Governance

The maintenance of each of the directories (EDMO, EDMED, EDMERP, CSR, and EDIOS) and the Common Data Index (CDI) - key service for unified access to data sets - is coordinated at a national level by the National Oceanographic Data Centre / Marine Data Centre, belonging to the SeaDataNet partnership. They collect references from institutes in their country and enter these into the directories. The national directories are then compiled into pan-European directories, each of which is governed by a SeaDataNet partner.

Formats

For each of the directories a content model has been defined, based upon the ISO 19115 content model (where applicable). Considerable effort has been applied in harmonising all directories by using common vocabularies and mutually comparable XML schema’s for exchange (XSD) between the national and pan-European directories. Detailed information about the formats and XML schema’s can be found here.

Maintenance modalities

Depending on the directory, the following options are provided:

• Maintenance via online Content Management System (CMS)

• XML export from a national partner to the pan-European directory:
  • Using MIKADO software, provided by SeaDataNet, to enter and maintain local directories as sets of XML files

• • Using the MIKADO software, to generate new and updated XML files from locally maintained metadatabases

• • Using own software, written by partners, to generate new and updated XML files from locally maintained metadatabases

XML validation web services are operated for partners to test the validity of (samples of ) their generated XML files with respect to XML syntax and semantics.

The following table gives the available maintenance modalities and governance per directory:

Note: Cruise Summary Reports (CSR) are the usual means for reporting on research vessel cruises. Traditionally, it is the Chief Scientist's obligation to submit a CSR to his/her National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) not later than two weeks after the cruise. Chief scientists arte advised to contact their NODC (see SeaDataNet partners page) to check whether they have to report directly to the SeaDataNet CSR online Content Management System or to their NODC, that will then transfer their CSR entries to SeaDataNet.