II MEDAR/MEDATLAS Workshop Nicosia (Cyprus), December 12-15, 2000

1. MAST/MEDAR-MEDATLASMediterranean Data Archaeology and Rescue of Temperature, Salinity and Bio-chemical Parameters(MAS3-CT98--0174/ERBIC20-CT98-0103)Overview of two years of concerted data management in the Mediterrean and Black Seaby Catherine MAILLARD, project coordinator, IFREMER/SISMER II MEDAR/MEDATLAS Workshop Nicosia (Cyprus), December 12-15, 2000 1

2. IFREMER/SISMER Brest, France UL/GHERLiège, Belgium ICESCopenhaguen, Dk RIHMI-WDCObninsk, Russia MHI/MISTSevastopol, Ukraine IINOGS/DOGATrieste, Italy IOCParis, France ENEALa Spezia, Italy IOFSplit, Croatia TU/NOCTbilisi, Georgia NIMHSofia, Bulgaria CNR/ISAOBologne, Italy IEO Madrid, Spain TN/DNHOIstanbul, Turkey NCMR/HNODCAthens, Hellas UM-POMsida, Malta ISMALAlger, Algeria NCSR-NCMSBatroun, Lebanon INSTMSalammbo, Tunisia FD-MANRE/CyNODCNicosia, Cyprus INRH/DOA Casablanca, Morocco IOLRHaifa, Israel NIOF/ENODCAlexandria, Egypt MEDAR GROUP Collaborations and Scientific Advisers : GODAR Project - WDC-A, IODE Network, SHOM, EUROGOOS, MODB

3. Questions Asked and Needs • Managing living and non-living resources, monitoring environmental changes in the sea and protecting the marine environment, require long time series of observations of: Dissolved Oxygen: low oxygen levels in the upper layers, can result in reduction of higher life forms, release of toxic forms of metals and pathology in living organisms. Nutrients: changes in nutrient fluxes can alter primary production and bio-diversity, and can directly affect aquaculture and fishing activity. Temperature and Salinity:  are the primary indicators of climate change and allow the computation of other derived parameters such as density, sound velocity, and geostrophic current, widely used in scientific and technical studies. • The need for marine database and appropriate data management is particularly crucial in the Mediterranean and Black Sea : for environmental studies, for qualification of new data that requires statistics of expected values, for initialisation and qualification of numerical models • When the project started, not all of the data collected by the scientific laboratories of the bordering countries were inventoried and safeguarded. Data never archived in a public data bank are in danger of being lost. Studies show that without appropriate safeguarding, about 30% of them will be lost within 10 years. Data collected in variable environment cannot be remade.

4. Objectives and Tasks • Task 1: to inventory from a common cruise catalogue, compile, safeguard and make available historical data sets of : Temperature, Salinity, Oxygen, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, Total Nitrogen, Phosphate, Total Phosphorus, Silicate, H2S, pH, Alkalinity, Chlorophyll-a • Task 2: to make the archived data sets comparable and compatible by using the common MEDATLAS protocol for formatting and quality checking • QC involves automatic and visual checks and takes into account regional statistics • Task 3 : to prepare and disseminate qualified value added products by developing and using efficient gridding, and mapping methodology developed with the Variational Inverse Model of MODB (MAS2-CT93-0075-BE) • Task 4: to publish the observed data, gridded data, maps, software and documentation on CDrom for further scientific, educational, industrial, governmental use • Task 5: to develop and document a common methodology for data and meta-data formatting and qualifying, in conformity with the internationally agreed standards. This protocol aims to be adapted to the historical data management of different data types, as well as new real time data.

5. MEDAR TASKS

6. Time Schedule and Data Flow Data Flow • Bench Mark 1 : test the format of national data sets • Bench Mark 2 : test the format, codes and overall coherence between regional QC centres and the global assembling centre • Bench Mark 3 : test of the bio-chemical data sets processing • Bench Marck 4 : test of the complete data set and the full processing Final processing of the complete data set • Reference protocol manual Time Schedule

7. Definition of a Common Protocol for data formatting, checking and processing (Task V) • Objective : to insure coherence and compatibility between data sets from various sources • Methodology : • development of existing international standards (IOC, ICES, MAST) • workshop and job training in regional intercalibrated data centres • Content • common MEDATLAS exchange format, which According to ICES/IOC should: • be autodescriptive • be independant of the computer • be flexible and accept (almost) any number of parameters • keep track of the source and history of the data • allow the processing of each profile independantly • quality checks procedure with automatic and visual checks, and quality flags as a result This protocol is now used in several Mediterranean projects

8. Medatlas Format

9. 2 5 9 1 3 4 0 No QC Correct Inconsistent Changed Missing Doubtful Bad Quality Checks • CHECKS • QC-0 : check the format : coherence of station date, time, latitude, longitude, cruise header, conformity of the codes for ship, data type, parameters names & units .. • QC-1 : check of the time and location, search for duplicates • QC-2 : check the data points • RESULTS = ELIMINATION OR QUALITY FLAG (GTSPP)

10. QC-1 : check of the time, location & duplicates Automatic Checks Result Duplicate data sets E Date E or Ship velocity E or Location/shoreline E or Bottom sounding (ETOPO5) E= Elimination = Correction/Interpolation = Flag doubtful value

11. QC-2 : check of the data points Automatic Checks Result Pressure record only E Out of the regional scale (min & max values) Increasing pressure Data below the bottom depth Coherence with pre-existing statistics(LEVITUS, MODB, MEDATLAS) No constant profiles Spikes Vertical stability E= Elimination

12. Regional Assembling and Quality Checks (Task II)

13. Global Assembling, Processing, Products (Task III) • Global Assembling & Processing • Final QC : format, duplicates • Extraction of data flagged to 1 • Interpolation at standard levels • Mapping of the annual, seasonnal and monthly data position distribution • Edition of the Final Product on Cdrom including observed and gridded data files, documentation, maps and software tools

14. Task IV: Objective Analysis - Climatologies • VIM Software adaptations • Climatological Computations by VIM and Mapping • QC of T/S and bio-chemical climatological gridded analysed data • Software dissemination & documentation

15. Networking

16. MEDAR Network and Links

18. 6-Month Meetings and Reports • Kick-Off Meeting • March 22-23, 1999 Institut Océanographique, Paris • 1st Steering Committee • Workshops on Quality Control • workshop for the Eastern and Black Sea, Nov 29- Dec 10, 1999, NCMR/HNODC, Athens, Greece - 2nd Steering Committee • workshop for the Western-Central Basins, 22 Nov-4 Dec, IFREMER/SISMER, Brest • Regional Workpackage Meetings • 3rd MEDAR/MEDATLAS Steering Committee • Albena Conference Centre, Varna, Bulgaria, June 29-30, 2000 • II MEDAR Workshop • Cyprus, December 12-15 2000 • Workshop on Climatological Analysis & Mapping Final Workshop

19. Presentations to scientific Meetings • IOC -IODE XVI Conference, Lisbon 31 Octobre – 6 Novembre 2000 - presentation and summary • EUROCEAN 2000, 29 August-2 September 2000, Hamburg MEDAR Synopsis & poster won a price • CYCLOPS Workshop, 21-23 May 2000, Haifa - presentation «  MEDAR/MEDATLAS II - The Phosphate in the Historical Data Sets • International MEDGOOS Conference, 1-3 November 1999, Rabat MEDAR/MEDATLASII Presentation • GODAR 1999, Washington : 2 papers presented • RECENT EFFORTS FOR THE RESCUE OF OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA ARCHIVE FOR THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA, Balopoulos E., et al. • MEDAR/MEDATLAS, MEDAR Group, Maillard et al. • New York Conference, 1999, MEDAR/MEDATLAS II presented by G. Manzella • Oceanography of the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea International Conference, Athens, 23-26 February, 1999 Rescuing Oceanographic Data and Strengthening the Mediterranean Data Management Structure : the MAST/MEDAR-MEDATLAS Concerted Action (MAS3-CT98--0174/ERBIC20-CT98-0103), MEDAR Group, presented by Catherine MAILLARD • Workshop on "Operational Oceanography and Integration into International Activities", Batroun, Lebanon, December 9-11 1998, MEDAR/MEDATLAS II presented by C. MAILLARD • Training Course on Oceanographic Data Management for Trainers from Eastern Europe and the Former Republics of the Soviet Union, Obninsk, July 1998, MEDAR/MEDATLAS II presented by C. MAILLARD

20. MEDAR/MEDATLAS II FUTURE AND LONG TERM OBJECTIVES • 1. to contribute to improve the overall level of data quality by developing and standardising common protocols for data management and data exchange, especially for handling oxygen and nutrients data • 2. to decrease the time lag between data collection and data release, and facilitate the further use of the data among different scientific, operational and industrial communities • Importance of archiving data before they become archaeological • Importance of publishing regular updates of the database • 3. to develop a distributed data management structure trained in data qualifying, processing, mapping, archiving and communication • Capacity building for real time & delayed mode data management • A database and a tool for the operational oceanography and the modelisation of the Mediteranean Sea  More Information : www.ifremer.fr/medar

21. DISSEMINATION OF THE MEDAR/MEDATLAS RESULTS • During the project implementation • Data servicing at each NODC/DNA through Medatlas I release + releasable new national data • Web site : http://www.ifremer.fr/medar/ and hyperlinked websites for meta-data, data requests and dissemination of information • Promotionof the project through IOC mechanisms and participation to scientific meetings & exhibitions • After the project completion • MEDAR/Medatlas II data set published on Cdrom • Format and QC protocol published and disseminated with IOC manuals • Access to data, data products and information at the NODC/DNA for at least 5 year

22. QC-2 : check of the data points Automatic Checks Result Pressure records only E Out of the regional scale (min & max values) Increasing pressure Data below the bottom depth Coherence with pre-existing statistics(LEVITUS, MODB, MEDATLAS) No constant profiles Spikes Vertical stability E= Elimination

23. Project History and Context • UNESCO/IOC/IODE : International Oceanographic Data & Information Exchange • 1993 : Global Oceanographic Data Archaeology and Rescue Project (GODAR) launched • April 1995 : GODAR IV - IOC-ICSU-CEC Regional Workshop for Member States of the Mediterranean, Malta. UNESCO-IOC Report No 110 • Dec 1996 : Mediterranean Data Archaeology and Rescue of temperature, salinity and bio-chemical parameter (MEDAR), officially endorsed by IOC • May 1997 : Joint IOC, EC/MAST and Turkish Data Centre MEDAR/MEDATLAS Meeting, Istanbul. IOC/INF-1084 summary report • EC/MAST : Marine Science and Technology Programme • MODB (MAS2-CT93-0075, 1995-1996) • MEDATLAS Pilot Project (MAS2-CT93-0074, 1994-1997) • MEDAR/MEDATLAS II project submitted for a MAST/INCO Concerted action in June 1997, accepted for a 3-year support period December 1998 to 2001 • March 1999 : Kick-off Meeting in Paris

24. Task V : Quality Assurance Assesments • MEDAR/MEDATLAS protocol - Quality Assurance Manual for Observed data, climatological data, inventory • A Contribution to the development of International Standards for Marine Information Management • Based on existing international Reference Manuals • UNESCO/IOC/IODE & MAST, 1993 : Manual of Quality control procedures for validation of oceanographic data. Manual and Guides 26. • UNESCO/IOC & ICSU, 1991 : Manual on Oceanographic Data Exchange. Manual and Guides 9 • UNESCO 1987 : Un format général pour les données relative à l’environnement terrestre. Description du format GF3 et des tables de code; Manuels et guides 17. • UNESCO/SCOR/ICES/IAPSO 1983 : Algorigthms for comuputation of fundamental properties of seawater. Technical papers in marine science 44 • Ref : UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, 1994. IODE Handbook. Committee on International Oceanograhich Data and Information Exchange • Workshops • QC workshop for observed data : Brest and Athens 1999 • Objective Analysis and Mapping : Liège