WP4 - Interoperable infrastructure realization

A first result of SP7_WP4 consists in the gap analysis between the requirements and the solutions collected by SP7_WP1 and SP7_WP2.

It has been performed by a semi-automatic evaluation decision process (Multiple Attribute-Multiple Criteria Decision Model, MAMCDM), where each solution is seen like an alternative that the decision process must order with respect to the satisfaction of one or more criteria connected to the requirements. The result is not a hard selection but both an ordered list of solutions available for the implementation of the RITMARE infrastructure, and a list of requirements lacking of appropriate solutions; these requirements need to develop a new component in RITMARE.

A second, relevant result in SP7_WP4 is GET-IT Starter Kit, a software suite free and open, available at https://github.com/SP7-Ritmare, enabling researchers in the creation of their own standard OGC services for the interoperable distribution of observations and geographic data (with related metadata) in Spatial Data Infrastructures. The suite has been distributed to volunteer RITMARE partners; they received support in its installation and population with data and metadata.

GET-IT includes an open-source software tool to create metadata, another outstanding result of SP7_WP4, composed of a back-end web service (EDI-NG server) and a client (EDI-NG client). By its client, EDI-NG dynamically creates a form-like user interface to ease filling metadata (figure WP4.1). EDI-NG supports users offering useful facilities such as selection from codelists, autocompletion, pre-assigned values; it also verifies metadata content, performing error-checking and warning.

Figure WP4.1: user interface to fill metadata offered by EDI-NG

SP7_WP4 makes available a list of exemplifications of metadata for sensors used in marine observation; the metadata fields describing the sensorare already pre-filled in compliance to Sensor ML 2.0.0 specifications (figure WP4.2). Once selected the exemplification that best meets a sensor, the user’s effort is limited in filling only metadata fields dependent on her/his own specific installation, such as the owing institution or the contact point.

Figure WP4.2: list of partially filled sensor metadata exemplifications offered by RITMARE SP7

SP7_WP4 developed a first implementation of the unique access point of the whole RITMARE data infrastructure (SP7 portal ver. 0); it allows to visualize and explore the autonomous and distributed nodes of the participants who make available their service endpoint. The access point is able to include and reach all nodes deploying data in compliance with OGC standard protocols (including Thredds), enabled by the participants either autonomously or using the RITMARE suite GET-IT. SP7_WP4 has also developed an independent administration tool to monitor nodes availability and efficiency (figure WP4.3).

Figure WP4.3: monitoring autonomous distributed nodes of RITMARE infrastructure (for administration purposes)