IODE data flow (National Oceanographic Programmes (NOPs) and Cruise Summary Reports (CSRs))

Abstract

In the late 1960s IODE started the system of the National Oceanographic Programmes (NOPs) and Cruise Summary Reports (CSRs, formerly ROSCOPs) as a way to share information on planned research cruises as well as to report on the results of research cruises. For many years the NOP information was managed by the IODE Secretariat. However, at IODE-XV (1995) an offer was made by the University of Delaware to take on this task as part of OCEANIC (www.cms.udel.edu). The IODE Committee accepted this kind offer and Oceanic managed the service for well over ten years. At IODE-XVI, IODE decided to cease the mailing of paper copies of NOPs by the Secretariat, requested NODCs to mail NOPs directly to OCEANIC, and recommended that NOP information be made available on-line through OCEANIC. OCEANIC has continued this function, but has found it increasingly difficult to fund this activity in recent years. The ROSCOP (Report of Observations/ Samples Collected by Oceanographic Programmes) was conceived by IOC/IODE in the late 1960s in order to provide a low level inventory for tracking oceanographic data collected on Research Vessels. The ROSCOP form was extensively revised in 1990, and was re-named the Cruise Summary Report (CSR). Most marine disciplines are represented in the CSR, including physical, chemical, and biological oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, fisheries, marine contaminants, and marine meteorology. Traditionally, it is the Chief Scientist's obligation to submit a CSR to his/her National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) within two to three weeks after the cruise. In the early years, these were periodically transmitted to the World Data Centres for Oceanography and to ICES. In the late 1980s ICES led the effort to digitise the ROSCOP/CSR information and pioneered the development of a database for this information, and, in collaboration with IOC/IODE, developed and maintained a PC-based CSR entry tool and search facility. The emphasis for this was on ICES member countries, but extended to other countries who wished to submit their information. The CSR activity gained new momentum in Europe during the EU-funded EURONODIM/Sea-Search projects under the lead of BSH/DOD, Germany. The combined ICES and Sea-Search/SeaDataNet CSR database now comprises details of over 35000 oceanographic research cruises primarily from Europe and North America, but also including some other regions (e.g. Japan, Australia), some information extending back over the last 40 years, and with some as far as to 1873. Every fortnight, CSRs of BSH/DOD and ICES are synchronised. BSH/DOD has developed and now operates an on-line system for SeaDataNet partners entering and updating Cruise Summary Reports ‘CSROnline’ directly by Chief Scientists, and also for handling CSRs, delivered by NODCs in an agreed XML format. In addition, BSH/DOD offers searching of the CSR database via the ‘CSR Retrieval’ facility. Both the CSR entry and the CSR retrieval facilities are hosted at a dedicated server at BSH/DOD, but can be accessed via the Sea-Search portal (www.sea-search.net).