Project Background

The possibilities have been embraced enthusiastically in Coasts and Ocean Research (COR), with cameras being deployed on many specialised platforms. As a result, COR have and are presently acquiring large volumes of image data of diverse types. In some cases, the rate of data acquisition has outstripped the ability to archive, retrieve and effectively use the data already collected. It is envisioned that this problem will worsen unless the necessary action is taken to address existing and future data needs.  

There is therefore a need at program-level for a strategic plan that facilitates sharing of knowledge, promotes standardising processes and outputs, considers data storage, which can also identify and capitalise on linkages to external initiatives and collaborators.  

The FAIR principles are a set of international standards intended to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. They are designed to facilitate knowledge and data sharing by humans and machines, support data and knowledge integration, promote standardising processes and outputs, and encourage sharing and reuse of data. They help to make data and metadata ‘machine readable’, thereby enhancing/supporting new discoveries through the harvest and analysis of multiple datasets and outputs.

Since being published in 2016 the FAIR principles have provided an important framework for documenting and sharing data and outputs in a way that maximises use and reuse (www.ardc.edu.au). The FAIR principles refer to three types of entities: (1) data (or any digital object), (2) metadata (information about that digital object), and (3) infrastructure.

Making COR imagery data FAIR is challenging and requires a coordinated strategic effort. To start the process a workshop entitled FAIR for imagery was held in April 2021, including participants from across O&A, NCMI and IM&T with diverse expertise (data users, data managers, and database experts) and a common interest in imagery data. The workshop introduced participants to the FAIR principles and began conversations on the challenges, benefits, and consequences of being FAIR.

Importantly, the workshop aimed to establish a FAIR imagery community within CSIRO and to draft a Blue Paper (Read our Blue Paper) which presents a strategic roadmap for transitioning COR imagery data to FAIR, broken up to manageable work packages with clearly defined outcomes.

Image credit: Daryl Cook of Campfire Coop