MEDITERRANEAN TARGETED PROJECT ASSISTANCE IN DATA MANAGEMENT <B>MEDITERRANEAN TARGETED PROJECT ASSISTANCE IN DATA MANAGEMENT</B> <HR><P> Racapé</B><SUP>1</SUP><B>, J. F., Pfeiffer</B><SUP>2</SUP><B>, K., Stanislas</B><SUP>3</SUP><B>, G., Berle</B><SUP>4</SUP><B>, H. K., Ruester</B><SUP>5</SUP><B>, A., Philipovitch</B><SUP>1</SUP><B>, T., Hellmann</B><SUP>2</SUP><B>, B. & Nodar</B><SUP>3</SUP><B>, D. </B><P><P> 1 CETIIS, BP 33000, F-13791 Aix-en-Provence Cédex 3, France<BR> 2 HYDROMOD, Scientific Consulting, Bahnhofstr.. 52, D-22880 Wedel, Germany<BR> 3OCI Services, 3 Ave de l'Europe, F-31000 Toulouse, France<BR> 4CRI/AS, Bregnerødvej 144, P.O. Box 173, DK-3460 Birkerød, Denmark<BR> 5Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Geologie, Geophysik und Geoinformatik, Malteserstr. 74 - 100 (Haus D), D-1000 Berlin 46, Germany<B><P><P> Introduction</B><P><P> The MADAM Project is a MAST supporting initiative to assist the Mediterranean Targeted Project (MTP) in data management. The purpose of the project is to implement or test issues to manage the very large amount of data collected during the course of the MTP projects.<P><P> In that context, the MADAM project aims to develop (or test) in parallel the two ways of managing this kind of data set :<P><P> *the centralised way, by gathering all the data available in a unique data set and publishing it at the end of the project on a unique medium,<BR> *the distributed one, by testing a network of distributed servers based on the actual WWW tools.<P><P> The objectives of the project are outlined on Fig. 1. It is possible to point up three main objectives:<P><P> * To compile and produce a MTP Data set. As far as possible, this data set will gather the data collected during the ongoing MTP. The<I> MTP Dataset</I> publication on a CD-ROM is scheduled at the end of the project (i.e. the end of 1996).<P><P> * To set up and animate a network. This network can provide links between the MTP partners and a Focal Point located at CETIIS, Aix-en-Provence. The collected data are gathered in this focal point where a MADAM WWW server is installed and propose information on the ongoing project.<P><P> * To carry out demonstrations on future networking issues for data management, in particular with Internet tools.<I><P><P> Description of the data collected during the MTP</I><BR> The first task of MADAM was a survey of each project in order to collect information for future adaptation, modification and - if required - establishment of procedures, guidelines and standards to receive and merge the MTP data into the joint data set. The survey was performed by direct interview with each project co-ordinator.<P><P> A questionnaire has been established to help the MADAM interviewers in collecting the relevant information. This questionnaire was sent to each MTP co-ordinator preliminary to the interviews. A survey report was written from information collected from diverse sources:<P><P> *filled-in questionnaires,<BR> *interviews with co-ordinators,<BR> *technical annexes of the projects,<BR> *ROSCOP forms of MTP cruises,<BR> *some annual reports.<P><P> The great diversity of the MTP projects in terms of area of interest (Fig. 1), scientific domain, methodology, scales of interest, etc., leads to a great diversity of data collected during the course of the MTP. Furthermore, the MTP is very "data productive" and a great amount of data has already been collected during the course of the project the diversity of which is very high in terms of:<P><P> *scientific domain: hydrology, currents, biology, sedimentology, biogeochemistry,<BR> *type of data: vertical profiles, time series, discrete data, underway measurements,<BR> *formats.<P><P> Fig. 2 and table 1 give a general presentation of location of the data collected during the MTP. Data has been gathered into four main groups according to the following understanding:<P><P> *HYD: Hydrological data collected with CTD and bottles (including basic biogeochemical data such as nutrients, POC, PON, DOC, DON, Chlorophyll, etc.)<BR> *CUR: Current data obtained either from moored current meters (classical SED: Sediment data obtained by sediment traps, sediment cores, box cores, etc.<BR> *BIO: Pelagic and benthic macro and micro-biological data<BR> <BR> Some cruises have gathered several MTP projects. These cruises has been included only once in table 1. The survey of CINCS, PALEOFLUX and PELAGOS is not complete in this day. The number of specific cruises of these projects is assessed from the respective Technical Annexes.<I><P><P> The MTP Dataset</I><BR> One of MADAM's main activities and goals is the compilation of a unified dataset which includes most of the data collected by the research cruises and field measurement conducted within the MTP. This activity will be conducted as far as technically possible and as far as input is provided from the scientific teams of the MTP in due time while the project is operative. To a limited amount this dataset will include supporting information for instance about projects, institutions, scientists, cruises, research vessels, or instruments used.<P><P> This so called <I>MTP Dataset</I> will include a library of tools supporting its customisation and user-friendly operation. The dataset will be operated via a geographically based graphical user shell controlling the data and information access. The user can select, filter, browse, or display data upon his own research needs and individual requirements for investigations. However, the data assessment will be limited to a standard and feasible level ensuring operation with low complexity. For more sophisticated evaluations authorised customers will have the possibility to extract data in a standard file format for further evaluation and processing with their own software packages they are used to. <P><P> According to the present plans and schedules the <I>MTP Dataset</I> will include the following data acquired within the MTP:<P><P> *Vertical profiles as acquired by CTD and other multi-parameter sondes, XBTs, XCTDs, rosette samplers, or other bottle samplings as well as single probes (i.e. treated as vertical profiles with one set of values) or bottom samples (treated as sub-bottom profiles or single samples) in processed or analysed and quality controlled form;<BR> *time series as acquired by moored instruments in processed or analysed and quality controlled form;<BR> *track-related data as acquired by automatic ship- or drifter-borne devices (e.g. navigational logs, meteorological logs, T-S logs, ADCP) in processed or analysed and quality controlled form;<BR> *data header information as described for the MODB/MEDATLAS headers and as far as necessary supplemented by additional comments included in the respective header section;<BR> *supporting information (text, references, figures) as far as available and possible to integrate with reasonable work effort and as far as they do not extent storage limitations of the CD-ROM or accessing efforts by PC software tools.<P><P> The biggest amount of data will be standard oceanographic data. Biogeochemical data are included to the extent as described in the <I>Technical Annex of the MTP.</I> So far no laboratory data and results of numerical modelling are included. Also some very special data (e.g. as derived from tracer oceanography or ocean tomography) will not be included into the dataset as they require either special interpretation technologies and knowledge or will not be available in a reasonable period of time.<BR> The quality control of data is strictly assigned to the obligation of the scientific teams who have acquired, processed, or delivered the data but some quality information are included in the data itself.<P><P> The dataset design will be in open in such a way that it can be easily upgraded by additional tools upon if users and customers shall so require. The dataset will be designed open for incorporation of supplementary data and information in a similar manner as conducted within the MADAM project. We consider this as very important as it is already feasible that not all the data collected within the MTP and the thereto related information can be made available in the short period of time between the envisaged dates of close-out or data delivery assigned for most of the MTP projects and the end of the MADAM project.<P><P> Special emphasis is dedicated to define convenient and as far as possible standardised data formats for the large variety of multi-disciplinary data which will be delivered in heterogeneous data formats by the scientific teams. For vertical profiles and cruise describing data the MADAM team has already decided to use and apply the MEDATLAS format as the standard for the <I>MTP Dataset.</I> This ensures compatibility to many other activities within the MTP II and hopefully also within the MAST III Programme. Other data envisaged for incorporation in this dataset will be time series and ship-track related data. Therefore we have applied and modified existing data formatting concepts as `<I>"close by as possible</I>''"to the MODB-format. This could result in an interesting and efficient contribution for a large variety of applications as it deals with commonly known problems of handling and managing oceanographic and -- more generally -- geographically referenced data arising from different measurement and survey concepts and being processed in different institutions.<P><P> After completion of the adaptation and data merging activities the MTP Dataset will be published in a limited amount on CD-ROM ready to operate on a state of the art personal computer under the MS. WINDOWS operation system. We expect the <I>MTP Dataset</I> to become a unified, merged, and comprehensive collection of data and information acquired and processed within the MTP for "<I>everybody's use and benefit</I>". Beside the value of such a dataset for future research and science we trust that this dataset will depict and illustrate how the results of research activities of many disciplines, institutions, and scientific teams from all over Europe can be finally brought together, integrated, and disseminated.<P><P> However, the success of this task depends on the input and support from the scientific teams and the National Oceanographic Data Centres assigned for delivery and banking of data acquired by individual MTP sub-projects. We are confident that these respective MADAM activities can be optimised and closely combined with data delivery procedures and work and that we thereby assist and support the scientific teams and diminish their thereto related efforts and work load.<I><P><P> MADAM WWW PRESENTATION FOR MTP</I><BR> During the course of the project, the MADAM Consortium will collect a lot of information, on scientists, on projects, data sets... All those information will benefit to MTP members if available. This is one of the purposes of the MADAM WWW Demonstrator, to demonstrate how the World Wide Web and Internet technologies will help the scientist to be more informed, to contribute more immediately to the MTP effort, and benefit in quite "Real time" of the other members contribution.<P><P> Why those tools? The Internet was selected due to its wide diffusion inside scientific teams, yet enabling them to communicate electronically. The World Wide Web was selected due to his simplicity of use, this technology hide efficiently the apparent complexity of Internet making a world wide electronic travel as easy as a book reading.<P><P> The Demonstrator main objectives are:<P><P> *To make all the available information about MTP accessible from a WWW Browser (like Mosaic or Netscape). Thanks to this interface, users can connect from everywhere and be aware of the evolving information easily and much more efficiently than in a book or newspaper<BR> *To improve the MTP Inter-Projects communication through the Internet, helping scientific teams to be present on the World Wide Web, and communicate between them with the Internet related tools. And also helping them when they want to set up their own World Wide Web Server giving them tools and knowledge needed to manage as easily as possible their server<BR> *To help to identify and collect Data sets and keep quickly informed other members, Internet WWW will become the fastest way to share information between a disseminated group of scientist like in MTP<BR> *To provide on-line access to the evolving MTP Dataset with all the security requirements, as diffusion of the Data or documents must be controlled by the scientists, they will decide to who and when the data will be delivered<BR> *To try to make available the MTP Dataset simultaneously On-the-Net and on a CD-ROM in a new complementary way. Trying to take advantage of the high capacity of a CD-ROM and the regular evolution of an on-line archive.<P><P> To conclude, hereafter is a short passage of a book present on the Internet: "What is the Internet World Wide Web? <P><P> From the user point of view, the World Wide Web is information, a great tangled web of information. The user doesn't care anything (well, almost anything) about where the information is stored, about how it's stored, or about how it gets to his screen - he just says ``Oh, that looks interesting'', clicks the mouse, and (after a short time), the information arrives... " (Jon Crowcroft)<P><P> But to make this true, there must be someone, somewhere who give this information to others, Internet and Web will then help users to retrieve easily the great amount of information disseminated in several places.<B><P><P> Acknowledgements</B><P><P> This work is undertaken in the frame of a MAST supporting initiative for ocean data and information management under contract MAS2-CT94-0097. The participants acknowledge with gratitude all the scientists involved in the MTP, without the helpful collaboration of them this project would not be achievable.<B></B><P><P>