Welcome to our AuScope Data Update. This edition celebrates our community's epic contributions to eResearch Australasia, the inclusion of UNSW’s Groundwater data in our Data Repository, the (soft) launch of the AuScope Sample Repository and a progress update on the National Digital Research Infrastructure Investment Plan.

Overview

This quarter's update comes in hot from eResearch Australasia 2024, with AuScope attending this year's Melbourne-based conference on mass with representatives from all AuScope programs and our very own Malcolm McMilliam coming away with the (cash!?!) prize of ‘Overall Best Poster’ for his presentation showcasing the integration of gPlates and AusGeochem!

We had Dan Sandiford presenting our Model Atlas of the Earth (M@TE), Angus Nixon talking up Geochemistry vocabularies, Jo Croucher and Hannes Hollman modernising Magnetotelluric datasets and our fearless leaders - Lesley Wyborn and Jens Klump - whipping up a storm of activity all week from organising, chairing, presenting and championing our early career researchers and the broader community.

AuScope HQ would like to give our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to the event and shone a bright light on our collaborative efforts to push the boundaries of geoscience and informatics!

eResearch is our community’s chance to engage, connect, and share ideas and exemplars of new information-centric research capabilities. While there is certainly a serious contingent of research data boffins (myself included!), most of our NCRIS sibling organisations attend, which presents a unique opportunity for connection across many non-data-related activities, including communication, translation, skills development, and workforce capability.

In other news… we’ve certainly managed to keep Anu Devaraju from our CSIRO-based AVRE program busy! From promoting AuScope’s Data Repository to collaborating with Martin Andersen and Evan Jensen from UNSW’s Water Research Laboratory to secure the future of their Groundwater datasets from 2012-2014!

If you have or know of datasets needing TLC and FAIR-ification (FAIR principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability), you can proceed directly to the AuScope Data Repository or contact Rebecca directly.

In another win from our CSIRO-based AVRE program, Pavel Golodoniuc used eResearch to (soft) launch AuScope’s Sample Repository, providing a trusted digital repository for publishing specimen metadata using globally unique Persistent IDentifiers for physical samples. If you have or know of samples, particularly those collected with AuScope funding, that don’t have unique Persistent Unique Identifiers (PIDs), go directly to the AuScope Sample Repository or contact Rebecca directly.

We would like to encourage anyone with a larger scale (e.g. departmental, historical, etc.) collection to reach out to begin discussions on how to support and pathways to appropriately resource an action plan to get your samples PID-ed!

Selection of Noddy models. Image: Supplied AuScope edited

We have brought the Noddyverse to life in collaboration with our partners at The University of Western Australia, National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), MinEx CRC, and LOOP! Discover Noddyverse.

The Noddyverse data store consists of 1 million three-dimensional geological models and their resulting gravity and magnetic fields generated using the Noddy modelling package. This resource may be used to test the robustness of different geophysical inversion techniques and train machine learning algorithms to understand 3D geology.

While we have been very busy within our community and delivering research data services, there has also been progress on the National Digital Research Infrastructure (NDRI) Investment Plan! Tim and I have been directly engaged in targeted discussions, consultations, roundtables, surveys and landscaping with the NDRI Working Group and Department representatives, and we are now expecting a draft NDRI Investment Plan to be available for community consultation in December. Input for the Investment Plan will be drawn from the NDRI Strategy, the above-facilitated engagements and, e.g. NDRI-related unfunded submissions from previous funding rounds.

We will keep you informed about the progress on the NDRI and other Step-Change Investment Plans in the coming months!

Until then, stay safe and healthy and increase the FAIRness of your data!