Resources
POAwg endeavors to release tools, documentation, and other deliverables toward greater interoperability for observing-related metadata.
Registry of Polar Observing Networks (RoPON)
A fundamental challenge exists for optimizing the study of climate and environmental change in the polar regions. Observing-related infrastructures and activities – such as monitoring sites, mobile platforms, research projects, field campaigns, and observing programs – are deployed in a diverse and distributed fashion across numerous efforts. To provide a comprehensive perspective, a new Registry of Polar Observing Networks (RoPON) has been released. This is a catalog of systems or organizations that conduct or coordinate observation and monitoring at high latitudes, typically with data management, research stations, platforms, and instrumentation. RoPON also displays portals or initiatives that are not observing networks per se, but which compile and share structured information about observing activities and infrastructure. This resource is designed to help: assess status, overlap, and gaps; optimize limited resources; avoid duplicated effort; facilitate collaboration with facilities or projects; and enable discovery for key stakeholders. Visit RoPON at polarobservingregistry.org.
Network-Level Metadata Model
This spreadsheet is a metadata model (or more accurately, a data dictionary) listing elements that describe polar observing networks. These elements convey a network's summary information, as well as details on its observational scope, spatial and temporal coverage, contact information, data access, and more. For each element there are definitions, as well as example entries and guidance on whether an element is required or can be populated with multiple entries. Lastly, some of the elements in the model are constrained by custom or standardized vocabularies (e.g., for asset types, domain, discipline, region, and applicable, asset-level metadata standards). This model has been used for development of the Registry of Polar Observing Networks (RoPON), and may be of interest to others that wish to inventory or otherwise track details about observing networks. View the model in Google Sheets.