Enabling long-term oceanographic research: Changing data practices, information management strategies and informatics

Interdisciplinary global ocean science requires new ways of thinking about data and data management.
With new data policies and growing technological capabilities, datasets of increasing variety and
complexity are being made available digitally and data management is coming to be recognized as an
integral part of scientific research. To meet the changing expectations of scientists collecting data and of
data reuse by others, collaborative strategies involving diverse teams of information professionals are
developing. These changes are stimulating the growth of information infrastructures that support
multi-scale sampling, data repositories, and data integration. Two examples of oceanographic projects
incorporating data management in partnership with science programs are discussed: the Palmer Station
Long-Term Ecological Research program (Palmer LTER) and the United States Joint Global Ocean Flux
Study (US JGOFS). Lessons learned from a decade of data management within these communities
provide an experience base from which to develop information management strategies—short-term
and long-term. Ocean Informatics provides one example of a conceptual framework for managing the
complexities inherent to sharing oceanographic data. Elements are introduced that address the
economies-of-scale and the complexities-of-scale pertinent to a broader vision of information
management and scientific research.