Linking JERICO-NEXT activities to a Virtual Access infrastructure, WP5, Deliverable D5.16. Version 2.0.

Abstract

According the Commission definition, Virtual Access means: “access to resources needed for research through communication networks without selecting or even identifying the researchers to whom access to resources is provided. Examples of virtual access activities are databases available via Internet, or data deposition services” The JERICO-NEXT partners are providing a large number of in-situ monitoring and numerical modelling infrastructures, with numerous marine observations and forecasting products for the coastal zone. These data are usually collected, processed, qualified, used to make products, stored and made available via a virtual (research) infrastructures (VIs), e.g. web infrastructure with high capacity and performance for big data processing and state-of-the-art web visualisation services. VIs make use of standards for wide interoperability, whilst respecting user privacy and differences in data policies. The (virtual) access to research infrastructure is of fundamental importance for making science, new discoveries, new developments, and new assessment and disseminate new knowledge. In this framework, one specific scope of the WP5 – Data Management is to suggest actions and recommendations that better connect the Virtual Infrastructure (VI) and JERICO-NEXT systems to make data easy accessible and visible and create the basis for building synthetic products based on original data. The infrastructures presently included in JERICO-NEXT VIs are already providing (or can provide in the future) a wide range of products aimed to support a much broader community comprising researchers, nautical communities, maritime and port authorities, local decision agents, economical agents, schools and general public. These products include real-time or archived data, operational forecasts or information about the marine environment and processes. These products are used to support, among others, the planning of daily operations at sea (fishing activities, nautical sports …), the management of coastal environment, crisis at sea, management of marine resources. The role of the VI providers is to make their data available, the JERICO-NEXT WP5 role is to make these data visible and accessible. The specific goal of the Task 5.8 is to provide an extended review of the existing Virtual Access platforms/systems in order to find out to what extent the JERICO-NEXT activities could be supported. To this end, the VIs listed in the WP6 where evaluated adopting an approach similar to the methodology proposed by the EMODnet Med Sea Check Point 1, and in particular to the “availability” indicators (AI). More specifically the AIs indicate the degree to which the datasets are discoverable, accessible, ready for use, and obtainable (either directly or indirectly) from the JERICONEXT VIs. To obtain datasets, information is needed on the data provider (visibility), how to access them (accessibility), and how fast the process is to take possession of them (performance). The availability indicators (AIs) provide then, an understanding of the readiness and service performance of the infrastructure providing access to data.