Climate & Environmental Data Session
The climate and environmental data (CED) listening session focused on data that aligns broadly with the abiotic (non-living) environment that may be experienced by organisms, which includes, but is not limited to, climate, soils, and hydrological data.
During this session, discussions centered around CED with the following goals in mind:
- Gaining an understanding of the state of current data infrastructure and the ultimate goals of the CED community.
- Determining common data priorities as it pertains to CED.
- Discussing advantages, disadvantages, and challenges associated with an integrated data network.
- Identifying additional stakeholders that should be engaged in future discussions of an integrated data network.
Following the listening session, the discussions will be summarized in a report that will be made publicly available for comment. We encourage all those interested to provide feedback and additional insights on this summary. This document will provide the foundation for building a roadmap for moving forward with the development of an integrated data network.
Read the summary of the listening session below!
Date: July 26, 2024
Time: 12:00 – 2:00 PM EDT
Facilitated by:
Barbara Thiers, Dori Contreras, Anna Monfils, and David Kunkel
Key Domain Representatives:
- Ben Halpern, National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis (NCEAS)
- Ty Tuff, Environmental Data Science Innovation & Inclusion Lab (ESIIL)
Please share your thoughts on the questions listed below. Each question is posted as a separate comment. You may respond to a specific question by posting a ‘reply’ to that particular comment.
What does the phrase “Environmental Data” mean to you? What is included? Excluded?
What do you think of when you hear the term data interoperability? Would you have given the same answer five years ago, or has your definition changed over time?
What critical questions can we address by creating interoperable environmental and organismal/biological collection data?
What are the current impediments to making these data types interoperable?
How can species occurrence data be more accessible and interoperable with environmental data resources?
Scenario: The U.N. has decided to establish a set of unified metrics with the objective of bringing together as wide a range of data as possible that pertains to Earth’s environment, including information about biota, biotic interactions, climate, weather, oceans and other waterways, soils, land use, fire, etc. This resource would follow FAIR guidelines to the greatest extent possible. You have been invited to serve on an advisory committee for this new agency.
What would you suggest as short term (e.g., 5 year) goals for this effort, to show proof of concept, or demonstrate the potential value of such a resource?
What would you suggest as a long term objective (e.g, 10 years or more) for this effort? What are the biggest and most impactful questions that such a global resource could address?