Seminar within the Master in Data Management and Curation (MDMC)
This seminar presents the complete data management workflow implemented at OGS, from data acquisition at sea through processing to final distribution, demonstrating how we ensure marine data are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). OGS operates a monitoring network for weather and sea conditions in the Gulf of Trieste on behalf of the Civil Protection Agency, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, and ARPA (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell’Ambiente – Regional Agency for Environmental Protection), where data reliability and near real-time availability are essential. Integration with European infrastructures such as SeaDataNet, the pan-European infrastructure for ocean and marine data management, EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data network), and the European Research Infrastructures has enabled the adoption of standards, protocols, and tools necessary to ensure compliance with FAIR principles. Collected datasets are structured according to SeaDataNet and OceanSites standards, enriched with comprehensive metadata, and harmonised using controlled vocabularies to eliminate semantic ambiguities and enable machine-actionable interpretation for distribution and long-term reuse. After data are collected from in situ stations, they are automatically processed, stored in a PostgreSQL database, and published in near real-time through ERDDAP™ (Environmental Research Division Data Access Program), an open-source platform that supports multi-format data access and visualisation. ERDDAP™ provides RESTful web services, ensuring interoperability with analytical environments such as R and Python, and facilitating automated workflows for data discovery and reuse. This approach demonstrates how OGS integrates European standards and open technologies to deliver high-quality, FAIR-compliant marine data for operational and scientific applications.