British Oceanographic Data Centre
Encyclopedia
The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) is a national facility for looking after and distributing data
about the marine
environment. BODC deal with a range of physical
, chemical
and biological
data, which help scientists provide answers to both local questions (such as the likelihood of coastal flooding) and global issues (such as the impact of climate change
). BODC is the designated marine science data centre for the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council
(NERC). The centre provides a resource for science, education and industry, as well as the general public. BODC is hosted by the National Oceanography Centre
(NOC), Liverpool
.
, Wormley in Surrey
, its purpose was to:
In 1975 BODS was transferred to Bidston
Observatory on the Wirral
, near Liverpool, as part of the newly formed Institute of Oceanographic Sciences. The following year BODS became the Marine Information and Advisory Service (MIAS)http://www.soton.ac.uk/library/about/nol/mias.html. Its primary activity was to manage the data collected from weather ships, oil rigs and data buoys.
The data banking component of MIAS was restructured to form BODC in April 1989. Its mission was to 'operate as a world-class data centre in support of UK marine science'. BODC pioneered a start to finish approach to marine data management. This involved:
In December 2004, BODC moved to the purpose built Joseph Proudman
Building on the campus of the University of Liverpool
.
BODC has a range of national roles and responsibilities:
External partner pages
External project pages
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
about the marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
environment. BODC deal with a range of physical
Physical oceanography
Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters.Physical oceanography is one of several sub-domains into which oceanography is divided...
, chemical
Chemical oceanography
Chemical oceanography is the study of ocean chemistry: the behavior of the chemical elements within the Earth's oceans. The ocean is unique in that it contains - in greater or lesser quantities - nearly every element in the periodic table....
and biological
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
data, which help scientists provide answers to both local questions (such as the likelihood of coastal flooding) and global issues (such as the impact of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
). BODC is the designated marine science data centre for the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council
The Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...
(NERC). The centre provides a resource for science, education and industry, as well as the general public. BODC is hosted by the National Oceanography Centre
National Oceanography Centre
- The National Oceanography Centre :The National Oceanography Centre is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, United Kingdom...
(NOC), Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Approach and goals
BODC's approach to marine data management involves:- Working alongside scientists during marine research projects
- Distributing data to scientists, education, industry and the public and improving onlineONLINEONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
access to marine data - Careful storage, quality control and archiving of data so they are unaffected by changes in technology and will be available into the future
- Producing innovative marine data products and digital atlases
History
The origins of BODC go back to 1969 when NERC created the British Oceanographic Data Service (BODS). Located at the National Institute of OceanographyOceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
, Wormley in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, its purpose was to:
- Act as the UK’s National Oceanographic Data Centre
- Participate in the international exchange of data as part of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic CommissionIntergovernmental Oceanographic CommissionThe Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO. It first met in Paris at Unesco Headquarters from 19 to 27 October 1961. Initially, 40 States became members of the Commission.The IOC is composed of its Member States ,...
(IOC) network of national data centres
In 1975 BODS was transferred to Bidston
Bidston
Bidston is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively, it is also a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the geographical county of Cheshire...
Observatory on the Wirral
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, near Liverpool, as part of the newly formed Institute of Oceanographic Sciences. The following year BODS became the Marine Information and Advisory Service (MIAS)http://www.soton.ac.uk/library/about/nol/mias.html. Its primary activity was to manage the data collected from weather ships, oil rigs and data buoys.
The data banking component of MIAS was restructured to form BODC in April 1989. Its mission was to 'operate as a world-class data centre in support of UK marine science'. BODC pioneered a start to finish approach to marine data management. This involved:
- Assisting in the collection of data at sea
- Quality control of data
- Assembling the data for use by the scientists
- The publication of data sets on CDROM
In December 2004, BODC moved to the purpose built Joseph Proudman
Joseph Proudman
Joseph Proudman , CBE, FRS was a distinguished British mathematician and oceanographer of international repute...
Building on the campus of the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
.
National role
- BODC performs data management for a variety of UK marine projects
- BODC maintains and develops the National Oceanographic Database (NODB), a collection of marine data sets originating mainly from UK research establishments
- BODC manages, checks and archives data from tide gaugeTide gaugeA tide gauge is a device for measuring sea level and detecting tsunamis.Sensors continuously record the height of the water level with respect to a height reference surface close to the geoid...
s around the UK coast for the National Tide Gauge NetworkUK National Tide Gauge NetworkThe UK National Tide Gauge Network is part of the National Tidal and Sea Level Facility. It was set up in 1953 to record sea levels around the coast of the UK, after the east coast of England was affected by severe floods....
, which aims to obtain high quality tidal information and to provide warning of possible flooding of coastal areas around the British Isles. This is part of the National Tidal & Sea Level FacilityNational Tidal and Sea Level FacilityEstablished in 2002, The National Tidal and Sea Level Facility is responsible for monitoring sea levels in the UK.The NTSLF comprises the UK National Tide Gauge Network, geodetic networks, and gauges in the British Dependent Territories of the South Atlantic and Gibraltar...
(NTSLF) - BODC hosts the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN)http://www.oceannet.org/ Project Manager
- BODC is one of six designated data centres that manage NERC's environmental data
- BODC has forged active partnerships with the following NERC marine research centres:
- British Antarctic SurveyBritish Antarctic SurveyThe British Antarctic Survey is the United Kingdom's national Antarctic operation and has an active role in Antarctic affairs. BAS is part of the Natural Environment Research Council and has over 400 staff. It operates five research stations, two ships and five aircraft in and around Antarctica....
(BAS) - National Oceanography CentreNational Oceanography Centre- The National Oceanography Centre :The National Oceanography Centre is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, United Kingdom...
(NOC), Liverpool, formerly Proudman Oceanographic LaboratoryProudman Oceanographic LaboratoryThe former Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory is based in Brownlow Street, Liverpool, England. In April 2010, POL merged with the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton to form the National Oceanography Centre National Oceanography Centre...
(POL) - National Oceanography CentreNational Oceanography Centre- The National Oceanography Centre :The National Oceanography Centre is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, United Kingdom...
(NOC), Southampton - Plymouth Marine LaboratoryPlymouth Marine LaboratoryPlymouth Marine Laboratory in the city of Plymouth, England is an independent collaborative centre of the Natural Environment Research Council . PML's Chairman is Terence Lewis and PML's Chief Executive is Prof. Stephen de Mora.They focus global issues of climate change and sustainability...
(PML) - Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU)
- British Antarctic Survey
International role
BODC also has a range of international roles and responsibilities, for example:- BODC is one of over 60 national oceanographic data centres that form part of the IOC’s International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE), helping to ensure that marine data are used efficiently and are distributed to the widest possible audience
- BODC plays an active role in the International Council for the Exploration of the SeaInternational Council for the Exploration of the SeaThe International Council for the Exploration of the Sea is the world’s oldest intergovernmental science organization. ICES is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, where its multinational Secretariat staff of 51 provide scientific, administrative and secretarial support to the ICES community...
(ICES) Marine Data Management, allowing the exchange of expertise and ideas for those in ICES member countries - BODC is the international centre for creating, maintaining and publishing the General Bathymetric Chart of the OceansGeneral Bathymetric Chart of the OceansThe General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans is a publicly available bathymetry of the world's oceans. The project was conceived with the aim of preparing a global series of charts showing the general shape of the seafloor...
(GEBCO) Digital Atlas
Projects and initiatives
BODC is and has been involved with a wide range of national and international projects, including:- Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT)
- The AMT programme http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/uk/amt/ undertook a twice yearly transectTransectA transect is a path along which one records and counts occurrences of the phenomena of study .It requires an observer to move along a fixed path and to count occurrences along the path and, at the same time, obtain the distance of the object from the path...
between the UK and the Falkland IslandsFalkland IslandsThe Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
to study the factors determining the ecological and biogeochemical variability in the planktonic ecosystems.- Autosub Under Ice (AUI)
- The AUI programme http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/uk/aui/ investigated the role of sub-ice shelf processes in the climateClimateClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
system. The marine environment beneath floating ice shelves will be explored using Autosub- Enabling Parameter Discovery (EnParDis)
- EnParDis http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/uk/enpardis/ was a project to develop BODC's Parameter Dictionary. Parameter dictionaries are used to label data with a standard description and are crucial when searching out and exchanging data
- Liverpool - East Anglia Coastal Study 2 (LEACOAST2)
- The LEACOAST2 project http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/uk/leacoast2/ follows the LEACOAST project (2002 - 2005) in studying sediment transportSediment transportSediment transport is the movement of solid particles , typically due to a combination of the force of gravity acting on the sediment, and/or the movement of the fluid in which the sediment is entrained...
around the sea defences at Sea PallingSea PallingSea Palling is a village and a civil parish covering in the English county of Norfolk. The village is south-east of Cromer, north-east of Norwich and north-east of London. The village lies east of the A149 between Kings Lynn and Great Yarmouth...
, NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, UK- Marine Productivity (MarProd)
- MarProd http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/uk/marprod/ helped to develop coupled modelsComputer simulationA computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...
and observation systems for the pelagic ecosystem, with emphasis on the physical factors affecting zooplanktonZooplanktonZooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
dynamics- NERC DataGrid
- The challenge for NERC DataGrid http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/uk/ndg/ was to build an e-grid which makes data discovery, delivery and use much easier than it is now
- Rapid Climate Change (RAPID)
- The RAPID programme http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/uk/rapid/ aimed to improve understanding of the causes of sudden changes in the Earth's climate
- Ocean Margin Exchange (OMEX)
- The OMEX project http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/european/omex/ studied, measured and modelled the physical, chemical and biological processes and fluxes at the ocean margin - the interface between the open Atlantic oceanAtlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and the European continental shelfContinental shelfThe continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
- SeaDataNet
- SeaDataNet http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/european/seadatanet/ aims to develop a standardised, distributed system which provides transparent access to marine data sets and data products from countries in and around EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It will build on the work already completed by the SEA-SEARCH http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/european/seasearch/ and EDIOS http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/european/edios/ projects- System of Industry Metocean data for the Offshore and Research Communities (SIMORC)
- SIMORC http://www.bodc.ac.uk/projects/european/simorc/ aimed to create a central index and database of metocean data sets collected globally by the oil and gas industry
External links
- BODC homepage
- BODC News and events
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) homepage
- NERC Data centres
- NERC Data Discovery Service
- National Tidal and Sea Level Facility (NTSLF)
External partner pages
- British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
- National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS)
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)
- Proudman Oceacanographic Laboratory (POL)
- Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU)
External project pages
- Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) homepage
- Autosub Under Ice (AUI) homepage
- Liverpool - East Anglia Coastal Study 2 (LEACOAST2) homepage
- NERC DataGrid (NDG) homepage
- RAPID Climate Change homepage
- SEADATANET homepage
- System of Industry Metocean data for the Offshore and Research Communities (SIMORC) homepage