coastMap offers campaign data, model analysis and thematic maps predominantly in the Biogeosciences. Spotlights explain in a nutshell important topics of the research conducted for the interested public. The portal offers applications to visualise and download field and laboratory work and to connect the information with interactive maps. Filter functions allow the user to search for general topics like a marine field of interest or single criteria, for example a specific ship campaign or one of 1000 measured parameters. The Model Analysis Tool uses a “Big Data” approach and allows expert of different disciplines to access detailed and high-resolution oceanographic model data. An interface is provided to statistically examine and download subsets of model-derived data. The HCDC infrastructure is a comprehensive data and information structure that complies with general standards and thus ensures cooperation and workflows with other existing data centres and data structures of the Helmholtz Association, the German Alliance for Marine Research (DAM) and the NFDI4EARTH consortium in the national research data infrastructure. In cooperation with AWI’s O2A and GEOMAR’s OSIS data centres HCDC creates the Mare Hub, which will form in conjunction with the Hubs Atmo and Terra the data infrastructure of the HGF research area Earth and Environment and thus an essential part of NFDI4EARTH. The existing portals coastMap, COSYNA and coastDat at the Institute for Coastal Research will be merged and HCDC will be scientifically and technically established as the regional node for coastal research.
