Sharing Management of Data and Information on Earth Science about

							Sharing Management of Data and Information
  on Earth Science about Western China

      Prof. SUN Chengquan and ZHANG Haihua
  the Scientific Information Center for Resources and
        Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    E-mail: suncq@ns.lzb.ac.cn; zhanghh@ns.lzb.ac.cn
   Advantages of Earth Science Data about
                West China
 West China (>60%) is an important region for the study of
   earth sciences. A large number of data and information
   resources has been accumulated through studies conducted
   on western China over the past decades.
 Research in this regions
covers mountains, glaciology,
deserts, grasslands,frozen soil,
ecosystem, Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau Studies,arid &cold
regions, plateau biology,
vegetations, water & land
resources, plateau climate,
   geography, etc.
 Past decades of scientific research in these areas result
  in large numbers of scientific data sets that cover
  various fields such as earth sciences, ecology,
  environmental science, social science, etc.
 Their storage and distribution are centralized, mainly
  in the large western cities and in Beijing.
 They are mainly kept in large research institutions and
  information centers in these cities. Sharing of these
  historical and valuable data and information resources
  on earth science is rather important for the studies and
  development of West China.
         Data and Information
            in Great Need
 At present,research in the fields of earth science,
  ecology,environmental science, social science,
  regional economic growth, etc. are under active
  way with the plateau, mountains, desert areas,
  vegetations, hydrology, ecosystems and community
  as research objects. In the above-mentioned
  scientific research and practice, the data and
  information resources of earth sciences are with no
  doubt precious resources for utilization.
  The state of the art of data sharing
       for China’s western part
 With the impetus of the National Scientific Data Sharing
  Project, many latent data are produced and developed.
  Common understanding is reached for the significance
  of data sharing in the scientific community.
 The full data support framework has not been created
  yet. The management and storage of data are still in the
  scattering state. Although some lists of data or metadata
  can be obtained, the right of the owners of data and the
  responsibility of data keepers are still not clear. The
  sharing methods for the coordination of the owners and
  keepers of data are not well created yet.
              The present state of
          West China information sharing

 In the field of earth sciences, West China is the part where
  networked information service started earlier, making it
  possible for the formation of regional network which consists
  of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, universities and colleges,
  and regional information institutions.
 The introduction of new technology, new ideas and new
  methods in earth sciences creates new needs and
  requirements for information support，resulting in the
  increasing information need in different disciplines, regions,
  and media. The present information support framework can
  not satisfy the research needs well.
   The present work of West China
    data and information sharing
As a special information center in West China, the
Scientific Information Center for Resources and
Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly creates
information network by way of
close cooperation with
scientific research institutions,
universities and regional
information institutions in the
region. The Center is located in
western city of Lanzhou.
   The present work（cont.）
 The Center has 1,700,000 volumes of books and
  journals collections and 8TB databases. These
  resources can be accessed without difficulty by
  the library automated system and network. Over
  40 databases are created or purchased. Over
  3,000 foreign electronic journals and over 6,400
  proceedings can be read online and download.
  The Lanzhou mirror site of NSTL (National
  Science and Technology Library) is installed in
  the center to expand its remote document and
  information services.
   The present work（cont.）
 A series of 18 portals and
  databases has been created in the
  center in the fields of resources
  and environment, such as Portal
  of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Studies,
  Database of Vegetations in
  Deserts.
       The present work（cont.）
 With the support from Academy’s significant project,
  over 4,000 metadata on earth science has been prepared
  to start the Navigation System of Earth Science Data,
  which can be accessed and shared online now.
 Portal of resources and environment is being created.
 Many databases are created
and maintained in the fields of
earth sciences and are being
optimized and integrated to provide
sharing services.
 The data sharing work for earth sciences
  about this part of China has a long way
  to go in the advancement of the studies
  of earth sciences and its related fields as
  well as in the societal and economic
  development in West China.
           Suggestions（1）
 Establishing a nationwide data and information
  platform on earth sciences about West China and
  providing integrated information services through
  professional data and information service
  institution in the form of data clearinghouse with
  the main tasks as follows:
      Coordinated guarantee for documents and
       information resources
      Associated services for documents and information
      Backup and exchange of scientific data
      Strategic decision-making and consultation
           Sugestions（2）

 In the form of project organization, those
  institutions that have not carried out
  sharing work of data and information
  need to start the preparation and
  development work of collecting data and
  information, make lists of databases and
  finally join in the data sharing systems.
           Sugestions（3）

 Establishing the collection and
  management mechanism for the earth
  sciences data about West China,
  coordinating the collection and storage of
  data, and gradually establishing data
  backup center.
           Sugestions（4）

 Facilitating the formulation and
  operation of related policies to ensure the
  data sharing with support from policies
  and systems. Intellectual property rights
  for the data will be identified and
  protected and data sharing methods and
  mechanisms will be specified.
        Suggestions（5）
 Strategic decision making and
  consultation work of earth sciences will
  be enhanced through the acquisition,
  collection and development of data and
  information, to make the institutions with
  data and information collection to
  become institutions with knowledge
  management.
Thank You！