Danis and Parsons, presentation given at the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, Aberdeen, September 2011. ANSTRACT: In this paper, we present SCAR’s Marine Biodiversity Information Network (SCAR-MarBIN, www.scarmarbin.be), introduce the new Antarctic Biodiversity Information Facility (ANTABIF, www.biodiversity.aq) and argue that it has become vital and practicable to support an international mechanism for the exchange of scientific data. This approach allows to integrate large data volumes, and helps modern biologists to face a “data deluge” using new techniques and technologies currently developed in the field of biodiversity informatics. Biodiversity is an example of data-intensive science, and certainly requires an interdisciplinary, scalable approach to address complex systemic problems such as environmental change and its impact on marine ecosystems. This paper discusses the experience of data scientists seeking to collect, curate, and provide data during the timeframe of the International Polar Year. The data content of the SCAR-MarBIN and ANTABIF holdings has been explored, and recent published analyses are used to illustrate concrete examples. We find that while technology is a critical factor to address this dimension, the greater challenges are more socio-cultural than technical. We describe a vision of discoverable, open, linked, useful, and safe data and suggest the need for a rapid socio-technical evolution in the overall science data ecosystem.

1. Biodiversity Information
Networks
Dataflows for interdisciplinary sciences
Bruno Danis & Mark Parsons
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
National Snow & Ice Data Center
www.scarmarbin.be
www.biodiversity.aq

2. Layout
• Background
• Our vision
• Achievements and products
• Uptake of GBIF tools
• The Future: Technological and Cultural challenges

3. Background and vision
3

4. Antarctic Treaty
(our inspiration)
« In order to promote international cooperation in scientific
investigation in Antarctica, as provided for in Article III (1c) of the
Treaty, the Contracting Parties agree that, to the greatest extent
feasible and practicable: […] Scientific observations and results
from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available. »

5. Special things about Antarc8ca
• Antarc8c Treaty system (no government)
• The Scien8fic Community on Antarc8c Research
• Very ac8ve community
• Logis8cs
• Biodiversity
– Highly adapted
– Mostly marine
– Probably extremely sensi8ve
5

6. SCAR‐MarBIN & AntaBIF
• www.scarmarbin.be: marine biodiversity informa8on network
• www.biodiversity.aq: biodiversity informa8on facility
• Core funding: BELSPO.be (un8l June 2012)
• Interna8onal Polar Year 2007/08
• Census of Antarc8c Marine Life
• Ocean Biogeographic Informa8on System
• Global Biodiversity Informa8on Facility

7. General philosophy
• Build an electronic ecosystem
• Offer free and open access to data and technology
• Expose all the (biodiversity) data and metadata, in mul8ple contexts
• Remain community‐driven, and collabora8ve
• Adopt strong standardiza8on
• Work for science, conserva8on, management
7

8. Achievements
8

9. Taxonomy
• The first RAMS
• Board of 60+ editors
• Feeds WoRMS, CoL and EoL
• 17,098 taxa (RAMS)
• Building a dynamic RAS
• 24,248 taxa (RAS)
9

10. Geospa8al data
• 1,288,441 records
• 198 datasets
• 119 geodatasets
• 5,235 taxa
• Feeds OBIS, GBIF
• Downloadable
• WebGIS
• Webservices
10

11. Webportals
• Up since Oct 2005
• taxonomy, occurrence,
metadata
• vizualisation
• open access
• 909,915 visitors
• 8,093,774 hits
• >50,000,000 dld records
• ANTABIF proto up
11

12. Data products
• Antarc8c Field Guides
• Biogeography Atlas of the Southern
Ocean
• Community projects
• Incen8ves for publishing/reviewing
data
12

13. Antarc8c Field Guides
afg.biodiversity.aq
• Iden8fica8on aid
• Best available pictures
• Descrip8ons
• Publica8on/sharing plahorm for customized FGs
• Many contributors
• Dynamically built from various sources
13

14. Antarctic Field Guides

20. Biodiversity Atlas of the SO
atlas.biodiversity.aq
• Paper and digital versions
• Publish thema8c maps
• Publish predic8ve maps
• Build an interac8ve plahorm
• Dynamic genera8on of the content
• Capacity building
• Fill in gaps
• 60 contributors from 36 ins8tu8ons in 16 countries
20

21. Gaps in our knowledge
BENTHOS
PLANKTON

22. Gaps in our knowledge
22

23. Hedgpeth 1969’s Folio

25. (near) Future
• Beker documenta8on
• Many data portals
• (much) Enhanced data flow
• The community feels responsibility
• Conserva8on/Management are factual
• Op8miza8on of Biodiversity research efforts/resources
25

26. Future Future
• Expor8ng the model to other disciplines sounds like a plan
– SCADM: Standing Commikee on Antarc8c Data Management
– SOOS: Southern Ocean Observing System
• SCAR/IASC: Going bipolar
• (much) Enhanced interoperability
• Integra8ve, connected science
26

27. The Polar Informa8on Commons
www.polarcommons.org
• Drama8c environmental changes
• Emergency solu8on
• Setup of a commons
– IT cloud
– Set of norms
• All polar data (IPY)
• Simple procedure:
– badge dataset(s) (describe, choose a CC Licence)
– throw it in the cloud
– done
27

28. Radical openness:
Data are discoverable, open,
linked, useful, and safe
28

29. Discoverable
Data should be accessible soon amer collec8on (online wherever
possible) in a discovery portal such as the Global Change Master
Directory.

30. Open
Open Data is a philosophy and prac8ce requiring that certain data
are freely available to everyone, without restric8ons from copyright,
patents or other mechanisms of control.—Wikipedia
Anything else than Open slows down processes and science (and we
don’t have 8me).

31. Linked
The term Linked Data is used to describe a method of exposing,
sharing, and connec8ng data [using] the Web.—Wikipedia
Web2.0 philosophy.

32. Useful
Data from different projects, disciplines, and data centers should be
easily understood and used in conjunc8on with each other in
standard tools and analysis frameworks
Data should be well described so to be useful for a broad audience.

33. Interoperable
Metadata and data should be readily interchangeable between
different polar data systems to enable data discovery across
mul8ple portals.
So we stop reinven8ng the wheel all the 8me...

34. Safe
Safe from hackers, from obsolescence, from undocumented change,
from loss, and from the ravages of 8me.

35. The biggest challenge is
C U L T U R A L

36. Thanks
www.biodiversity.aq
www.polarcommons.org
image © NY Times 36