As ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) research progresses globally, so does the need for a shared, high-quality knowledge base to inform scientific standards, research collaborations, and policy makers. To advance this goal, Carbon to Sea and Submarine Scientific are developing the OAE Field Data Commons, an online hub that brings together academic and private sector field data in one accessible platform.  

Building on the community-driven standards in the OAE Data Management Protocol, the Data Commons will allow researchers, policymakers, and other interested parties to easily access project data across a range of categories for independent analysis. Standardizing and harmonizing OAE datasets will accelerate collective learning and provide the necessary evidence base to evaluate OAE’s potential effectiveness and co-benefits.

The OAE Field Data Commons is designed to:

  • Accelerate learning by enabling rapid cross-site comparisons and meta-analyses not possible with unstandardized, isolated datasets.
  • Promote global accessibility so that institutions across the world can contribute to and benefit from shared data.
  • Support robust decision-making by providing a greater body of field data for independent analysis, meta-synthesis, and policymaker review.
  • Foster collaboration between academic and private sectors while protecting intellectual property and sensitive information.

The OAE Field Data Commons is one component of a broader suite of OAE Data Management tools being developed in partnership between Carbon to Sea and Submarine Scientific. This suite includes the OAE Data Management Protocol, which establishes the foundational standards and metadata requirements for all OAE field data; the Metadata Builder, an interactive tool that guides users through creating compliant metadata files; and the Compliance Checker, which automatically validates submitted datasets and issues a badge of protocol adherence. These tools will integrate with existing repositories and data systems to ensure interoperability and increase ease of participating in the OAE Field Data Commons.

Each of the data management tools will be field-tested with a partner to ensure they function as needed. For example, our data protocol and metadata builder are being tested with interdisciplinary scientists working within our field research network from Röst Marine Research Center, National Oceanography Centre (NOC), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and Iceland Marine & Freshwater Research Institute. The Data Commons project will be piloted with Planetary Technologies, who has agreed to contribute data sets that underpin Frontier’s offtake agreement.

We are also collecting broad insights and input from the community on open science data needs and invite interested parties to share feedback to advance learning and evaluation of OAE’s potential via this OAE Field Data Questionnaire. For questions or to express interest in the pilot phase, contact data@carbontosea.org.