Posts Tagged ‘Biogeochemical Sensor Data’
Biogeochemical Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide Now Available
The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) recently endorsed a finalized guide on how to use data generated by biogeochemical (BGC) sensors deployed by the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI).
The OOl Biogeochemical Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide is intended to provide current and prospective users of data generated by BGC sensors deployed on OOI arrays with the information and guidance needed for them to ensure that the data are science ready. The guide is aimed at researchers with an interest or some experience in ocean biogeochemical processes. The guide was written with the assumption that its users would have some background in oceanography but not necessarily any prior experience working with BGC sensors or data they collect.
The guide was created by a 25-member Working Group, with input from 14 Beta Testers who joined the Working Group members for a June 2022 workshop. The draft version of the guide was revised based on Beta Tester feedback, and then circulated for open review by the full scientific community. The finalized guide, incorporating feedback from the open review process, was then endorsed as a best practice by GOOS after this rigorous review.
“We are delighted that our endeavor to make BCG data more broadly usable and accessible to the oceanographic community has been endorsed by GOOS,” said Hilary Palevsky of Boston College and a co-leader of the working group. “This has been a true team effort to develop best practices that will be broadly useful for the community and has demonstrated the importance of broad collaboration. We look forward to this guide enabling new science bringing in new users of OOI BGC data.”
Download the BGC Sensor Data Best Practices Guide.
Read MoreOOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide: Open Community Review
The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Biogeochemical (BGC) Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide is the result of an NSF-funded (OCE2033919) grass-roots community effort to broaden the use of OOI biogeochemical sensor data and increase community capacity to produce analysis-ready data products. The guide includes five chapters: The Introduction (Chapter 1) provides information on the OOI program, including data access, processing, and recommended end user QA/QC relevant to all OOI biogeochemical sensors, and Chapters 2-5 cover the following groups of BGC variables and associated sensors: Dissolved oxygen, nitrate, carbonate chemistry, and bio-optics.
This effort brought together an international group of 39 ocean observing experts, across all career stages, from 19 institutions and 5 countries, each of whom brings expertise on biogeochemical sensors, data analysis and ocean observing infrastructure, as well as research expertise in ocean biogeochemistry. The initial OOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data (OOI BGC) Working Group was formed in July 2021 through an open application process. A three-day virtual meeting in July 2021 launched the Working Group, with consensus-building activities to develop the scope and structure of the Best Practices and User Guide. From July 2021 to June 2022, the Working Group drafted a beta version of the Best Practices and User Guide that went through two rounds of internal review within the Working Group. A draft version of this document was Beta Tested by 14 current and prospective OOI BGC data users, who joined the Working Group members for a 3-day workshop in June 2022 to provide feedback that has since been used in revising and finalizing the document.
The OOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide is now complete, and has been submitted to the Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS). As a next step, we are seeking to gain GOOS endorsement of the document. In order to do so, the guide must undergo a rigorous community review process whereby comments are publicly invited and adjudicated. We now invite community members to review the guide and submit comments by February 28, 2023. After completing the open review, we will revise the document based on the reviewers’ comments and upload an updated, final version to OBPS.
We encourage feedback from everyone, including both disciplinary experts and users new to each of these sensor types, as well as both experienced and new users of OOI data. Reviewers are welcome to provide feedback on the entire document, or on chapters or sections that are of particular relevance to their interests or expertise.
How to review the OOI BGC Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide
We are aiming for a transparent and open community review process, and as such, all reviewer comments and responses to them will be public. We invite reviewers to provide feedback on the OOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide via two different pathways:
- Reviewers may comment directly into a Google Doc version of the guide in the form of comments added to the text. This will be most useful for comments or to suggest revisions on specific sections of the text. We request that reviewers sign in via Google or include their name and email in their comments so that we can identify and, if needed, follow up with individuals providing reviews.
- Reviewers may submit lengthier and/or more overarching comments via an online form. All submissions to this form can be viewed here.