Long-Term Research Data Management: Ocean Tracking Network (OTN)

OTN is a $168-million ocean research and technology development platform headquartered at Dalhousie University, Canada. Using acoustic and satellite telemetry to globally document the movements and survival of aquatic animals, and their environmental correlates.

Improvements in technology enable higher precision and coverage in data acquisition – increasing the importance of managing, integrating, and re-using data.

National research funding bodies, around the world now increasingly require their grant-holders to have formal standardized Data Management Plans (DMPs), standards and tools for which did not exist when OTN was first developed.  OTN used Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) principles and guidelines as a basis for policies covering the sharing of data but is now using Digital Curation Centre (DCC), DMP Online for OTN’s future data management.

OTN’s long-term research data management planning with regards to data life cycle component STORE has implications throughout the life cycle as planning, collection, assuring, documenting, sharing, analysis require knowing the storing details to permit proper preservation, interoperability, discovery and distribution.  We will present the reasoning for and methods used by OTN for storing so as to also have the flexibility needed for changing requirements in data collection and interoperability.