DataONE

Data Observation Network for Earth (DataONE) is a platform for innovative, collaborative environmental and ecological science, using sustainable cyberinfrastructure and a distributed framework to provide open, robust, persistent and secure access to Earth observational data. Supported by funding from the National Science Foundation as one of the initial DataNet programs in 2009, DataONE works to ensure the preservation, access, use, and reuse of multi-discipline scientific data through the construction of primary cyberinfrastructure elements and the expansion of a broad and relevant education and outreach program. Currently in its second phase of funding, DataONE provides scientific data archiving for ecological and environmental data produced by scientists worldwide. DataONE's stated goal is to preserve and provide access to multi-scale, multi-discipline, and multi-national data. The global community of users for DataONE includes scientists, ecosystem managers, policy makers, students, educators, librarians, and the public.

DataONE links together existing cyberinfrastructure to provide a distributed framework, sound management, and robust technologies that enable long-term preservation of diverse multi-scale, multi-discipline, and multi-national observational data. The distributed framework is composed of Coordinating Nodes currently located at the Oak Ridge Campus at Tennessee, University of California Santa Barbara, and University of New Mexico, and many Member Nodes, located globally. DataONE also provides resources including: an Investigator Tool Kit that gives the DataONE users community tools for accessing and using DataONE efficiently.

The three Coordinating Nodes provide network-wide services to Member Nodes. They are geographically replicated, with mirrored content and full copies of science metadata. The three Coordinating Nodes are:

The Member Nodes consist of Earth observing institutions, projects, and networks. They provide resources for their own data and replicated data, and focus on serving their specific constituencies. These member nodes are geographically distributed and consist of diverse implementations. Current Member Nodes include:

The Tool Kit provides tools for researchers to access DataONE. These are both general purpose and discipline-specific tools, and DataONE developers adapt existing tools where possible. The Tool Kit includes Java and Python libraries, an R programming language plug-in for analysis, extensions for Excel, the VisTrails scientific workflow, and the Kepler scientific workflow system.

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