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Part I. OverviewBiological Data ConsiderationsManagement and stewardship of biological data present special challenges, which historicallyhave often been neglected. Biological data management requires that special considerationbe given to metadata (see Part III, Appendix 7 for a more detailed discussion).For example, the basic units for biological data are species. New species are continuallybeing discovered and named, and names of recognized species are sometimes changed.The hierarchical tree of evolutionary relationships among species, and the associated hierarchicalnomenclature, must continually be revised to incorporate new information. Biologicaldata systems require name translators that provide currently recognized scientificnames from synonymous scientific names and common names. The taxonomic authorityfor each major group of organisms maintains the accepted list of species, with oversightfrom the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Catalogue of Life, and organizationssuch as the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)/ Species 2000, andthe Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). Protocols for using DNA sequencedata as a “bar code of life” have been proposed as an aid to taxonomic identification andevolutionary relationships.grids, time series, vertical profiles, and species type and abundance. The protocol ensures that thestructure, numeric values, and metadata attributes of the data are preserved between server andclient. It does not, however, impose a particular geospatial data model. For example, OPeNDAPdoes not “understand” what a time series is, nor does it “know” the significance of “phytoplankton_abundance” as a variable name. When transmitting a simple time series, OPeNDAP merely knowsthat it is conveying a one-dimensional array of values with attributes such as units = “seconds” andtitle = “Phytoplankton Abundance” attached to it. Such an approach greatly lowers the barrier toinitial participation by data suppliers, since nearly all data holdings can easily be encapsulated inthis fashion and sent over the Internet. It also ensures the level of generality needed to provide semanticallyaware data transport for the very broad range of ocean data classes.To achieve the desired level of interoperability, the mature DMAC will require that all data are deliveredin a consistent geospatial data model (or family of models). In this phased DMAC ImplementationPlan, the development of a rich and comprehensive data model occurs in parallel withthe pilot deployment of OPeNDAP data servers and clients. The comprehensive data model(s)must harmonize with ongoing work in several communities, such as GIS and forecast and climatemodeling. It must standardize controlled vocabularies, include the encoding of ocean biological29