iAtlantic Deliverable D7.2 - GEOSS Atlantic Ocean Observation Community Mirror Site

This deliverable reports on activities leading to the launch of an Atlantic Community portal in the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) Platform. It aims to draw together the international Atlantic observation community by strengthening and growing the network of actors in Atlantic Ocean observations. A functional interface will be built through a GEOSS portal community site. This new feature of the GEOSS portal allows users and data providers to build customisable sites around specific communities of interest. Data repositories in iAtlantic e.g. PANGAEA, NRF-SAEON (National Research Foundation – South African Environmental Observation Network) and EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network) will register relevant data through the portal and actively seek out additional contributors from other Atlantic Flagship projects (BG08 call), other Atlantic research initiatives, research infrastructures and industry. Work Package (WP) 7 partners will populate the site with relevant actors and data providers, including a catalogue of resources in GEOSS. The community pages will build on existing initiatives such as EMODnet. Particular attention will be paid to ensure complementarity between the GEOSS Community portal and the EMODnet. The focus will also include providing a forum for a community of practice and the need to increase our understanding of Essential Ocean Variables (e.g., dissolved organic carbon, particulate matter, and nutrients) for pelagic and deep-sea environments. Furthermore, the iAtlantic Associate Partner MBON (Marine Biodiversity Observation Network) will i) advice on the requirements for both observations & data working closely with iAtlantic beneficiaries and ii) work with iAtlantic to facilitate active linkages between iAtlantic, MBON and Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). ESA (European Space Agency) supports these efforts and will help with aspects of repository and data registration (e.g. by SAEON, South African Environment Observation Network) to make the site operational.