Making Scientific Ocean Drilling Data Discoverable

Scientific ocean drilling expeditions generate large, complex data sets that include instrumental data, visual descriptions of geologic materials, and digital images. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and its predecessors have traditionally archived all data generated on the R/V JOIDES Resolution in relational databases (Janus, LIMS). However, in recent years there has been a call for Earth and space science data to become more useful and accessible (http://www.copdess.org), and an increasing number of journals require data to be published in order for a manuscript to be considered for publication. As a result, the JOIDES Resolution Science Operator (IODP JRSO) undertook a pilot project to assess the feasibility of publishing all data in files with unique, permanent digital object identifiers (DOIs) that are easily discoverable by humans and machines. The first three published collections (Expeditions 361, 362, and 366) are available at http://web.iodp.tamu.edu/datarep/ and comprise 820 files. This site allows the user to search the collections by expedition, drill site, data type, or keyword or through a visual map interface. Data are presented on primary and secondary depth scales (as defined by each expedition's science party), and data formats are explained for each data type. Instrument configuration and calibration files are also provided, as well as the methods used during each expedition. The DOIs of all files have been deposited with the non-profit organization DataCite to provide easy and standardized access (for example, the Expedition 361 Hole U1478C natural gamma radiation data are available at https://doi.org/10.26304/361-u1478c-ngr). The goal of the IODP JRSO is to publish the data at the end of each expedition's moratorium period (12-18 months post-expedition, at which time the data are released to the public), and to work backwards to legacy expeditions as time allows.