Curating geosciences data in the Earth, Space and Environmental Sciences – new developments of GFZ Data Services

GFZ Data Services is a domain repository for geosciences data that assigns digital object identifier (DOI) to data and scientific software since 2004. Hosted at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the repository has a focus on the curation of long-tail data on one hand, but also provides DOI minting services for several global monitoring networks/observatories in geodesy and geophysics (e.g. INTERMAGNET; IAG Services ICGEM, IGETS, IGS; GEOFON) and collaborative projects (TERENO, EnMAP, GRACE, CHAMP). Furthermore, as Allocating Agent for IGSN, the globally unique persistent identifier for physical samples, GFZ is providing IGSN minting services for physical samples.

GFZ Data Services increases the interoperability of long-tail data through (1) the provision of comprehensive domain-specific data description via standardised and machine-readable metadata with controlled domain vocabularies; (2) complementing the metadata with comprehensive and standardised technical data descriptions or reports; and (3) by embedding the research data in wider context by providing cross-references through Persistent Identifiers (DOI, IGSN, ORCID, Fundref) to related research products (text, data, software) and people or institutions involved.

Visibility of the data is established through registration of the metadata at DataCite and the dissemination of metadata in standard protocols. The DOI Landing Pages embed metadata in Schema.org to facilitate discovery through internet search engines like the Google Dataset Search. In addition, we feed links of data and related research products into Scholix, which allows to link data publications and scholarly literature, even when the data are published years after the article.

The new Website of GFZ Data Services has further developed from a searchable data portal (only) to an information point for data publications and data management. This includes information on metadata, data formats, the data publication workflow, FAQ, links to different versions of our metadata editor and downloadable data description templates. Specific data publication guidance is complemented by more general information on data management, like a data management roadmap for PhD students, and links to the data catalogue of GFZ Data Services, the IGSN catalogue of GFZ and RI@GFZ – the data and research infrastructure search portal of GFZ.

Since October 2020, GFZ is a DataCite member. This membership will enable and promote active participation in the current and future venues of technological and service-oriented developments related to the persistent identification of research outputs.