An Overview of iPlaces for the LTER Information Managers

An Overview of LTER IM December 2025 Co-Founded by: Erin Robinson ([email protected]) Neil Davies ([email protected]) With Support from: Ted Haberman, Software Developer Dave Vieglais, Software Developer Cite as: Robinson, E., & Davies, N. (2025, December 8). An Overview of iPlaces for the LTER Information Managers. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17860880 Researchers come to work at a field station, but what happens after they leave? Results are not shared back to field stations in a systematic way. Field station communities lose insights significant for future research and management. Field stations fail to receive recognition for their contributions to science. Field Station Director The Place-Based Institutions’ “Connection Problem” Neil Davies, Gump Station Director Robinson, 2025 Field Station Staff 1000+ Field Stations “So we’ve bent over backward in many ways to accommodate people from elsewhere who want to come and do research.” - P5 " If someone wants to experiment with carbon and create a dome over some trees, the field station can facilitate it...” - P2 " The long-term benefit [of data collection is] still big. Because when those unusual occurrences happen, you have this baseline, and other people want to study things on top of that.” - P6 Process Preserve Analyze Share Reuse Digital and Physical Collections However, in reporting science, field stations are mentioned in non-standard ways (if at all) in the scientific record Private Sphere < > Public Sphere Robinson and Palen, 2023 Plan Collect Researcher Field Station Staff While doing science, field stations provide critical support, scientific caregiving The place that the station is situated in Researchers across career stage Infrastructure like housing, labs, equipment Field stations care for: Field stations repair the disconnections back to the place Scientific Fieldwork This device will be left to collect materials and picked up and analyzed some time later Installing Equipment Fieldwork often involves observations and occurrence data Making Observations Fieldwork includes collecting samples like the ones above - soil, water and sediment. Collecting Samples Robinson, 2025 Centering the Value of Projects This device will be left to collect materials and picked up and analyzed some time later Installing Equipment Fieldwork often involves observations and occurrence data Making Observations Fieldwork includes collecting samples like the ones above - soil, water and sediment. Collecting Samples (Gerson 1983) Robinson, 2025 Field Station Support Digital and Physical Collections Make the space scientific Adjust when on site Spatial Coordinate field time Single or repeat visit Temporal Memory artifacts Shifting form Material Gatekeeping Scientific Care Relational Situated Contexts Field Station Director Doing Science Project enables Robinson, 2025 Field Station Support Field Station Director Make the space scientific Adjust when on site Spatial Coordinate field time Single or repeat visit Temporal Memory artifacts Shifting form Material Gatekeeping Scientific Care Relational Situated ContextsDoing Science Project enables Robinson, 2025 Digital and Physical Collections Field Station Support Field Station Director Make the space scientific Adjust when on site Spatial Coordinate field time Single or repeat visit Temporal Memory artifacts Shifting form Material Gatekeeping Scientific Care Relational Situated Contexts Project Doing Science enables Robinson, 2025 Some time later. (Months to years) Robinson, 2025 ●The FAIR principles focus on characteristics of data that will facilitate increased data sharing in machine-to-machine environments ●But the simultaneous move towards Open Data and Open Science does not fully engage with Indigenous Peoples rights and interests. ●This creates a tension for Indigenous Peoples who are asserting greater control over the application and use of Indigenous Data and Indigenous Knowledge for collective benefit. ●Collective benefit includes the right to create value from Indigenous data in ways that are grounded in Indigenous worldviews and realise opportunities within the knowledge economy ●See https://www.gida-global.org/care Robinson, 2025 Field Station Support Publish Journal Article Field Station Director Publish Data Biocode Project Std. Metadata Creator1, .... (2014). Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.17913/100501. 9190 Std. Metadata Creator1, Creator2 (2013). Journal Name. https://doi.org/10.17913/100501. 9190 Doing Science Reporting Science leads to •2007-2010 •Collected 50,000 samples •Sequenced those samples Field stations know about projects. They still do not know about the outputs. Robinson, 2025 Field Station Support Publish Journal Article Field Station Director Publish Data Biocode Project Indirect Project Citations Std. Metadata Creator1, .... (2014). Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.17913/100501. 9190 Std. Metadata Creator1, Creator2 (2013). Journal Name. https://doi.org/10.17913/100501. 9190 There are no connections between projects as a digital object Doing Science Reporting Science leads to •2007-2010 •Collected 50,000 samples •Sequenced those samples Robinson, 2025 Field Station Support Field Station Director Project Biocode Project Std. Metadata Create a DOI for the Biocode Project using Gump Station Application for access Researchers Doing Science Reporting Science leads to Illuminated Project NOTE: Our project had the capability to control minting DOIs for the Gump Station Robinson, 2025 Field Station Support leads to Project Std. Metadata Creator1, Creator2, Creator3,.... (2007). Biocode Project. Gump Station. https://doi.org/10.17913/100501.9 190 Field Station Director Doing Science Reporting Science Now Biocode Project can be cited directly Biocode Project Illuminated Project Robinson, 2025 Fast forward 15 years later… Robinson, 2025 Field Station Support leads to Std. Metadata Project Std. Metadata Publish Journal Article Std. Metadata Field Station Director Doing Science Publish Data Reporting Science Connect Research Benefits Back to Place Biocode Project Related work 1 Related work 2 Illuminated Project Robinson, 2025 Museum 1 Museum 2 Repository 1 Lab 1 extractions PCR t i s s u e s trace generation (Robinson modified from Meyer and Snyder, 2022) Collecting Event multiple specimens Field Station Support Field Station Director No connection between researcher and station systems Museum 1 Museum 2 Repository 1 Lab 1 extractions PCR t i s s u e s trace generation (Robinson modified from Meyer and Snyder, 2022) Collecting Event multiple specimens Biocode Project Field Station Support Std. Metadata Related work 1 Related work 2 Screenshots from GBIF for all occurrence records over time GBIF Occurrence records accumulating over time from 1592-2025. Robinson, E. (2025). GBIF and Local Contexts: Indigenous Metadata Over Time. iPlaces. https://doi.org/10.17913/GBIF-LC-2025 Field Station Support Std. Metadata Std. Metadata Std. Metadata The Ecostation has public, registered projects Field Station Director Related work 1 Related work 2 Related work 1 Related work 2 Related work 1 Related work 2 Ecostation Anyone can see the projects Robinson, 2025 Std. Metadata Std. Metadata Related work 2 Std. Metadata Related work 1 Related work 2 Related work 2 Related work 2 Related work 2 Gump Station Project 1 Biocode Project 2Researchers Steps Towards a Virtual Observatory Related work 1 Related work 2 Related work 1 Related work 2 This infrastructure exists for all organizations with RORs! Robinson, 2025 Principled Cyberinfrastructure: Using the familiar peer review process, station directors act as editors in a collaborative ecosystem that leverages open scientific data services while empowering local and Indigenous communities to build dialogue with research teams. Operationalizes planetary principles of best-practice for data stewardship (e.g., FAIR, CARE, TRUST, LISTEN principles) The Solution: iPlaces Individual Station Journals… to global overlay Journal? In a community overlay journal, the World Association of Marine Stations (>800) could aggregate station journals into a planetary view. Published Project Landing Pages & Station Journal Researchers submit projects for field stations to review; Frictionless easy to publish Provides an director dashboard for stations to manage reviews of access applications DataCite Commons tracks connectivity and downstream visibility of station and projects This will aid with future reporting Publish research - human accessible form and in a machine accessible form with citation and DOI Creates connections to legal permits Project Submission Portal Impact Dashboard for Stations AND Projects Applicant Director Director Cultural Reviewer Legal Reviewer Science Reviewer Station Dashboard Project Dashboard Want to know more? Please reach out! Erin Robinson ([email protected]) Neil Davies ([email protected])