An Environmental Information Life Cycle: Managing Water Data from Collection to Public Understanding
Oral Presentation
Prepared by D. Young1, W. Davis2
1 - U.S. EPA Office of Water, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20460, United States
2 - U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Information, 701 Maples Road, Ft. Meade, MD, 20755, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 202-566-1214
ABSTRACT
Managing data and data sharing is often an afterthought to data collection. Data often end up in spreadsheets, are used for the one purpose for which they were collected, and then archived in a way that may be hard to retrieve. When the decision is made to share that information with someone else, there may not be enough metadata to allow for another person to be able to use the data. Collected data have an inherent value that often goes beyond the original purpose of the data being collected. When data are managed in a way that allows for easy data discovery, contains the proper documentation to allow for reuse, and is shared in an easily understandable format, that data becomes even more valuable. EPA’s Office of Environmental Information and Office of Water have been working together to enable a network to allow for this data discovery, documentation, and sharing. This presentation will discuss the concepts behind following an Environmental Information Life Cycle, and provide an example of how this is implemented with water quality monitoring data.
The Office of Water has developed the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) to enable the exchange of water quality monitoring data. This has worked very well for exchanging water quality monitoring data. It was specifically designed for exchanging field measurements, physical/chemical sampling data, and biological and habitat sampling data. The Office of Water is also beginning to explore how to enable a data sharing network for sensor data as part of WQX. In addition to this, EPA has worked closely with USGS as part of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council to develop the Water Quality Data Portal which allows for easy access to water quality monitoring data from both USGS and EPA. By following the principles outlined in an Information Life Cycle, EPA has been able to develop a network for allowing data to be easily discoverable and reusable, thereby maintaining the investment in the original data collection
Oral Presentation
Prepared by D. Young1, W. Davis2
1 - U.S. EPA Office of Water, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20460, United States
2 - U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Information, 701 Maples Road, Ft. Meade, MD, 20755, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 202-566-1214
ABSTRACT
Managing data and data sharing is often an afterthought to data collection. Data often end up in spreadsheets, are used for the one purpose for which they were collected, and then archived in a way that may be hard to retrieve. When the decision is made to share that information with someone else, there may not be enough metadata to allow for another person to be able to use the data. Collected data have an inherent value that often goes beyond the original purpose of the data being collected. When data are managed in a way that allows for easy data discovery, contains the proper documentation to allow for reuse, and is shared in an easily understandable format, that data becomes even more valuable. EPA’s Office of Environmental Information and Office of Water have been working together to enable a network to allow for this data discovery, documentation, and sharing. This presentation will discuss the concepts behind following an Environmental Information Life Cycle, and provide an example of how this is implemented with water quality monitoring data.
The Office of Water has developed the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) to enable the exchange of water quality monitoring data. This has worked very well for exchanging water quality monitoring data. It was specifically designed for exchanging field measurements, physical/chemical sampling data, and biological and habitat sampling data. The Office of Water is also beginning to explore how to enable a data sharing network for sensor data as part of WQX. In addition to this, EPA has worked closely with USGS as part of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council to develop the Water Quality Data Portal which allows for easy access to water quality monitoring data from both USGS and EPA. By following the principles outlined in an Information Life Cycle, EPA has been able to develop a network for allowing data to be easily discoverable and reusable, thereby maintaining the investment in the original data collection
