4 December 2025
On the occasion of the "Master in Data Management and Curation" in Trieste (Italy), data stewards from the NODC, together with other representatives of the OGS oceanographic section, gave a seminar on the workflow implemented by the Institute to manage data from acquisition at sea, through processing, to distribution.
The second edition of the Master’s programme, organised by Area Science Park, a national research and innovation institution, and SISSA, one of the six Italian Schools of Advanced Studies of excellence, began on 15 September 2025 and will continue until 30 June 2026. It aims to prepare professionals such as Data Stewards, Data Curators, Data Engineers, and Research Data Managers for highly sought-after roles within research institutions, scientific infrastructures, and private organisations working in big data. The Master’s programme goes beyond theory, offering participants six-month practical internships in research laboratories and leading companies.
During the seminar held by OGS on 3 December, the speakers explained how the workflow provides reliable, near real-time marine data in accordance with FAIR principles, which require that data be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The workflow is integrated with European Blue Data Infrastructures (BDIs) such as SeaDataNet, the pan-European infrastructure for ocean and marine data management, EMODnet, the European Marine Observation and Data Network, and the European Research Infrastructures. This integration ensures compliance with FAIR principles, as the adoption of international standards, protocols, and tools is compulsory for participation in the European systems for acquiring and managing marine data.
The monitoring network for weather and sea conditions in the Gulf of Trieste is the first link in the workflow. OGS operates the observatory system 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). Data collected from in situ stations are structured according to SeaDataNet and OceanSites standards, enriched with comprehensive metadata, and harmonised using controlled vocabularies. These are essential to eliminate semantic ambiguities and automate distribution and long-term reuse. Data is 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.
“We felt it was essential to give students of the Master's in Data Management and Curation in Trieste a concrete understanding of the processes governing data management according to FAIR principles,” says Elena Partescano, data steward at the NODC. She continues, “The seminar, led by NODC data stewards and OGS researchers, effectively illustrated the workflow that, from data collection at sea to its distribution, ensures quality, standardisation, and interoperability. Integration with European infrastructures and the use of platforms such as ERDDAP™, are key examples that we hope to pass on to future data management professionals.”
To learn more about the workflow look at the "presentation given by OGS"
