Full and Open Access GEOSS: Are we there yet? Massimo Craglia, Elena Roglia, Alessandro Sorichetta European Commission Joint Research Centre

The GEOSS Data CORE The GEOSS Data Collection of Open Resources for Everyone (GEOSS Data CORE), is a distributed pool of documented datasets with full, open and unrestricted access at no more than the cost of reproduction and distribution. The establishment of the GEOSS Data CORE was approved at the Beijing GEO Summit in 2010 and started in Progress was slow in but gathered considerable pace in 2013.

The GEOWOW Survey An on-line survey was conducted by the the FP7 GEOWOW project ( between July 1st and 31st, 2013 to assess the GEOSS community’s level of awareness about the GEOSS Data CORE, understand the community willingness to contribute to it and use it, and identify potential barriers preventing its use. The results show that additional effort is needed to increase the awareness and use of the GEOSS Data CORE. We plan to repeat the survey in 2014 to measure the extent of progress made in building this key asset for GEOSS.

70 respondents from 31 Countries belonging to different type of organizations involved in GEOSS. 24% of respondents were NOT aware of the concept of GEOSS Data CORE; 17% were using the GEOSS Data CORE, 24% were contributing to it. GEOSS Data CORE Survey: Awareness, Involvement, and Challenges

Key barriers: the difficulty to find and discover GEOSS Data CORE resources; some thematic area are poorly represented; Key advantages: the possibility to reduce data costs and facilitates advancing disciplinary and inter- disciplinary research; Key limitations: the fact that data spatial extent and temporal resolution do not fit users’ needs. Improve awareness and participation by providing technical support and disseminating successful stories.

Potential Accessibility of GCI Resources Assessed using the 50 GCOS Essential Climate Variables as keywords to perform a search; 126,000 records returned (of which 60% GEOSS Data CORE); 8% not providing Distribution Information; 3% accessible via OGC protocols; 29% mostly accessible via HTTP and FTP protocols; 60% do not specify protocols (but with working links). Many coming form the Pangaea infrastructure are easily accessible via ftp (

Detailed accessibility analysis of sample datasets contained in the “CEOS, CGMS, and WMO ECV inventory database” 50% belonging to the GEOSS Data CORE; Very good data accessibility through different protocols (mostly HTTP and FTP); 1/4 datasets accessible by 1-click (mostly via FTP); 3/4 datasets accessible, on average, by 4.2 clicks. So we have a link in the metadata, and then what?

Conclusions The GEOSS data CORE has the potential to be one of the key success stories of GEOSS, setting it apart form any other web-based infrastructure. The survey shows that more work is needed to increase awareness and use. Progress in 2013 has been very substantial but is not yet reflected in the survey results. Most resources in GEOSS relating to the Essential Climate Variables are easily accessible. More tests needed for others domains.

Verify the accessibility of other Essential Variables related to different thematic areas (e.g., Essential Biodiversity Variables) Repeat GEOSS data CORE survey to monitor progress in user satisfaction For more information about GEOWOW please visit: Next steps EC Grant Agreement no