Dr Angus Nixon1,2, Dr Bryant Ware2,3, Dr Fabian Kohlmann4, Mr Moritz Theile4, Dr Wayne Noble4, Prof Brent McInnes2,3, Dr Bhavik Lodhia2,3
1The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia, 2AuScope Geochemistry Network, Bentley, Australia, 3John de Laeter Center, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia, 4Lithodat Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
Angus completed a PhD in Geology examining the low-temperature evolution of northern Australia and the relationship between plate boundary tectonics and structural, geochronological and geochemical signatures in the continental interior. He subsequently joined the AuScope Geochemistry Network (AGN) and is currently an EarthBank Fellow at the University of Adelaide, and co-chair of the OneGeochemistry initiative. His work includes establishing standards for areas including fission track thermochronology, inorganic geochemistry, beta-decay geochronology systems, as well as integrating data infrastructure with research community needs and workflows.
Abstract:
The geochemical community produces increasingly large volumes of analytical data from a wide array of instruments and methods to address a diverse range of research questions. These long-tail datasets are available with varying levels of standardisation, dependent on both the availability of best-practice reporting formats for the research area in question and the application of these by reviewers and editors at peer-review. Research data stored within domain repositories achieve greater standardisation and reuse potential by the community, however, such services presently only exist for a subset of data types and research activities, and adoption of these repositories does not yet extend across the bulk of the geochemical community. In light of these shortfalls, the AuScope EarthBank project (initiated in 2019 by AuScope Geochemistry Network) is designing and implementing research infrastructure aimed at supporting data across the research lifecycle. The AuScope EarthBank platform provides a synthesis and data management service which promotes data capture as close as possible to generation, allowing researchers to privately interpret, synthesise and share with colleagues prior to publication, at which point data is stored within an NCRIS supported catalogue for long-term retention. The EarthBank project is designed to support research areas which presently lack established community standards or repository services, such as thermochronology and isotopic geochronology methods, which are highly prevalent across Australian and global research institutions. Through the continued publication and implementation of specialist schemas and vocabularies, the EarthBank project provides repository infrastructure and standards to fields not previously covered by the current data services.