Increasingly, data portals are aggregating or federating feeds of data from many sources, as they attempt to provide comprehensive access to particular kinds of data for their users, and as part of a “collect once, use many times” ethos. As these aggregations proliferate, it is increasingly important to document these data flows and provenance, both to maximise the transparency of a data portal to its users and to help data managers identify potential duplications of datasets, QC/QF processes, and gaps in their data holdings. We also recognize that ease of user access should be consistent across aggregators. In this session, we will identify existing tools and best practices to document that information, and decide on a process for documenting data flows, using SOOSmap as an example aggregation.

Please note that this is a joint session with the IOC-UNESCO Ocean Best Practices System's Fifth Annual Community Workshop and subject to their Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.