Ware B1, Nixon A2, Saxey D1, Hunt A3, Klump J3, Wyborn L4
1Curtin University, Perth, Australia, 2Adelaide University, Adelaide, Australia, 3CSIRO, Perth, Australia, 4ANU, Canberra, Australia
Biography:
I am a Research Fellow in Isotope Geochemistry at the John de Laeter Centre, Curtin University (Perth, Western Australia), and the Curtin node leader in the AuScope Geochemistry Network (AGN) within the EarthBank project. My work focuses on coordinating a national team of geochemists from Australian analytical facilities to advance geochemical data management systems and implement international best practices that align with laboratory capability, user needs, and practical implementation.
I am responsible for overseeing metadata enhancement and strategic direction developments of the AuScope EarthBank platform, as well as leading AGN outreach, promotion, and international engagement activities.
Abstract:
The scientific value of geochemical data depends on the ability to trace analytical results back to their originating samples, instruments, analytical workflows, and quality-control procedures. Most geoscience data infrastructures do not comply with Open Science mandates, focusing on just preserving processed datasets and publications. The Primary Observable Datasets (PODs) upon which scientific interpretations are based are often poorly preserved, difficult to discover, and disconnected from downstream research outputs. This limits reproducibility, transparency, and long-term reuse of publicly funded research.
The installation of a new AuScope-supported Geoscience Atom Probe at Curtin University provides a unique opportunity to establish a complete, open chain of custody for geochemical data from the outset, rather than retrofitting provenance and data management practices after years of operation. As part of commissioning the instrument, workflows are being designed to capture and preserve relationships between source physical samples, sample preparation, analytical runs, PODs, QA/QC records, processed data products, and publications. The implementation leverages architecture within AuScope's emerging geoscience data ecosystem, including the AuScope Instrument Register, AuScope Sample and Data Repositories, and the AuScope EarthBank platform. Furthermore, this ecosystem supports a rich, PID infrastructure that includes sample (IGSN), instrument (PIDINST), researcher (ORCID), organisation (ROR), and dataset (DOI) identifiers, to create a traceable and machine-actionable provenance knowledge graph showing the full research lifecycle.
This greenfield implementation will serve as a transferable model for establishing end-to-end provenance and PODs preservation across Australia's broader geochemical research infrastructure, supporting FAIR data practices, Open Science objectives, and long-term stewardship of geoscience research outputs.
