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AGU President / Scripps Director to Address Challenging Data Issues Margaret Leinen’s Union presentation to address difficulties of assimilating data in the digital age Scripps Institution of Oceanography/University of California, San Diego Margaret Leinen, president of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and director of

Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, will present “The Challenge of

Assimilating Older Data and Samples

into Digital Datasets and Sample

Collections” at the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting

(U23A-03 • Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2:20 p.m.

Moscone West 3002)

The geosciences are especially dependent

on past observations of the planet to

understand both processes and planetary

history. As digital storage became more

inexpensive—and conversion of written and

published material to digital format became

easier—many of us assumed that existing

files of data, and even notebooks and

“shoeboxes” of data, would be assimilated into larger curated datasets. While

publications are rapidly becoming available digitally, the data in them are not being

Margaret  Leinen  inside  the  Geological  Collections  at  Scripps  Institution  of  Oceanography,  UC  San  Diego  

 

integrated into readily available datasets. Negative data, while critical, are especially at

risk. Samples are even more vulnerable because of the space needed and cost of

maintenance. Universities are more frequently being called on to manage the data and

scientific collections of faculty who are no longer active or to find other collections

that are willing to take them on, in most cases with no additional resources. Examples

from datasets and collections maintained by Scripps Institution of Oceanography

(pictured below) will be used to illustrate challenges.

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Scripps Institution of Oceanography: scripps.ucsd.edu Scripps News: scrippsnews.ucsd.edu About Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest, and most important centers for global science research and education in the world. Now in its second century of discovery, the scientific scope of the institution has grown to include biological, physical, chemical, geological, geophysical, and atmospheric studies of the earth as a system. Hundreds of research programs covering a wide range of scientific areas are under way today on every continent and in every ocean. The institution has a staff of more than 1,400 and annual expenditures of approximately $195 million from federal, state, and private sources. Scripps operates oceanographic research vessels recognized worldwide for their outstanding capabilities. Equipped with innovative instruments for ocean exploration, these ships constitute mobile laboratories and observatories that serve students and researchers from institutions throughout the world. Birch Aquarium at Scripps serves as the interpretive center of the institution and showcases Scripps research and a diverse array of marine life through exhibits and programming for more than 430,000 visitors each year. Learn more at scripps.ucsd.edu and follow us at: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.