About
Summary
In every interdisciplinary, long-term research project, which focuses on environmental field studies and regional modeling, it is a key issue to collect, store, backup, and exchange data. Therefore, the overall success of such a project depends on a well-organized data management. This has to contain the organization of all project data, the implementation, and the maintenance of a system that also encourages intensive data exchange between all involved project sections. Consequently, the sustainable use of all research results during and also after the end of the project is ensured.
The scientific data management system of the CRC/TR32 (TR32DB) is developed following the guidelines of the DFG. Due to the various disciplines, the TR32DB has to handle a huge amount of various research data from different research fields and scales (laboratory to catchment scale). Besides diverse collected research data (including measured and modelled data), publications, presentations, reports, and pictures provided by the CRC/TR32 participants, also purchased geodata from various institutions are considered.
The TR32DB design is a combination of file management, database, and web-interface including web mapping functionalities. The system is physically stored at the Regional Computing Centre Cologne. The structure is developed according to recent standards and principles. Programming standards and languages like JavaScript, PHP, HTML, CSS, and SQL are used to develop and customize the interaction between databases, web-interface, and Web-GIS. Moreover, metadata standards, like Dublin Core, ISO19115, and INSPIRE are considered, as well as guidelines for the application of a DOI (Digital Object Identifier, www.doi.org), that is a persistent identifier to make datasets citable.
The TR32DB offers several functionalities. These are for example management, centralized, sustainable storage and backup, visualization, exchange and provision of CRC/TR32 data for all project participants. Furthermore, the linkage of all project data with adequate and specific metadata depending on the type of data and also related to the CRC/TR32 context is provided. All features are accessible online, e.g. representation and search of data via metadata. Some functions are only available for authorized users like download of data, input and modification of corresponding metadata, application of specific CRC/TR32-DOIs for datasets, download of purchased and processed geodata, as well as visualization of geodata in a Web-GIS due to license constrains.
