Investigating Different Data-Traceability Approaches to Prevent Data Swamps [Perspectives

Abstract

Science users typically obtain data from authoritative or trusted sources referred to as <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">repositories</i> . An authoritative source is defined as <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">an entity that is approved by a legal entity to develop or manage data for a specific purpose</i> <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[4]</xref> , <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[5]</xref> . Different government agencies generating Earth observation (EO) data are one example. An authoritative source can also be an actively managed repository of valid or trusted data that is recognized by a community and supports data governance and stewardship practices. One can also have secondary sources that serve as trusted sources and provide trusted data <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[6]</xref> . A trusted source can be a service provider or an organization that publishes data obtained from a number of authoritative sources. These publications are often compilations and subsets of the data from more than one authoritative source. They are “trusted” because there is an “official process and/or agreement” for compiling the data from authoritative sources, data are actively managed, and the limitations, currency, and attributes are known and documented. NASA mirroring <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Sentinel-1</i> data from the European Space Agency is one such example of a trusted source.