Can I Contribute?

How to determine if BCO-DMO is the right repository for your data

Data types published by BCO-DMO

BCO-DMO is a domain-specific repository, focusing on biological and chemical oceanography data resulting from research conducted in coastal, marine, great lakes, and laboratory environments.

We work closely with research communities to apply quality controls, create and curate robust discovery- and use-level metadata, and document provenance, thereby increasing data reusability.

NSF Programs supported by BCO-DMO

BCO-DMO is funded by the US National Science Foundation to provide data management services at no additional cost to projects funded by:

• The NSF Oceanography Divisions:
  • Biological Oceanography Program
  • Chemical Oceanography Program
• The NSF Division of Polar Programs' Antarctic Organisms & Ecosystems Program (OPP; formerly PLR)
• NSF Ocean Acidification program (CRI-OA). Certain awards represent collaborations between OCE and other NSF divisions, eg., Division of Environmental Biology (DEB). NOTE: this is a legacy program that has sunset.
• NSF FSML: Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories (part of Division of Biological Infrastructure, DBI)
• Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER): LTER is a cross-cutting program at the Directorate/Division level (for example BIO/DEB, GEO/OPP, GEO/OCE, SBE/BCS) that funds research at oceanographic sites (GEO/OCE). BCO-DMO accepts ancillary or complimentary research output conducted at these sites. Core LTER research data can be directed to the Environmental Data Initiative (EDI) repository.
• Because OCE BIO is a partner in these interdisciplinary programs, we can also accept data from the following:
  • Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC): https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23622/nsf23622.htm
  • Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP): https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23542/nsf23542.htm
  • Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease (EEID): https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23616/nsf23616.htm
• When the subject of the project/data falls within BCO-DMO's domains of expertise, we can accept data from:
  • The Division of Ocean Science's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (OCE-PRF): https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22628/nsf22628.htm
  • The GEO EMBRACE Program: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/embrace-empowering-broader-academic-capacity-education
  • NSF GEO-NERC Collaborative projects: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/information/dcl-special-guidelines-submitting-collaborative-proposals-under-2
  • Paleo Perspectives on Present and Projected Climate (P4CLIMATE): https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/p4climate-paleo-perspectives-present-projected-climate/nsf22-612/solicitation

BCO-DMO staff members work with researchers funded by these NSF programs to ensure that their research output is in compliance with the current NSF OCE Sample and Data Policy (NSF 24-124).

Non-NSF Data and Special Cases

In addition to the programs listed above, BCO-DMO also accepts data related to the following programs and projects:

• Center for Chemical Currencies of a Microbial Planet (C-CoMP): an NSF-funded Science and Technology Center that awards its own research grants and supports a number of different researchers and projects. https://ccomp-stc.org/
• Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI): an NSF-funded project that awards its own research grants and supports a number of different researchers and projects. https://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/
• The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Marine Microbiology Initiative (GBMF MMI): https://www.moore.org/
• Ocean Protein Portal (OPP): a prototype data-sharing platform for ocean metaproteomics data. https://proteinportal.whoi.edu/about
• GEOTRACES: BCO-DMO is the designated data assembly center for US GEOTRACES researchers. In most cases, GEOTRACES projects are funded through NSF OCE, but if there are exceptions we may still accept your data. See the "GEOTRACES Data" page for more information.

Do you have other data?

If your project is not funded by an NSF program that BCO-DMO serves, there are additional repositories in the compiled list of recommended data centers below.

If your data fit within BCO-DMO's disciplinary scope, we may still be able to provide you with data management services These datasets are typically prioritized after NSF-funded data and are on a fee-for-service basis. Costs are determined after we've reviewed the data. Email us at info@bco-dmo.org to discuss your project data and request a cost estimate.

If you have any questions about where to share your data, we always recommend contacting your funding program manager and you can also reach us at info@bco-dmo.org with any questions.

Other recommended domain-specific repositories

Not all NSF-funded projects are supported by BCO-DMO. Additional recommended data centers include:

• For NSF OCE-sponsored physical oceanography projects, investigators are encouraged to contact the CLIVAR and Carbon Hydrographic Data Office (CCHDO) or archive their data directly with the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
• For marine geology, contact the Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (IEDA) group hosted at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University.
• For projects supported by NSF Arctic Sciences Program (ARC) investigators, the Arctic Data Center which succeeds the Advanced Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service (ACADIS), should be contacted. The Arctic Data Center is supported by NSF and is led by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California Santa Barbara, to develop and curate the NSF Arctic Data Center, an archive for Arctic scientific data as well as other related research documents.
• Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) funded projects can submit data to their regional GoMRI location. See https://data.gulfresearchinitiative.org/about for additional information including their data management plan under the "Design and Management" menu option.
• Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) research community: Guidance to OCB scientists who are uncertain where to submit or propose to submit their data is available from the OCB website.