Managing Social Science Data from the Arctic with ELOKA, ACADIS, NSIDC, and (Insert Many

Other Acronyms Here!)

Colleen Strawhacker, Peter Pulsifer, and Shari Gearheardcstrawhacker@gmail.com

National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado

Presented for the GHEA WorkshopNovember 4th – 6th, 2013

Big Data, Cyberinfrastructure, other “techy” terms here

Major movement to working with “big data”

The “democratization of science”

How do we make the most of using these data for analysis at different scales?

How do we ensure that data are preserved and curated for the future?

Quality of Recorded Metadata Over Time

The National Snow and Ice Data CenterCreates tools

for data access

Performs scientificresearch

Educates the public about the

cryosphere

Supports data users

Manages and distributes scientific data

Supports local and traditional

knowledge

NSIDC: An overview 5

ACADIS

ACADIS, a joint NSIDC UCAR and NCAR effort, will manage all Arctic data for NSF

ACADIS

Advanced Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service

Traditional and Local Knowledge

Important source of data to consider in the changing Arctic

Different from data from the physical sciences… how do we manage, preserve, curate it?

What about the considerations of the community whose knowledge we are working with?

Timothy Allen, BBC

ELOKA - Mission Statement

To provide data management and user support services to facilitate the collection, preservation, exchange, and use of local observations and knowledge of the Arctic.

©photo Shari Gearheard

** under review **

ELOKA Scope

Focus on documented forms of local and traditional knowledge (“data”)

Aim to work with community-driven projects

©photo Shari Gearheard

Community Web Sites – Documenting Oral Histories

Technology Preservation“Uggi” CD

Fox Gearheard, S. 2003. When the weather is uggianaqtuq: Inuit observations of environmental change. Boulder, Colorado USA: University of Colorado Geography Department Cartography Lab. Distributed by National Snow and Ice Data Center. CD-ROM.

The Creation of SIZONetConcerns from the Community

What data should be made public?Who should be able to contribute to the database?How will the data be contextualized?

These concerns are frequently mirrored in other ELOKA projects.

SIZONet: environmental monitoring database

https://eloka-arctic.org/sizonet

http://eloka-arctic.org/communities/yupik/

The Creation of the Yup’ik Place Names Atlas

Concerns from the CommunityWho should be able to add place names to

database?Who should have access to locations? Should

locations be hidden?Where should the database infrastructure be

housed?

Do these concerns sound familiar?

And yet, a different agreement and resolution are being made to meet the wishes of the community.

What about Social Science Data?

Tension between having data be open access (or, freely available to anyone who may want to analyze it) and privacy issues

Major considerations when it comes to protecting the locations of archaeological sites, privacy of research subjects

NSIDC is not adequately equipped to handle these types of data at this time – but that’s my job!

Working with Archaeological Data from NABO

Partner with tDAR and NABO to get archaeological data entered into a system that is accessible to both archaeologists and other scientists working in the Arctic

Arctic Data Explorer

Upcoming OpportunitiesIASSA Panel on Data Management in Arctic

Social Science in May 2014 at the IASC in Prince George

APECS Webinar in late November 2013 in data management for traditional and local knowledge

NSF Proposal to put these ideas into practice in 2014

IHOPE Sponsored Session at the Resilience 2014 Conference in Montpelier, France

Contact: Colleen Strawhacker

cstrawhacker@gmail.com

Thank You

©photo Shari Gearheard