Action: DSC-2026-01 (COMPLETE) – The DSC will provide an annual report to the OOIFB. The report will provide a summary of DSC meetings and activities that took place in 2025, recommendations for the NSF OOI-program (with regards to data services), as well as a list of future activities and recommendations.
Actions Taken:
- A Google Doc was created in December 2025. Activities and meetings from 2025 were listed. The committee discussed recommendations and future activities during their December 2025 and January 2026 web conferences.
- January 28, 2026 – the DSC submits its 2025 Annual Report to the OOIFB for review and approval.
- February 3, 2026 – The DSC 2025 Annual report is endorsed by the OOIFB.
- February 4, 2026 – A finalized 2025 DSC Annual Report is submitted to the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Action: DSC 2026-02 (ONGOING) – Identify user groups (e.g. teachers/educators at all levels, Interactive Oceans, etc.) assess their impact, and solicit their input regarding data access, quality, potential improvements, and other topics identified during the most recent survey.
Actions Taken:
- March 19, 2026 – Connect with Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) about user engagement and metadata collected. Plan for a future ONC presentation. Additional topics that DSC would like user feedback on include: a) the need for supporting specific cloud computing formats (such as zarr), b) how OOI can best and realistically facilitate conducting state-of-the-art data analysis (including machine learning and artificial intelligence methods), and c) the desire and utility for the expansion of in-place computing (e.g., JupyterHub on OOI).The DSC will discuss the development of a resource document to assist users in how they can get started with JupyterHub. Plan for a future presentation on the EMBARK Cybertraining program, which integrates JupyterHub (Dr. Stace E. Beaulieu, WHOI)
Action: DSC-2026-03 (ONGOING) – TAction: DSC-2026-03 – Engage the participation of outside speakers and experts. Suggested group to engage include, the Open Geospatial Consortium; Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP); Interactive Oceans; Copernicus (European Space Agency data portal); the developers of STAC, Intake, Pangeo and Pangeo Forge; NASA (especially Openscapes); Xpublish; NEONs “data champions; as well as others working to develop new big data solutions in Earth and ocean science.
Actions Taken:
- February 19, 2026 – DSC Member, Rob Fatland, presented updates on his ongoing project related to interpretable data, open science workflows, and the use of AI coding assistants with OOI data.
- April 23, 2026- David Mencin presented to the DSC on EarthScope’s data services and cloud migration strategy. Members found the presentation to be very informative, expressed a strong interest in cloud capabilities while also recognizing this is not an immediate need for the OOI (but is important for long term planning), and noted overlap with current DSC efforts in data accessibility, traceability, and improved data product documentation.
Action: DSC 2026-04 (ONGOING) – Engage with members of the OOI Data Ambassador Team (https://oceanobservatories.org/ooi-data-ambassador-program/), and Community Ambassadors (https://oceanobservatories.org/ooi-community-ambassadors/).
Actions Taken:
- March 19, 2026 – DSC members will help interface between the OOI Data Ambassadors and community members, and update the full DSC and the OOIFB when activities take place. The DSC will also suggest individuals who would be effective Community Ambassadors and help interface them with the NSF OOI team.
Action: DSC 2026-05 (ONGOING) – Continue to assess the degree to which all NSF OOI data (whether OOI-owned, PI-owned, or PI-provided) are easily discoverable and findable.
Actions Taken:
- March 19, 2026 – It was decided that the DSC will work with the PMO to reorganize the OOI data products page (see action item above) and make it a more useful, easy to navigate resource by removing clutter, focusing on data sets, and providing a link to the PI-added instruments page. The page will include what qualifies as a community data set, which is likely connected to a published research paper or data paper with DOI. Two categories of data sets will be created/linked: published data sets (PI provides DOI) and research data products without a DOI. The DSC will also connect with NSF OOI education-centered activities as a way to garner feedback on NSF OOI data services and user experience (especially from a higher education/teaching perspective and how the challenges differ from other user communities). This is an updated activity from Data Labs focused efforts in 2024.
- June 2026 – The DSC had planned for biannual updates from relevant education groups, however, the June 2026 web conference was cancelled. The DSC looks to hear about the EMARK program and other related activities in Fall 2026.
Action: DSC 2026- 06 (ONGOING) – Review the status of the public-facing real-time report (e.g. web page) that shows a high-level overview of the OOI data ingestion progress and plans. This review should consider, If the report or webpage exists and note its location; If it exists, determine if it is adequate; Is the ongoing DSC recommendation still applicable/necessary or are there new/updated recommendations that should be made?
Actions Taken:
- March 19, 2026 – It is determined this could be a very large lift and this action item needs to be revised.
Action: DSC 2026-07 (ONGOING) – Build a Traceability Index/Matrix for Data Explorer, with a goal of creating a lineage of where/ how to trace each variable in Data Explorer and better clarify the metadata for the variables that go into Data Explorer. (this was a 2025 activity that is being updated and further refined as a new activity in 2026).
Actions Taken:
- March 19, 2026 – Tom Connolly is leading these efforts and will provide an update on the activity at a future DSC Web Conference.
Action: DSC-2026-08 (ONGOING) – The DSC will seek applications to fill two open positions on the committee. Dr. Karen Bemis will rotate off the DSC as of September 30, 2026, after serving two full terms (starting in July of 2021). Teresa Burlingame will rotate off the DSC after October 31, 2026, after completing her first term (she will not renew for a second term).
Actions Taken:
- August 7, 2026 – The DSC announced its call for applications to fill the two open positions
- September 10, 2026 – the call for applications closes.