Digital Geochemical Data Infrastructure (DIGIS) for GEOROC 2.0

• Applicants: Dr. Daniel Kurzawe, since 1/2024; Professorin Dr. Caroline Sporleder; Professor Dr. Matthias Willbold; Professor Dr. Gerhard Wörner
• Subject Area: Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 437919684

Free access to up-to-date data archives that are scientifically curated and efficiently connected to the international community via the „Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance“ plays a key role in innovative and competitive Earth sciences research. A leading example is the highly successful GEOROC database. Since its launch in 1999 by the Max-Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz (Sarbas et al., 1999) the GEOROC database has become an indispensable online source of geochemical and isotopic datasets. Free access to GEOROC has facilitated thousands of peer-reviewed publications and is now used by researchers world-wide and well beyond the originally envisaged target group of geochemists. Curation and further development of GEOROC, however, will end in 2020 when funding through the Max-Planck Society will cease. This offers the unique opportunity to build upon an already highly successful product and to develop the GEOROC database into a connected platform that is well-positioned to meet future challenges of digital data-based research and to provide advanced service to the community. The project team is predestined to accomplish such a task since PI Wörner, Co-I Willbold and, in particular, collaborator Nieschultze from the research IT unit of the Göttingen University have established links to the current GEOROC team. The new Digital Geochemical Data Infrastructure (DIGIS) concept of GEOROC 2.0, devised in collaboration with Co-PIs Horstmann und Sporleder, will develop end-to-end text and data mining (TDM), the integration of data DOIs, multi-way data harvesting capabilities as well as state-of-the-art connectivity to other databases. These innovations will ensure that a German-based GEOROC 2.0 will maintain its international standing and will continue to be an integral element of Earth science research worldwide. In addition, we will present a case model of how to digitally connect the GEOROC database to a geochemical sample storage system via the International GeoSample Number (IGSN). This integrated approach will therefore establish a system that serves as a model for future data archiving and -mining in „digital geochemistry“ in Germany. As such, this infrastructure is aligned with the plans for a National Data Infrastructure in Germany in the Geosciences (NFDI4EARTH) as expressed in the "letter of interest" already sent to DFG as part of the NFDI4Earth initiative.

• DFG Programme: Research data and software (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Wolfram Horstmann, until 12/2023