SCAR EXCOM 2005 09: Report by the Joint Committee on Antarctic Data Management (JCADM) Popular

SCAR EXCOM 2005 09: Report by the Joint Committee on Antarctic Data Management (JCADM)

Introduction

Scientific data are very valuable. In the first place their intrinsic value for scientific research: without data no science. But there is also an economical value of data: it’s extremely expensive to collect the data. This is especially true for Antarctic data.
To maximize the value of data and to preserve data for future (re)use, data need to be carefully managed in a professional manner. Data management includes all activities to archive data, to make data accessible and to exchange data. To make archived data accessible the existence and availability of the data must be made known. This includes building (metadata) directories and catalogs, defining exchange formats and developing web techniques for data exchange over the Internet.