INTER-AGENCY COMMITTEE ON MARINE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (IACMST)

National Marine Environmental Data (MED) Co-ordinator

ANNUAL REPORT 2004 - SUMMARY

Introduction

This summary of the Annual Report covers the eighth full 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) and the Met Office. 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, who was assisted by a second full-time post for the first half of the year. This post is currently vacant, but recruitment will take place shortly.
During the year the MED Coordinator has taken part in a number of meetings of a limited life ‘Data Expert’ Group, which was established to assist the MED Chairman in completing his task of carrying out a review of marine data and information in the UK. This Group includes members from a variety of organisations, including the private sector, and is evolving into a Marine Data and Information Partnership (MDIP).

Progress against the 2004 Action List items is summarised below (the Work Plan and Milestones are in the main report).

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. The web-site has been running for several years now and is due for a major review, re-design and update in 2005. Early in the year, new brochures describing MEDAG and GOOSAG, the relationship between them and with IACMST were produced, together with an mousement advertising the OceanNET web-site. These were distributed at Oceanology International 2004 and UK Marine Science 2004.

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 Cruise Inventory has taken place, with the addition of links to electronically scanned copies of cruise reports. Major updates to the UK Directory of Marine Environmental Data Sets and the UK Inventory of Marine Monitoring Measurements are underway and will continue in 2005. Other inventories continue to be developed and updated.

Mechanisms to facilitate data management and exchange

During the year, the MED Network Team have responded to requests for marine data and information from a variety of sources including universities, government departments and agencies, and the commercial sector, this includes over 120 requests for the ERP1 Estuaries Database CD-ROM.
Further progress has been made over the year in quality controlling and forwarding approximately 3000 temperature and salinity profiles from 90 cruises to WDC-Oceanography (Silver Spring). In addition, FRS, CEFAS and SAHFOS continue to provide data to ICES on a regular basis.
MEDAG has been kept up-to-date with developments in developing a marineXML through reports of meetings provided by the MED Coordinator and the UK MIC representative, and through presentations at MEDAG meetings. MEDAG have also discussed the implications of the proposed infrastructure for spatial information in the EU (INSPIRE) Directive.

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 2004, further effort was 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.
All of the data and supporting documentation have been extracted from the database and reformatted. The data volume is approximately 3.7 gigabytes so a DVD will be produced rather than a set of CD-ROMs to allow easy access to all of the data files. The data are stored in a simple ASCII format and are accompanied by supporting documentation. A final check remains to be carried out on the data.

Collaboration with the GOOS Action Group

The MEDAG Team, in close collaboration with a consultant commissioned by the GOOSAG, have produced the Marine Processes and Climate sector’s contribution to the Defra State of the Seas Report. The Marine Processes and Climate Report includes 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 is illustrated by a large number of figures and includes web links to a variety of animations. Considerable effort has been expended over the year in developing the web-site, making it as ‘interactive’ as possible and including animations supplied by contributors, in addition to those utilising the StemGIS Manager and Viewer. It has now been finalized and will go live when the “State of the Seas” report is launched in March 2005. An Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the report has also been produced.
At the request of GOOSAG, MEDAG have provided advice and agreed to take forward some issues relating to the Action Plan which is under development for the Marine Processes and Climate sector of marine environmental monitoring. These centre around overall policies for data storage, (e.g. a single repository all marine data vs. a networked system), the fact that data deposition is still lax (e.g. there are no routinely applied requirements for data to be stored anywhere for access by the wider community) and visualisation and display of data, especially in relation to time and depth. MEDAG will provide further input to GOOSAG for these issues in 2005.

A proposed Work Plan and Milestone List for 2004 is included in the main report.

The work plan for 2005 in the main report shows the proposed activities. The top priorities are the Outer Core activities of: (i) updating and maintaining catalogues and directories of data, in particular the UK Directory of Marine Environmental Data Sets and the UK Inventory of Marine Monitoring Measurements, and (ii) a thorough review and revision of the OceanNET web-site. Alongside this other publicity and PR activities will take place, including regularly contributing articles/news items about the MED Network and its activities to electronic and printed journals. A consultant will be employed to assist in this task.
The DVD of moored current meter data will be produced in 2005. Collaboration with the GOOS Action Group will continue, with the MED Team maintaining and developing the GOOS Action Group web-site and responding to actions required for the implementation of the GOOSAG Action Plan. MEDAG is also planning to hold a marine samples workshop, covering both biological and geological samples, during 2005 in collaboration with the Natural History Museum.
Links will also be maintained with the EU-funded projects related to increasing the availability of marine environmental data (e.g. SeaSearch II and ESEAS). Further funding from Defra and NERC will allow the quality control of the National Tide Gauge Network data collected before 1980 which will be made available through the National Tidal and Sea Level Facility.
Additional future activities and projects may result from the recommendations of the Cowling Report (Marine Data and Information – Where to now?) commissioned by Defra, including activities relating to Marine Data and Information Partnership (MDIP).

Lesley J. Rickards
22 December 2004