity, currents, seafloor structure—is crucial for climate models, environmental monitoring, tsunami warning systems, and oceanographic research. The data is processed according to FAIR and open science principles and published and integrated into (inter)national infrastructures such as PANGAEA, the German Marine Research Data Portal, GEBCO, and Copernicus. The relationships between the individual stakeholders and platforms are documented in an overview document on the information and data flow from German research vessels. The Underway Research Data project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
DAM Working Group on Data Management and Digitalisation
The DAM Working Group on “Data Management and Digitalisation” serves as a technical committee of the DAM and is structurally integrated into the strategic planning of German marine research and the development of new initiatives in collaboration with funding agencies. The working group focuses on the overarching research-related theme of “data management and digitalization” and brings together the relevant technical expertise from the member institutions of the German marine research community.
Data Management in DAM Research Missions
The working group “Data Management in the DAM Research Missions” brings together experts and coordinators involved in data management for the DAM research missions CDRmare, sustainMare, and mareXtreme. The working group’s goal is to promote the exchange of information both within and outside the missions and to create synergies that contribute to the long-term availability of the valuable data from all DAM research missions. The working group’s recommendations on research data management are published here.
National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI)
The DAM is involved in the development of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) and plays a key role within the National Research Data Infrastructure for Earth System Research (NFDI4Earth). Within NFDI4Earth, it serves as a case study for heterogeneous and interdisciplinary data. Through its participation in the NFDI4Earth Academy, the DAM is committed to supporting early-career researchers at the intersection of Earth system science and data science.
Conatct
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding data management and digitization within the German Alliance for Marine Research, please contact Gauvain Wiemer
Newsletter
Always up to date with the DAM newsletter. (German only)
Our Sponsors
The federal government and the governments of the five northern German states support the current development and sponsor the DAM.
