INTER-AGENCY COMMITTEE ON MARINE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (IACMST) |
National Marine Environmental Data (MED) Co-ordinator |
ANNUAL REPORT 2003 - SUMMARY |
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Introduction |
This summary of the Annual Report covers the seventh year of activities of the National Marine Environmental Data (MED) Coordinator and associated Action Group. The MED co-ordination activity is a partnership between Government departments and agencies with an interest in marine environmental data. It is currently co-funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Fisheries Research Services/Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (FRS/SEERAD), the Environment Agency (EA), the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), the Met Office and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). In addition, other organisations are also represented on MEDAG, including UKOOA, UK Marine Information Council, Nature Conservation bodies (JNCC, CCW), Natural History Museum, the Crown Estate and NGO groupings (via Marine Conservation Society). The project operates in the form of a distributed network between the marine environmental data managers in the various agencies and user groups. The focus is provided by the MED Coordinator assisted by a second fulltime post. In addition, from November 2002 a Coastal Coordinator was appointed, based at the CEFAS Burnham Laboratory. Progress against the 2003 Action List items is summarised below (the Work Plan and Milestones are in the main report). During the year, the MEDAG Chair (Prof. Mike Cowling) has undertaken a review of marine data activities commissioned by IACMST at the request of DEFRA. A draft future strategy report, ‘Marine data and information – where to now?’, has been produced. |
Raising the visibility of MED activities |
In order to further promote the UK Marine Environmental Data Network, the OceanNET web-site (www.oceannet.org) was set up to act as a portal to marine data and information. The web pages have been further developed and upgraded during the year. A consultant was employed during the first part of the year to assist with publicity. Activities included providing articles and news items to a wide variety of newsletters, attending appropriate meetings and working with MED funders to raise the profile of the MED Network within their organizations, and advertising OceanNET via banner headlines on other web sites. |
Developing and maintaining data inventories |
One of the key requirements for providing an overview of marine environmental data is the production of data catalogues. During the year a major update of the UK Directory of Marine Environmental Data Sets was initiated. The UK Cruise Inventory has been updated regularly with incoming information, and some progress has been made in establishing inventories of sea level and wave data. Information is regularly received from the FCO pertaining to research cruises taking place in UK waters by non-UK ships. This information is added to the OceanNET web site. |
Mechanisms to facilitate data management and exchange |
The IOC Data Exchange Policy was adopted at the 22nd IOC Assembly in June 2003 – a copy is included as an annex to the main report. The IOC International Oceanographic Data and Information (IODE) Committee held its seventeenth meeting, attended by 72 delegates from Member States, 16 representatives of organizations, programmes and projects, and five observers. The MED Coordinator was elected as the new IODE Chair. During the year, the MED Network Team have responded to over 100 requests for marine data, information and advice from a variety of sources including universities, government departments and agencies, and the commercial sector. Further progress has been made over the year in quality controlling and forwarding approximately 8000 temperature and salinity profiles from 45 cruises to the World Data Center (Silver Spring). The annual supply of temperature and salinity data from FRS and CEFAS cruises to BODC continues. Work has commenced on contributing to the new IOC/IODE Global Ocean Surface Underway Data pilot project. The MED Coordinator has maintained contact with two international groups involved in the development of a marineXML. In addition, diverse presentations on the applications and benefits of XML from a variety of organisations including BGS, Natural History Museum, Office of the e-Envoy and the Channel Coastal Observatory have been given to MEDAG. |
Coastal activities |
The coastal coordination activity was set up to coordinate activities relating to the provision of data and information on the UK coastal zone so that users have access to what they need in order to fulfil their responsibilities. The Coastal Team met five times during the year. The main achievements have been providing an updated online searchable database of initiatives relating to the coastal zone and the outline of a report on international and national metadata standards. Two Invest-to-Save projects, Integrated Coastal Zone Mapping (ICZMap) and Integrated Coastal Hydrography, utilise the MED Action Group as an intelligent customer. In addition, the MED Action Group Chair is the Project Board and Steering Group chair respectively for these two projects. The final report from the ICZMap project is available from their web-site (www.iczmap.com). |
Moored current meter data product |
Approximately 4000 moored current meter data records, collected by 40 organisations, are now held in the national oceanographic data bank in the area 48°N to 62°N, 20°W to 10°E. During 2003, effort has been put into quality controlling those moored current meter data held but which had not passed through the BODC screening and banking procedures. In addition, the Moorings Exploring software has been upgraded to allow plotting of scatter plots in addition to time series and to provide a direct link to the accompanying data documentation. A DVD containing these data will be released in the first part of 2004. |
Collaboration with the GOOS Action Group |
A web-site has been developed for the GOOS Action Group, and is accessible from the new OceanNET welcome page (www.oceannet.org). The MEDAG Team, in close collaboration with a consultant commissioned by the GOOSAG, are producing the first draft of their sector’s contribution to the DEFRA State of the Seas Report. The aim is to produce a web-based report by mid-February 2004. The Marine Processes and Climate Report will include chapters on observing networks, Weather and Climate, Sea Level, Waves, Temperature, Salinity, Currents and Circulation, Suspended Sediments, and Changes to Coastline and Seabed. The text of the report will be illustrated by a large number of figures and will also include web links to a variety of animations. |
A proposed Work Plan and Milestone List for 2004 is included in the main report. |
The work plan for 2004 shows that the outer core activities of updating and maintaining catalogues and directories of data, and contributing UK data to Global Data Sets will continue. Raising the visibility of the MED Network will also be a priority. In addition, the DVD of moored current meter data will be produced. Collaboration with the GOOS Action Group will continue, with the MED Team continuing to maintain and update the GOOS Action Group web-site and completing the web-based Marine Processes and Climate report. Links will also be maintained with the EU-funded projects related to increasing the availability of marine environmental data (e.g. SeaSearch II, EDIOS and ESEAS). Further funding from DEFRA and NERC will allow the quality control of the National Tide Gauge Network data from the 1980s, which will be made available through the National Tidal and Sea Level Facility. |
Lesley J. Rickards |