National Infrastructure for Ocean Data Sharing

Summary: Given the unprecedented amount of data collection occurring and expected to occur over the next thirty years as a result of offshore renewable energy development, there is a need for a national strategy and infrastructure for sharing, storing, maintaining, and providing access to these new data resources. The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) has been coordinating agency, industry, and academic data collection and data product development in the northeast to support ocean management for over a decade. NROC hosts the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (www.rwsc.org), which was collaboratively established and is led by four sectors - federal agencies, Atlantic coast states, environmental non-governmental organizations, and the offshore wind industry. RWSC has recently made progress developing coordinated science plans and data management procedures for wildlife monitoring and baseline studies associated with offshore wind development on the Atlantic coast. As a result, it is clear that a national strategy and platform, similar to the Marine Data Exchange in the U.K., would be critical for providing the capacity, policy mechanisms, and technical infrastructure necessary to ensure the participation of the many entities involved in data collection.

Sector: Regional Ocean Partnership
Organization: Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC)
POC: Nick Napoli, nnapoli@northeastoceancouncil.org
Other Contacts: Emily Shumchenia; emilyshumchenia@gmail.com