The HESCOR Database: Bridging Human and Earth Science Data

The Human and Earth System Coupled Research (HESCOR) project at the University of Cologne aims to increase interdisciplinary discussion in research related to the Earth and Human Systems by collaborating across disciplines to create model-tested hypotheses and analyze data. Given the broad range of jargon and data from researchers across the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, HESCOR promotes methods that lower barriers and encourage interdisciplinary discourse and data sharing to better link often diverse and distinct data from different disciplines. Within HESCOR, clearly defined workflows, protocols, and a 3-tiered database serve as the foundation of the interdisciplinary process. Standard workflows and protocols help structure conversations and set expectations so that HESCOR researchers can continue interdisciplinary dialogue and documentation throughout data processing. By organizing HESCOR data in well-defined tiers (Tier I – standardized metadata, Tier II – reorganized and quality-controlled data within a HESCOR framework, and Tier III – interpreted data), the HESCOR Database reflects the research stages of data analysis – processing data for modelling along the way. This structure allows HESCOR members to better communicate data interpretations across academic fields and formulate models that can help reconstruct causal links between the Human and Earth Systems. The HESCOR database prioritizes uniform metadata, substantial documentation, and clearly defined interpretations to provide orderly data across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities applicable to a broader set of researchers. Utilizing a soon-to-be published Late Pleistocene paleoenvironmental record from Lake Nakuru, Kenya, we demonstrate the workflow created at HESCOR to increase communication across disciplines to further understanding of the interplay between the Human and Earth Systems.