Sharing data and facilities in the analogue modelling community: the EPOS Multi-Scale Laboratories Thematic Core Service

EPOS, the European Plate Observing System, is a unique e-infrastructure and collaborative environment for the solid earth science community in Europe and beyond (https://www.epos-eu.org/). A wide range of world-class experimental (analogue modelling and rock and melt physics) and analytical (paleomagnetic, geochemistry, microscopy) laboratory infrastructures are concerted in a “Thematic Core Service” (TCS) labelled “Multi-scale Laboratories” (MSL) (https://www.epos-eu.org/tcs/multi-scale-laboratories). Setting up mechanisms allowing for sharing metadata, data, and experimental facilities has been the main target achieved during the EPOS implementation phase. The TCS Multi-scale Laboratories offers coordination of the laboratories’ network, data services, and Trans-National access to laboratory facilities.

In the framework of data services, TCS Multi-Scale Laboratories promotes FAIR (Findable-Accessible-Interoperable-Re-Usable) (FAIR) sharing of experimental research data sets through Open Access data publications. Data sets are assigned with digital object identifiers (DOI) and are published under the CC BY license. Data publications are now conventionally citable in scientific journals and develop rapidly into a common bibliometric indicator and research metric. A dedicated metadata scheme (following international standards that are enriched with disciplinary controlled community vocabulary) facilitates ease exploration of the various data sets in a TCS catalogue (https://epos-msl.uu.nl/). Concerning analogue modelling, a growing number of data sets includes analogue material physical and mechanical properties and modelling results (raw data and processed products such as images, maps, graphs, animations, etc.) as well as software (for visualization, monitoring and analysis). The main geoscience data repository is currently GFZ Data Services, hosted at GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (https://dataservices.gfz-potsdam.de), but others are planned to be implemented within the next years.

In the framework of Trans-National access (TNA), TCS Multi-scale laboratories’ facilities are accessible to any researchers, creating new opportunities for synergy, collaboration and scientific innovation, according to TNAtrans-national access rules. TNA can be realized in the form of physical access (on-site experimenting and analysis), remote service (sample analysis) and virtual access (remotely operated processing). After three successful TNA calls, the pandemic has forced a moratorium on the TNA program.

The EPOS TCS Multiscale Laboratories framework is also providing the foundation for a comprehensive database of rock analogue materials, a dedicated bibliography, and facilitates the organization of community-wide activities (e.g., meetings, benchmarking) to stimulate collaboration among analogue laboratories and the exchange of know-how. Recent examples of these community efforts are also the contributions to the monthly MSL seminars, available on the MSL YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVNQFVql_TwcSBqgt3IR7mQ/featured), as well as the Special Issue on basin inversion in Solid Earth that is currently open for submissions  (https://www.solid-earth.net/articles_and_preprints/scheduled_sis.html#1160).