Controlled Vocabularies and Marine Data

The use of controlled vocabularies is foundational to the goal of more FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data.

As an interim solution to vocabulary harmonization, this repository will maintain a list of resources and considerations for controlled vocabulary selection.

Please contribute your knowledge! Comments, edits, and suggestions are welcome via pull request, new issue, or by email to [email protected]

This guidance document has been created by ESIP's Marine Data Cluster.

Meetings on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 10:30 PT / 1:30 ET. For more information see wiki.esipfed.org/MarineData

List of resources:

• Climate and Forecast standard names - https://cfconventions.org/standard-names.html
• World Registry of Marine Species - https://www.marinespecies.org/index.php
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System - https://www.itis.gov/
• NCBI The Taxonomy Database - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/taxonomy
• Global Change Master Directory - https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/KeywordViewer/
• Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) - https://iocm.noaa.gov/standards/cmecs-home.html
• P01 from NERC Vocabulary Server - https://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/search_nvs/P01/
• LTER controlled vocabulary - https://vocab.lternet.edu/vocab/vocab/index.php
• Darwin Core terms - https://dwc.tdwg.org/terms/
• Marine Regions - https://www.marineregions.org/sources.php

Considerations for Controlled Vocabulary Selection

The following guidelines are taken from the presentation by Stace Beaulieu of the Woods Hole Oceanagraphic Institution.

A recording of the presentation and slides are available here (presentation is from 00:35 to 08:45). This was part of the "Vocabularies in the Marine World" Marine Data Cluster call on 2021-04-08.

1. Select the repository. Does the repository have requirements?

2. Does the corresponding funding agency for the repository have additional requirements?

3. If the data are compiled - do the compiled data involve additional requirements? Are there controlled vocabularies already in use?

4. At the project level - are there controlled vocabularies or repositories already in use?

5. Consider the user community - are there controlled vocabularies or repositories already in use by this community?