Joint Data and Information Management Plan

Deli e able 1.1
Join Da a and In o ma ion Managemen
Plan
1
Da e o deli e y
Dan Lea (MBA), Ka ina Ex e (VLIZ), Paolo Tagliola o (CNR), Pie e P o oos (UNESCO), Rob Ba y
(AWI)
PUBLIC
Funded by he Eu opean Union unde he Ho izon Eu ope P og amme, G an Ag eemen No. 101082021 (MARCO-BOLO). Views and opinions
exp essed a e howe e hose o he au ho (s) only and do no necessa ily e lec hose o he Eu opean Union o Eu opean Resea ch Execu i e
Agency (REA). Nei he he Eu opean Union no he g an ing au ho i y can be held esponsible o hem.
UK pa icipan s in MARCO-BOLO a e suppo ed by he UKRI’s Ho izon Eu ope Gua an ee unde he G an No. 10068180 (MS); No. 10063994
Re . A es(2025)4613367 - 10/06/2025
2
Documen In o ma ion
G an Ag eemen
101082021
P ojec Ac onym
MARCO-BOLO
P ojec Ti le
MARine COas al BiOdi e si y Long- e m Obse a ions
Deli e able Numbe
D1.1
Wo k Package Numbe
WP1
Deli e able Ti le
Join Da a and In o ma ion Managemen Plan
Lead Bene icia y
MBA, Pa ne Numbe
Au ho (s)
Dan Lea (MBA), Ka ina Ex e (VLIZ), Paolo Tagliola o (CNR), Pie e P o oos
(UNESCO), Rob Ba y (AWI)
Due Da e
30.11.2024
Submission Da e
29.05.2025
Dissemina ion Le el
Public1
Type o Deli e able
Repo 2
Ve sion 1
29.05.2025, Dan Lea (MBA)
1
Dissemina ion le el (DELETE ACCORDINGLY): PU: Public, SEN: Sensi i e, CL: EU Classi ied, in o ma ion as e e ed o in
Eu opean Commission Decision 2015/844
2
Type o deli e able (DELETE ACCORDINGLY): R: Documen , Repo , DEM: Demons a ion, pilo , p o o ype, DEC: Websi e,
pa en iling ideos, DMP: Da a Managemen Plan, E hics: E hics deli e able
3
Execu i e Summa y
The MARCO-BOLO p ojec (MARine COas al BiOdi e si y Long- e m Obse a ions) aims o enhance
he in eg a ion, accessibili y, and in e ope abili y o ma ine biodi e si y da a ac oss Eu ope and
globally. This deli e able, D1.1, ou lines he p ojec 's Join Da a and In o ma ion Managemen Plan,
which se es as a ounda ional amewo k o managing da a gene a ed and mobilised by he
p ojec .
The plan is buil a ound he p inciples o FAIR da a (Findable, Accessible, In e ope able, Reusable),
and whe e app op ia e he CARE, and TRUST p inciples, addi ionally alignmen wi h he UN Ocean
Decade Da a and In o ma ion S a egy is planned. The plan p omo es he use o Linked Open Da a
(LOD) and seman ic web s anda ds such as JSON-LD o ensu e b oad accessibili y and machine-
eadabili y o me ada a.
Key componen s o he plan include:
 Alignmen wi h global s anda ds such as Essen ial Ocean Va iables (EOVs) and Essen ial
Biodi e si y Va iables (EBVs), ensu ing da a ele ance and in e ope abili y.
 Suppo o da a-gene a ing wo k packages h ough aining, ools, and engagemen
ac i i ies o imp o e da a li e acy and s anda disa ion.
 Use o pe sis en iden i ie s (PIDs) and communi y-s anda d ocabula ies o ensu e long-
e m aceabili y and euse o da a.
 In eg a ion wi h global and egional eposi o ies like OBIS, GBIF, EMODne , and Zenodo o
ensu e long- e m p ese a ion and disco e abili y.
 P o enance acking and me ada a ans o ma ion wo k lows o documen da a o igins and
p ocessing s eps.
 Communi y engagemen wi h global in as uc u es and linked-da a communi ies o align
p ac ices and sha e inno a ions.
The plan also add esses challenges such as digi al li e acy gaps, me ada a s anda disa ion, and he
need o sus ainable da a in as uc u e. I ecommends he de elopmen o a long- e m Pe sis en
Iden i ie Se ice o suppo u u e p ojec s.
O e all, his deli e able se s he s age o a obus , in e ope able, and sus ainable ma ine
biodi e si y da a ecosys em, suppo ing e idence-based ocean go e nance and conse a ion e o s.
4
Con en s
Execu i e Summa y ................................................................................................................................. 3
1. Objec i e ........................................................................................................................................ 6
2. Key P inciples ................................................................................................................................. 6
3. Open Da a App oaches .................................................................................................................. 6
4. Alignmen wi h Essen ial Va iables & Indica o s ........................................................................... 8
Essen ial Ocean Va iables ................................................................................................................... 9
Essen ial Biodi e si y Va iables ........................................................................................................ 10
MARCO-BOLO Da a Gene a ing Wo k Packages............................................................................... 12
5. (Me a)da a T ans o ma ion ......................................................................................................... 13
Use o seman ic web s anda ds (JSON-LD) ....................................................................................... 13
6. Challenges .................................................................................................................................... 17
Digi al li e acy challenges ................................................................................................................. 17
P o enance Me ada a Model ........................................................................................................... 17
Agg ega ed Da ase s ......................................................................................................................... 18
Licensing ............................................................................................................................................ 18
Emba goed Da a ............................................................................................................................... 18
Pe sis en Iden i ie s ......................................................................................................................... 19
Reuse o OceanExpe Iden i ie s ..................................................................................................... 21
Da ase Me ada a In e ope abili y ................................................................................................... 21
7. Communi y Engagemen .............................................................................................................. 24
The Wide RDF & Linked-da a Communi ies .................................................................................... 24
8. Da a S o age, P ese a ion, and Long- e m Accessibili y ............................................................ 24
ODIS….. .............................................................................................................................................. 24
OBIS….. .............................................................................................................................................. 25
GBIF….. .............................................................................................................................................. 25
INSDC.. .............................................................................................................................................. 25
EMODne ........................................................................................................................................... 25
The Ma ine Da a A chi e .................................................................................................................. 26
9. Clima e Impac ............................................................................................................................. 26
5
10. Nex S eps ................................................................................................................................ 26
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 27

6
1. Objec i e
The o e a ching ambi ion o MARCO-BOLO (MARine COas al BiOdi e si y Long- e m Obse a ions) is
o demons a e an enhanced, obus , and s akeholde -d i en app oach o aligning, in eg a ing, and
deli e ing biodi e si y da a and obse ing capaci y. This app oach will p omo e b oad access and
( e)use by connec ing exis ing capabili y h ough inno a ion ac oss he ma ine biodi e si y alue
chain: om obse a ion and da a collec ion o da a managemen . These ad ancemen s will be key
o building he biological componen o he coas al and ma ine Ea h Obse a ion In as uc u e in
Eu ope, deli e ing mapping, moni o ing and da a access o suppo in eg a ed ecosys em
assessmen s in Eu ope. The hea o he biodi e si y da a challenge is he shee he e ogenei y o he
da a i sel . “Biodi e si y da a” is no a single da a ype o d awn om a ixed se o sou ces: any da a
in which he p esence o a li e o m, o aces he eo , can be eco ded o de ec ed can be classi ied
as biodi e si y da a. (Bio)chemical da a, sequence in o ma ion, acous ics, emo ely-sensed ocean
colou , empe a u e, image y, and ideog aphy a e jus a ew sou ces o da a which may be used o
assess biodi e si y. Consequen ly, biodi e si y da a a e mul i- and ansdisciplina y, s ewa ded by
di e se o ganisa ions, and widely sca e ed. High agmen a ion o da a acquisi ion, handling, and
s o age ine i ably c ea e p oblems in da a managemen and deli e y, es ic ing in e ope abili y (a
di e en le els/scales) and (in he ma ine ealm) limi ing oppo uni ies o ad ance knowledge on
coas al p ocesses and esou ce managemen . Fu he mo e, he sus ainabili y o isola ed o
agmen ed coas al moni o ing sys ems is e y agile. The MARCO-BOLO (MBO) ambi ion is o
demons a e how biodi e si y moni o ing asse s can educe agmen a ion o coas al and ma ine
biodi e si y obse a ions and u he enable he use o ag eed in e na ional s anda ds owa ds a
uly in e ope able coas al and ma ine biodi e si y da a ecosys em a bo h Eu opean and global
le els.
2. Key P inciples
The p ojec pa ne s o MARCO-BOLO a e commi ed o engage and wo k wi h he wide communi y
o da a gene a o s, cus odians and use s o co-de elop uly FAIR (me a)da a sys ems. In o de o
acili a e sus ainable and ongoing da a low, such sys ems mus align wi h he s anda ds and
p o ocols o global da a in as uc u es. The key p incipal o ‘Collec and desc ibe once, publish and
use many imes’ is co e o he MARCO-BOLO p ojec and he o e a ching p inciples a e laid ou in
he P ojec Da a Managemen Plan (h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.8208410).
The MARCO-BOLO p ojec is he i s EU p ojec o align i s da a managemen ac i i ies wi h he UN
Ocean Decade Da a and In o ma ion S a egy Implemen a ion plan and as such suppo s he h ee
main p inciples o E hics, Compe ency and Mul ila e alism, along wi h he a o emen ioned FAIR
p inciples and he CARE and TRUST p inciples whe e ele an
3. Open Da a App oaches
A p oac i e app oach o he p omo ion o Linked Open Da a (LOD) and in e ope abili y media ed
h ough es ablished Web echnologies ensu es ha MARCO-BOLO de i ed and mobilised (me a)da a
7
can be accessible by he wides ange o end-use s and a a a ie y o poin s along ope a ional da a
pipelines.
Le e aging hose s anda ds endo sed by he Wo ld Wide Web Conso ium p o ides he wides
po en ial in e ope abili y o MARCO-BOLO (me a)da a. Fo example JSON-LD is a ligh weigh , JSON-
based se ialisa ion o ma o RDF designed o s uc u e and link da a b oadly ac oss he web. I helps
de elope s ep esen da a in a machine- eadable way ha is easily unde s ood by sea ch engines,
applica ions, and o he sys ems beyond he en i onmen al domain.
By u ilising JSON-LD MARCO-BOLO is suppo ing and p omo ing he ad ancemen o academic da a
wi h espec o he adop ion o he Linked Open Da a app oach.
Fig 1: The 5 S a Open Da a model
Tim Be ne s-Lee's Fi e-S a Open Da a app oach is a simple amewo k designed o encou age
o ganisa ions and go e nmen s o make hei da a mo e open and accessible, especially on he web.
Each "s a " le el ep esen s an inc easing deg ee o openness and usabili y:
★ : Da a is a ailable online in any o ma , e en i no s uc u ed (e.g., a PDF o image). This le el
makes he da a accessible o anyone, bu i migh no be easy o use.
★★ : Da a is a ailable in a s uc u ed o ma , like an Excel shee , which allows o some basic
so ing and il e ing.
★★★ : Da a is sha ed in a non-p op ie a y, open o ma (e.g., CSV ins ead o Excel), making i
easie o anyone o use wi hou needing speci ic so wa e.
8
★★★★ : Da a uses URIs (Uni o m Resou ce Iden i ie s) o indi idual i ems, making each i em
uniquely add essable on he web. This app oach enables people o link di ec ly o da a
elemen s.
★★★★★ : Da a is linked o o he da ase s, c ea ing a web o in e linked, open da a. This le el
maximises he da a’s u ili y by allowing connec ions ac oss da ase s, making i much easie o
in eg a e, analyse, and ind pa e ns.
Be ne s-Lee's model emphasises g adually imp o ing da a quali y and accessibili y, ul ima ely aiming
o c ea e a linked, open, and ichly in e connec ed da a ecosys em on he web.
JSON-LD suppo s his model as ollows
★ : JSON-LD suppo s basic da a a ailabili y on he web, as i is easily publishable online in a
simple JSON o ma . This makes he da a accessible and usable h ough a widely accep ed
o ma ha ’s simple o mos de elope s.
★★: JSON-LD is a s uc u ed o ma , allowing da a o be o ganise in key- alue pai s. This
s uc u e is machine- eadable, making i easie o pa se and p ocess han uns uc u ed da a,
such as PDFs o plain ex .
★★★: JSON-LD is an open, non-p op ie a y o ma , i ing he equi emen o an open o ma
a he h ee-s a le el. This means anyone can use i wi hou speci ic so wa e cons ain s, and i
is compa ible ac oss pla o ms.
★★★★: JSON-LD le e ages URIs o iden i y en i ies wi hin he da a, which means ha each
elemen can be uniquely iden i ied on he web. This ea u e aligns wi h he ou -s a app oach,
making da a elemen s add essable and allowing hem o be e e enced o linked ex e nally.
★★★★★: JSON-LD’s main ad an age is i s ocus on linked da a, enabling he in eg a ion o
da a wi h o he da ase s on he web. JSON-LD p o ides a s anda dised way o link da a elemen s
o o he da ase s, os e ing a web o in e linked, open da a ha ul ils he i e-s a app oach. By
using ocabula ies like Schema.o g, JSON-LD allows da a o be unde s ood wi hin a b oade
con ex and easily in eg a ed wi h o he da ase s.
4. Alignmen wi h Essen ial Va iables & Indica o s
The MARCO-BOLO p ojec aims o enable echnologies o accu a e biodi e si y obse a ions and
imp o e da a acquisi ion, ocusing on Essen ial Ocean Va iables (EOVs), Essen ial Biodi e si y
Va iables (EBVs), and o he ele an indica o s, eg MSFD.
9
Figu e 2- Concep ual o e lap o Essen ial Va iables
Essen ial Ocean Va iables
The Global Ocean Obse ing Sys em (GOOS) has de ined a se o Essen ial Ocean Va iables (EOVs) o
moni o and unde s and ocean biodi e si y, ocusing on key biological and ecological aspec s
alongside hose EOVs o Physics and Biochemis y
3
. The biodi e si y- ela ed EOVs a e designed o
cap u e in o ma ion abou he abundance, dis ibu ion, and heal h o ma ine species, ecosys ems,
and habi a s. Key biodi e si y- ocused EOVs co e :
1. Plank on: This includes bo h phy oplank on and zooplank on communi ies, as hese
o ganisms o m he base o he oceanic ood web and a e sensi i e indica o s o ocean
heal h and clima e changes.
2. Fish: The moni o ing o ish biomass and dis ibu ion helps o unde s and ma ine ecosys em
heal h, assess ishe ies' sus ainabili y, and ack he impac s o clima e change on ish
popula ions.
3
h ps://goosocean.o g/wha -we-do/ amewo k/essen ial-ocean- a iables/
16
Name
schema.o g equi alen
p ope y
Desc ip ion
Agen Key
iden i ie
As used in he o he shee s. Please jus use A-Z
and no spaces
Type
d : ype
"Pe son", "O ganiza ion", o "P ojec ". Ma co-
Bolo, o example, is a P ojec , while EMBRC is
an O ganiza ion.
ID
iden i ie
P e e ably ORCID o pe sons, ROR o EDMO o
o ganiza ions. En e he ull URL o he ID
Name
name
Fi s name las name(s) o pe sons (wi hou a
"," be ween he wo), o O ganisa ion o P ojec
ull name
A ilia ionAgen Key
A ilia ionAgen Key
Fo pe sons only, en e hei o ganiza ion
a ilia ion he e. Then make su e ha
o ganiza ion is also lis ed in his shee , and use
hei "Agen Key" he e
URL
u l
A URL o he agen . Fo o ganisa ions and
p ojec s his is equi ed, o people i is op ional
Email
email
Con ac email add ess ( o ques ions ela ed o
he da ase )
Coun y
wo kLoca ion
Coun y o he agen 's add ess. Use he ISO 2-
le e code
(h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/ISO_3166-
1_alpha-2)
Table 2. Manda o y Agen me ada a elemen s
Cu en ly sc ip s c ea ed by MARCO-BOLO and hos ed in he MBO Gi Hub eposi o y
5
ans o m he
sp eadshee me ada a empla es in o JSON-LD o ha es ing and disco e y ia ODIS.
Da a and so wa e p oduced wi hin he p ojec will also be equi ed o be published in he mos
ele an eposi o ies, and me ada a o hese will also be placed in OIH ollowing ou ODIS-based
s anda ds. Fo so wa e, i is expec ed ha he le el o li e acy ela ing o JSON-LD will be highe ,
and ex empla es o desc ibing hose so wa e na i ely will be p o ided di ec ly o he WPs o ill
in, upon which hey will be made a ailable o ODIS ia OIH.
5
h ps://gi hub.com/ma co-bolo

17
6. Challenges
Digi al li e acy challenges
Da a li e acy wi hin he ma ine biodi e si y communi y aces se e al challenges ha ha e limi ed
e ec i e da a use, sha ing, and analysis. Many esea che s do no adi ionally ha e s ong
backg ounds in da a managemen , digi al ools, o s a is ical so wa e. Addi ionally, he di e se and
o en complex da a o ma s his o ically used in ma ine science—such as gene ic da a, species
occu ence eco ds, o mo e gene al oceanog aphic measu emen s—ha e made i di icul o
manage and s anda dise da a o e ec i e analysis and in eg a ion and wide adop ion o globally
in e ope able FAIR da a p inciples.
The e ha e also p e iously been limi a ions on access o da a science aining and esou ces, which
u he hampe s e o s o adop da a-d i en me hods and open da a p ac ices. As a esul , hese
limi a ions ha e c ea ed ba ie s o collabo a i e esea ch, da a sha ing, and b oade use o ma ine
biodi e si y da a o conse a ion and policy-making. In pa his is mi iga ed by pla o ms such as
he OceanTeache Global Academy (OTGA). The OTGA is a global capaci y-building ini ia i e led by
he In e go e nmen al Oceanog aphic Commission (IOC) o UNESCO and con ains ee, online
cou ses aimed a inc easing digi al li e acy and amilia i y wi h he key, UN endo sed in as uc u es
including ODIS, OBIS and EMODne . P o iding specialised aining in oceanog aphic and ma ine
science opics h ough online cou ses, in-pe son wo kshops, and a ne wo k o egional aining
cen es. OTGA suppo s sus ainable ocean managemen by imp o ing knowledge and skills in a eas
such as ma ine biodi e si y, da a managemen , coas al zone managemen , and ma ine policy.
Due o a lack o amilia i y wi h se ialisa ion o ma s such as JSON-LD, i has been necessa y o WP1
o c ea e and suppo in e media e s eps in he s anda disa ion and ans o ma ion o (me a)da a.
The addi ional wo k has delayed he publica ion o MARCO-BOLO me ada a whils he de elopmen
wo k ook place. Howe e challenges emain in he encou agemen o da a gene a ing MBO WPs in
he comp ehensi e and imely comple ion o he s anda dised sp eadshee s.
P o enance Me ada a Model
The MBO p ojec aims o collec p o enance me ada a which should hold:
● a minimum: a high-le el se ies o disc e e s eps which desc ibe he p ocesses and
ans o ma ions which we e applied o he da a inpu s and esul ed in he c ea ion o he
published da ase ; his should be exp essed in a minimalis ashion, bu con ain su icien
de ail ha a easonably in o med membe o he ield could p oduce a close app oxima ion
o he published da ase wi hou being p i y o he speci ic ools and con igu a ions used in
i s gene a ion.
● in mos ci cums ances: e e ences linking each o he high-le el s eps o he speci ic
applica ions, sp eadshee s, sc ip s, and any ele an pa ame e s o con igu a ion which
would enable a easonably in o med audi o o execu e, wi h minimal addi ional wo k, each
s ep used o gene a e he published da ase .
18
In o de o mee hese goals and a he same ime ensu e ha he p o enance me ada a s uc u e is
well ma ched and su icien ly exp essi e o he app oaches and ools used in he echnical MBO
wo k packages, WP1 has elec ed o consul wi h he echnical wo k packages on he deli e y o his
elemen .
The consul a i e design p ocess will ake he o m o an ini ial s age o use esea ch which will elici
na a i es desc ibing he gene a ion o da ase s simila o hose planned in MBO; hese na a i es
will hen be mapped o WP1's p oposed schema.o g p o enance model; a his poin he o he wo k
packages will be consul ed o ensu e ha he p o enance ep esen a ion holds he in o ma ion
necessa y o mee he goals o MBO's p o enance model.
Agg ega ed Da ase s
Se e al ou pu s om MARCO-BOLO de i e om he agg ega ion o many (some imes hund eds) o
sou ce da ase s. In hese cases i is nei he easible no desi able o c ea e o ully popula e
me ada a eco ds o each indi idual da ase . In hese cases a bulk me ada a eco d is
ecommended. One bulk eco d pe sou ce, o o he p agma ic di ision should be c ea ed.
The Da ase (wi h an a ay linking ou o composi e da ase s in he schema.o g alue space o
hasPa ) and Da aCa alog ypes should be explo ed he e, no ing ha he de ini ion o Da aCa alog is
cu en ly poo ly c a ed and oo gene al. No e e y collec ion o da a se s is s uc u ed in a ca alog.
Fo hi d-pa y da ase s wi h PIDs al eady p esen on he Web, his should be s aigh o wa d. I any
o he sou ce da a se s a e no p o essionally managed (e.g. emailed, ansien ly cloud ans e ed
om one scien is o ano he , kep on an FTP se e wi h no sus ainabili y plan o Linked Open Da a
app oaches, o siloed in a poo ly managed and/o Web-opaque ins i u ional a chi e), we will need
mo e de ails, especially o he esponsible pa y and poin o con ac ..
In he la e case, abo e, MARCO-BOLO pa ne s should a chi e "wild" da a in he MARCO-BOLO
Zenodo space i pe mi ed by he copy igh holde .
Licensing
MBO da a will, by de aul , be made openly accessible in public eposi o ies unde licences
compa ible wi h CC0 o CC-BY. Res ic ions on da a access a e gene ally discou aged; howe e , i
pa ne s equi e es ic ions (such as emba goes) o main ain compe i i e academic s anding, hese
will be documen ed. Access o he da a will be limi ed acco dingly, wi h publicly a ailable me ada a
de ailing he na u e o he es ic ions, hei limi a ions, and plans o e en ual public elease.
I is impo an o ecognise ha da a accessed in he c ea ion o MARCO-BOLO de i ed da a
p oduc s will espec and e lec he licensing a ibu ed by he o iginal c ea o s.
Emba goed Da a
MBO da a should in gene al no be subjec o emba go pe iods, and should be made a ailable a o
be o e he poin o publica ion o any associa ed pape s.
19
The condi ions in which da a may be emba goed a e gene ally limi ed o ci cums ances whe e
ea lie publica ion would p eclude any manda o y comme cial exploi a ion, o whe e publica ion
would lead o an unnecessa y isk o endange ed species. I is expec ed ha any and all e o s will
be aken o ob ia e o educe he need o , and leng h o , any da a emba go pe iod.
Whe e an emba go is pe mi ed, o nego ia ed wi h he CoP, he ollowing condi ions mus be me :
● The emba go pe iod should no las o longe han 12 mon hs om he da e o da a
gene a ion o ha es ing.
● Me ada a mus be published wi hin 1 mon h o he gene a ion o ha es ing o da a, and
mus include as a minimum:
○ Full me ada a desc ibing he da a o he same ex en as would be published
alongside a da ase no subjec o any emba go pe iod.
○ Addi ional me ada a desc ibing he easoning o he need o an emba go pe iod,
he leng h o he emba go pe iod, and he expec ed publica ion da e o he da a.
○ The da ase ’s me ada a mus include a link which, upon comple ion o he emba go
pe iod, esol es o a loca ion he da a can be publicly accessed.
Any emba goed da a should be uploaded o a sui able eposi o y wi h an emba going mechanism
which suppo s denial o public access o he da a p io o he emba go being li ed. Recommended
eposi o ies include he Eu opean Nucleo ide A chi e o nucleo ide sequence in o ma ion, and he
MBO communi y on Zenodo o all o he da a ypes.
Whe e i is easonably necessa y o publish emba goed da a o a eposi o y which is no compa ible
wi h he abo e equi emen s, communi y membe s should make con ac wi h WP1 o eques
suppo in he gene a ion o a pe sis en URL (PID). This pe sis en URL can be lis ed as he da a
access loca ion; i will ini ially display an emba go holding page bu will edi ec o he li e da a a
he end o he emba go pe iod. Responsibili y o he imely p o ision and communica ion o a li e
da a access URL a he end o he emba go pe iod will lie wi h he da a p oduce .
Pe sis en Iden i ie s
The use o globally unique PIDs is key o ensu ing he Findabili y o da a in he FAIR da a app oach;
hey ensu e ha i is possible o sea ch o and unambiguously de e mine he s a emen s which
apply o a gi en en i y. To mee his equi emen , WP1 equi es ha e e y en i y desc ibed in
me ada a which could easonably be eused in ano he con ex mus ha e a globally unique PID; his
is o say ha he anonymous de ini ion o en i ies wi hou PIDs is accep ed so long as hese en i ies
a e ela ed o a single pa en en i y which has a globally unique PID, and ei he :
● he child en i y exis s solely o link o o w ap ano he globally iden i iable e m, o
● i is only possible o in elligibly in e p e he meaning o he child en i y gi en he con ex o
he pa en ; i.e. i would no be possible o make sense o he child en i y independen ly o
he pa en .
20
To ensu e ha Accessibili y o he da a, FAIR manda es ha all PIDs a e e ie able o e an open,
ee and uni e sally implemen able p o ocol. To mee his equi emen WP1 manda es he use o
URLs as iden i ie s using he HTTP, o p e e ably HTTPs p o ocols.
Pe sis en Iden i ie Se ices
In o de o suppo he long- e m alidi y and in e p e abili y o he da a published by he sho -
e m unded p ojec s, such as MARCO-BOLO, i is necessa y o make use o hi d pa y Pe sis en
Iden i ie Se ices which a e hos ed and main ained by o ganisa ions commi ed o he main enance
o hese iden i ie s o e he coming decades o cen u ies.
Wi hou he use o such a sys em, he MBO p ojec PIDs would cease o be de e e encable a he
end o p ojec unding. In essence, wi hou use o a Pe sis en Iden i ie Se ice he URLs used as
iden i ie s by MBO which e u n (by HTTP) in o ma ion necessa y o he co ec in e p e a ion o
o he MBO da a would cease o unc ion; his would esul in a i in he web o linked da a
gene a ed by MBO, making i di icul o impossible o a hi d pa y o co ec ly in e p e he da a
p oduced by his p ojec .
The MARCO-BOLO p ojec makes use o he w3id.o g pe manen iden i ie se ice un by a
conso ium o o ganisa ions which aims o suppo URL PIDs o e he imescale o decades o
cen u ies. Should he loca ion o da a behind a pa icula PID be mo ed, o ins ance a a poin in he
u u e when a da a hos ing solu ion used by he p ojec ceases o unc ion, i will be possible o
edi ec eques s o a gi en PID o an upda ed loca ion whe e he da a can be accessed.
The w3id.o g pe manen iden i ie se ice equi es a deg ee o echnical li e acy in o de o ope a e;
he use o gi , c ea ion o pull eques s and modi ica ion o apache2 `.h access` iles is necessa y in
o de o manage PIDs. The WP1 eam do no belie e ha such a se ice is accessible o he wide
ma ine and oceanog aphic communi ies; u he , he WP1 eam is no awa e o any o he Pe sis en
Iden i ie Se ice which mee s he a o dabili y, eliabili y, longe i y, and echnical accessibili y
equi emen s which would make main aining PIDs accessible o such an audience. The MARCO-
BOLO p ojec he e o e ecommends ha he Ho izon Eu ope p og amme should conside
commissioning, inancing, and main aining an HTTPs-based Pe sis en Iden i ie Se ice o all unded
p ojec s which would mee he accessibili y, longe i y, and eliabili y equi emen s necessa y o
suppo global esea che s o all ields in he a o dable c ea ion and main enance o pe manen
iden i ie s wi h he aspi a ion o suppo such a se ice o a leas he nex wo decades.
MARCO-BOLO Pe sis en Iden i ie s
Pe sis en iden i ie s egis e ed by MBO will be seman ically opaque, i.e. i will no be possible o
in e wha a gi en PID URL ep esen s wi hou que ying he unde lying da a. This will ensu e ha
PIDs emain alid in ci cums ances whe e he name o o he wise iden i ying in o ma ion o he
unde lying en i y changes o e he cou se o ime.
MBO Pe sis en iden i ie s will be o he o m h ps://w3id.o g/ma co-bolo/mbo_0000001 whe e
he slug holds a nume ic ID which may ange om mbo_0000001 o mbo_9999999.
21
Delega ion o PID Owne ship
To suppo he independen wo k o MBO wo k packages PIDs will be pa i ioned in o nume ic
anges. Owne ship o hese nume ic anges will be delega ed o each wo k package so ha decisions
on hei use can be made wi hou cen al con ol.
Indi idual wo k packages a e ee o e e ence hei delega ed PIDs a any ime du ing he p ocess o
me ada a c ea ion and a e esponsible o deciding how and whe e hey a e assigned. A he poin
o me ada a publica ion each wo k package will be equi ed o communica e wi h WP1 o ensu e
ha hei assigned PIDs a e esol able o sui able linked da a esou ces.
Reuse o OceanExpe Iden i ie s
Two key componen s o he FAIR p inciples a e he in e ope abili y and eusabili y o da a; o his
end he MBO p ojec plans o, whe e possible, euse exis ing iden i ie s ela ing o O ganisa ions
and Indi iduals collec ed in he IOC’s OceanExpe sys em. This ob ia es he need o de ine and
main ain an up- o-da e egis y o he indi iduals and ins i u ions which collabo a e wi h o p o ide
da a o he MBO p ojec . Fu he , i p omo es he in e ope abili y o MBO da a wi h o he da ase s
which make use o OceanExpe iden i ie s and he wide IOC da a in as uc u e.
One d awback o elying on he IOC’s OceanExpe sys em is ha egis a ion equi es he inpu and
open publica ion on he web o e e y indi idual con ibu o ’s name, na ionali y, wo k add ess, and
email add ess, amongs o he da a. Publica ion o such pe sonal in o ma ion may ep esen an
unnecessa y isk o some con ibu o s who a e conce ned abou da a p i acy. This may lead o some
indi iduals e using o egis e o an OceanExpe PID; he impac o his would be o educe he
in e ope abili y o some o he MBO da a by equi ing MBO o coin and main ain new PIDs and
associa ed me ada a o hese con ibu o s.
Da ase Me ada a In e ope abili y
The e a e a numbe o in o ma ion sou ces on he web which publish me ada a abou da ase s,
o ganisa ions, esea che s, so wa e applica ions, and o he en i ies ele an o he MBO p ojec 's
published me ada a which i would be help ul o in eg a e in o he MBO da a-g aph. Fo ins ance i
is an icipa ed ha many da ase s used as inpu s o MBO asks will be accessible om ins i u ional
websi es and da a eposi o ies which con ain exis ing me ada a abou who published he da a,
when i was published, which geog aphic a ea i co e s, he ime pe iod i applies o, alongside o he
help ul in o ma ion such as licensing. This me ada a is p esen in a a ie y o o ma s: some being
only human eadable, o he s being machine eadable bu exp essed in o ma s o ocabula ies
incompa ible wi h he ODIS/MBO schema.o g ep esen a ion p o ile, and some da a which is al eady
s o ed in ODIS.
Wo k Package 1 ini ially ag eed o pe o m a limi ed amoun o mapping o exis ing bu incompa ible
me ada a in o ODIS in o de o educe he bu den o da a inpu on he da a deli e ing wo k
packages. Un o una ely, due o he p e iously unan icipa ed high numbe o exis ing da ase s
e e enced ac oss he MBO p ojec , i is no longe p ac ical o WP1 o p o ide help in his way. As a

22
esul me ada a inpu o inpu da ase s is he esponsibili y o he da a p oducing WPs; he minimal
me ada a inpu equi emen s a e as ollows:
Inpu Da ase
Condi ion
Minimum WP Me ada a Inpu Requi emen s
Resul ing Me ada a Quali y
Al eady in ODIS
(likely om EMODne
o OBIS)
Once e e enced by he URI no u he
me ada a desc ibing he da ase is equi ed.
High quali y human and
machine- eadable me ada a
in he ODIS schema.o g
ep esen a ion p o ile.
No in ODIS, bu
me ada a is
a ailable in an
open o ma on
he web.
A da ase de ini ion o agg ega e da ase
de ini ion is equi ed which should de ine:
● he name o he da ase ,
● a URL whe e he da a and me ada a
can be openly accessed, and
● he licensing condi ions.
Addi ional me ada a may be p o ided whe e
desi ed by he WP.
Reasonable quali y human
eadable me ada a. A e y
limi ed amoun o machine-
eadable me ada a in he
ODIS schema.o g
ep esen a ion p o ile.
23
Inpu Da ase
Condi ion
Minimum WP Me ada a Inpu Requi emen s
Resul ing Me ada a Quali y
No openly
accessible on he
web.
A da ase de ini ion o agg ega e da ase
de ini ion is equi ed which should de ine:
● he name o he da ase
● an email add ess o o he con ac
in o ma ion o who and whe e he
da a was eques ed om,
● a desc ip ion o he da a ha was
eques ed by he MBO WP,
● a desc ip ion o he da a ha was
ecei ed by he MBO WP, and
● he licensing condi ions.
Addi ional me ada a may be p o ided whe e
desi ed by he WP.
The da ase i sel should be uploaded o he
MBO Zenodo communi y and made publicly
a ailable i pe mission o do so is g an ed by
he da a owne .
Limi ed human- eadable
me ada a. A e y limi ed
amoun o machine-
eadable me ada a in he
ODIS schema.o g
ep esen a ion p o ile.
Table 3 Minimal me ada a elemen examples
We see ha he bes esul s wi h he leas e o on he pa o he MBO wo k packages comes when
using inpu da ase s which a e al eady de ined in OBIS o EMODne ; his esul s in bo h high-quali y
human and machine- eadable me ada a wi h minimal e o .
The p ima y bene i o da a p oduce s and da a consume s when ma ine and oceanog aphic
me ada a is published in an ag eed machine- eadable communi y s anda d o ma is ha he
p o enance o da a is mo e anspa en ; meaning ha da a can mo e easily be well in e p e ed,
mis akes in ups eam da ase s can be con es ed soone , inapp op ia e uses o da a can be su aced
as e , and da a becomes mo e us wo hy as a esul . Whe e me ada a is no published in an
ag eed and consis en machine- eadable communi y s anda d his bene i is simply no p esen and
i can be seen in MBO ha when he esponsibili y o mapping any me ada a in o he communi y
s anda d es s on he da a consume he e o equi ed quickly adds up o some hing unsus ainable
and likely leads o inaccu acies o ep esen a ion.
24
7. Communi y Engagemen
The exis ing MARCO-BOLO pa ne ship bene i s om a numbe o indi iduals al eady being
embedded wi hin key global in as uc u es in a a ie y o oles. This, coupled wi h he powe o he
Communi y o P ac ice es ablished h ough WP6, ensu es op imal engagemen and acili a es
alignmen o p ocess and s anda ds.
WP1 is also coo dina ing wi h o he Ho izon Eu ope unded p ojec s including BioEcoOcean in o de
o discuss and sha e app oaches o ensu e alignmen a ound global s anda ds and he
in as uc u es and p ocesses as de ined in he UN Decade Da a Implemen a ion Plan.
As pa o MARCO-BOLO’s goal o deli e in e ope able me ada a o downs eam se ices, we ha e
engaged wi h ou an icipa ed p ima y da a consume ODIS o ensu e ha he JSON-LD gene a ed by
MBO can be inges ed wi hou issue [h ps://gi hub.com/ma co-bolo/cs - o-json-ld/issues/3].
The Wide RDF & Linked-da a Communi ies
WP1 makes use o a numbe o exis ing ools and esou ces om he weal h o p io wo k done by
hose in he RDF and linked-da a communi ies. No all o he app oaches ialled in MBO ha e
wo ked ou , bu hese app oaches ha e led o WP1 con ibu ing knowledge o he wide
communi y; his includes a numbe o bug epo s on he linkml Gi Hub eposi o y, he disco e y o
and communica ion o an o e sigh in he W3C CSV on he Web speci ica ion and a con ibu ion
owa ds he main enance o an open sou ce ool called cs w-check.
8. Da a S o age, P ese a ion, and Long- e m Accessibili y
The MARCO-BOLO p ojec p omo es he engagemen wi h and u ilisa ion o es ablished, long e m
eposi o ies o en i onmen al da a and da a p oduc s gene a ed and mobilised wi hin he p ojec .
By le e aging exis ing in as uc u es we ensu e he long e m a ailabili y o MBO da a and
anspa ency in ou de i ed da a p oduc s.
In o de o a eposi o y o be ecommended wi hin he MARCO-BOLO p ojec , i is necessa y o i
o demons a e a commi men o he adop ion and p omo ion o open da a p inciples and
demons able and ac ionable implemen a ion o he FAIR p inciples. By wo king wi h a ede a ed
se o hema ic da a cen es, he MARCO-BOLO p ojec is no dependen on o limi ed by p ojec -
based sys ems. The ecommenda ions ake in o accoun ac o s such as eposi o y longe i y,
obsolescence policies, pe sis en iden i ie (PID) handling, and emba go mechanisms.
Whils no exhaus i e an ini ial lis o ecommended eposi o ies can be ound below. WP1 o
MARCO-BOLO will u he de ine he equi emen s o long- e m da a s o age in subsequen
ou pu s.
ODIS
The Uni ed Na ions Ocean Da a and In o ma ion Sys em (ODIS) is an in eg a ed digi al pla o m
designed o suppo he sha ing, accessibili y, and use o ocean da a wo ldwide. De eloped by he
25
In e go e nmen al Oceanog aphic Commission (IOC) o UNESCO, ODIS is pa o he UN's Decade o
Ocean Science o Sus ainable De elopmen (2021–2030) and aims o enhance global collabo a ion
on ocean da a by b inging oge he di e se sou ces o ma ine and oceanog aphic in o ma ion. MBO
is cu en ly in discussion wi h he Eu opean Nucleo ide A chi e, Li ewa ch and Zenodo wi h he
in en ion o in eg a ing hese eposi o ies in o he ODIS ede a ion.
OBIS
The Uni ed Na ions' Ocean Biogeog aphic In o ma ion Sys em (OBIS) is a global pla o m o
collec ing and sha ing in o ma ion abou ma ine biodi e si y. OBIS was de eloped o suppo he
scien i ic unde s anding o ocean ecosys ems by p o iding open access o da a on he dis ibu ion
and di e si y o ma ine species. Managed unde he In e go e nmen al Oceanog aphic Commission
o UNESCO, OBIS b ings oge he da a om a ious sou ces, including esea ch ins i u ions,
go e nmen bodies, and ci izen scien is s, o c ea e a comp ehensi e, cen alised da abase.
GBIF
The Global Biodi e si y In o ma ion Facili y (GBIF) is an in e na ional o ganisa ion ha p o ides open
access o da a on biodi e si y a ound he wo ld. I was es ablished in 2001 and is suppo ed by
go e nmen s, esea ch o ganisa ions, and o he pa ne s. GBIF’s goal is o make da a abou li e on
ea h eely a ailable o anyone, which includes species occu ence eco ds, specimen da a, and
obse a ions om a ious sou ces such as esea ch ins i u ions, go e nmen agencies, and ci izen
scien is s.
INSDC
The In e na ional Nucleo ide Sequence Da abase Collabo a ion (INSDC) is a global pa ne ship
among h ee majo bioin o ma ics o ganisa ions: GenBank, he Eu opean Nucleo ide A chi e (ENA),
and DNA Da a Bank o Japan (DDBJ). This collabo a ion enables he sha ing and coo dina ion o
nucleo ide sequence da a (DNA and RNA) ac oss he globe.
EMODne
The Eu opean Ma ine Obse a ion and Da a Ne wo k (EMODne ) is an es ablished Eu opean
Commission ma ine in si u da a se ice, p o iding seamless access o FAIR us ed ma ine da a,
me ada a and p oduc s a pan-Eu opean scale. EMODne p o ides ee, s anda dised, and
in e ope able da a ac oss se en b oad hema ics: .
● Ba hyme y
● Geology
● Biology
● Chemis y
● Physics
● Human ac i i ies a sea