ARNET launches data platform integrating and sharing knowledge on aquatic ecosystems
The Associate Laboratory ARNET has launched the ARNET DataHub, a collaborative digital platform designed to centralise, integrate and make available the scientific data produced by researchers across the network. Currently in its implementation phase, the platform represents a major step forward for open science and the sustainable management of aquatic systems.
Since 2023, the ARNET data integration platform working group has been developing and conceptualising the ARNET DataHub, a digital infrastructure created to address a growing challenge in scientific research: making data accessible, interoperable and reusable.
The platform will bring together climatological, ecological and environmental data produced by the institutions that form the ARNET Associate Laboratory — MARE, CIMA and CBMA — within a single accessible digital environment. It is intended to support researchers, environmental managers, public authorities and private organisations requiring reliable scientific information to support decision-making and operational activities. In its initial phase, the platform will allow users to visualise and download already published information. A second phase will incorporate data published on non-interoperable platforms and/or unpublished datasets, as well as resources supporting open science, training and co-creation with the user community.
“The ARNET DataHub aims to respond to the research data management needs of the ARNET community, serving as the reference platform for publishing ARNET data. Once fully implemented, it is intended to compile information that supports researchers in managing their scientific data throughout its entire life cycle, making the whole process easier and more transparent,” explains Joana Boavida-Portugal, the MARE researcher coordinating the implementation of the platform.
The development of the DataHub follows the FAIR principles, ensuring that data are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. This approach is not only good scientific practice but also provides a stronger foundation for environmental governance, contributing to greater visibility and impact of research on aquatic ecosystems, environmental monitoring and management, and evidence-based decision-making by both public and private entities.
The work carried out over the past three years included internal technical meetings, thematic workshops on interoperability and data management, collaborative sessions to define functional requirements, and preliminary testing with pilot users.
When asked about the greatest challenge faced by the working group, Joana did not hesitate: “It was the lack of funding, because creating a structure like this from scratch requires an enormous effort, as well as the limited availability of data already published on interoperable platforms and/or the difficulty in reaching researchers and their data, whether published or yet to be published,” she explains.
For the researcher, the long-term vision is clear: “To become the reference platform for publishing ARNET data, connected through interoperability to leading international platforms such as EMODnet.”
The first phase of the platform’s development and operational testing has now been completed and will be officially presented at the 2nd ARNET Meeting, taking place in Faro on 6 and 7 July.
The development of the ARNET DataHub involved the participation of Joana Boavida-Portugal, João M. Neto, João Monteiro, Filipe Alves, Cristina Cotrim Marques, Paula Chainho, Carlos David Santos, Gonçalo Silva and Susana França, from MARE; Flávio Martins, from CIMA; and Pedro Santos and Ricardo Duarte, from CBMA.
The ARNET DataHub is funded by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology through national funds and by the European Union under the NextGenerationEU programme.
Text: Vera Sequeira
Image: ARNET DataHub