Who We Are

Molly McCammon, Alaska Ocean Observing System

Rob Bochenek, Axiom Data Science

Matt Jones, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

This project was completed in 2016.

Why?

Managing oceanographic data is challenging due to the variety of methods for collecting diverse data types. Data may be generated by automated real-time sensors, remote sensing platforms, field observations, model outputs, and more. Data are collected from a wide spectrum of scientific observations and include a large range of metrics, from general ocean dynamics to identification of plankton species. As part of this effort, data collected through Gulf Watch Alaska were described, archived and made available for use by the public and resource managers.

Where?

Data for these efforts were from the entire EVOS spill-affected area. The north, east, south, and west bounding coordinates of this area are 59.767, -145.837, 61.834, and -154.334.

How?

The first project, led by Molly McCammon of AOOS and Rob Bochenek of Axiom Data Science, supports the transfer of information among Gulf Watch Alaska researchers and develops management and outreach applications for the data and products generated by the program. Axiom has created a secure, cloud-based Research Workspace through which investigators share data and collaborate. Data are published from the Workspace to the publicly accessible Gulf of Alaska Data Portal. The data portal provides access to multiple data types including real-time sensor data, model and remote sensing data, and GIS-type project data.

The second project, led by Matt Jones of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), salvaged historical data collected in the past by Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council funded research. This project also works with AOOS to expand access and archiving of EVOS data for increased scientific use. NCEAS will use this historic data as part of a broad effort to synthesize over 20 years of EVOSTC-funded research data with a series of synthesis workshops and publications.