ENVRI-FAIR

ENVRI-FAIR
Name	ENVRI-FAIR
Abbreviation	ENVRI-FAIR
Type	Research infrastructure consortium
Start	2019
Region	Europe

ENVRI-FAIR

ENVRI-FAIR is a European research infrastructure initiative integrating environmental and earth science national research infrastructures, European Research Area initiatives, and multidisciplinary observatory networks to implement FAIR data principles across the Arctic to the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. It builds bridges between major projects and institutions such as European Commission directorates, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, and operational bodies like Copernicus Programme, EMSO ERIC, and ICOS ERIC, enabling interoperable services for communities including climate science, oceanography, soil science, and atmospheric science.

Overview

ENVRI-FAIR coordinated integration connects established infrastructures such as EMSO ERIC, ICOS ERIC, LifeWatch ERIC, AnaEE ERIC, and EPOS with pan-European programmes like European Open Science Cloud, European Data Portal, and GEOSS. The initiative draws on expertise from national agencies like French National Centre for Scientific Research, German Helmholtz Association, and Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics alongside universities such as University of Oxford, Sorbonne University, University of Bergen, University of Helsinki, and ETH Zurich. It fosters interoperability with standards from W3C, OGC, ISO, and connectors used by EOSC-hub.

Objectives and Scope

ENVRI-FAIR aims to align environmental research infrastructures with the FAIR principles advocated by Force11 and promoted in European policies by the European Commission and the European Research Council. Specific goals include metadata harmonisation referencing vocabularies used by PANGAEA, DataCite, ORCID, GEOSS Common Infrastructure, and semantic frameworks from FAO and UNESCO heritage initiatives. The project scope covers cross-domain data management for long-term observatories such as Icelandic Meteorological Office sites, marine platforms like RV Polarstern, terrestrial sites in networks including ICOS ecosystem stations, and experimental facilities like CERN-connected environmental sensor labs.

Consortium and Partners

The consortium comprises research infrastructures, universities, technology providers, and data centres including National Oceanography Centre, British Antarctic Survey, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, CEH, NERC, CNRS, INRAE, KNMI, GEOMAR, Ifremer, SMHI, BAS, SIO, MET Norway, AWI, ULB, TU Delft, VU Amsterdam, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, JRC, EMBL-EBI, SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, SURFsara, CSC, PSNC, GÉANT, EUDAT CDI and regional research clusters such as NordForsk and ESFRI participants. Technology collaborators include cloud and HPC providers like Amazon Web Services partners, Google Cloud research alliances, and European nodes from PRACE.

Architecture and Components

ENVRI-FAIR implements a layered architecture combining data, metadata, services, and access control, integrating tools such as Apache Kafka, ElasticSearch, PostgreSQL, CKAN, and semantic web technologies promoted by W3C standards like RDF and SPARQL. Components include catalogues interoperable with DataCite DOIs, identity services leveraging ORCID and eduGAIN, and APIs compatible with OGC standards such as SensorThings API and WFS. The architecture promotes containerised deployments with Docker, orchestration via Kubernetes, and reproducible workflows using Nextflow and Snakemake for linking with computational platforms like ELIXIR and European Open Science Cloud services.

Implementation and Activities

Activities encompass harmonising metadata models using schemas from ISO 19115, implementing PID strategies with Handle System and DataCite, and developing FAIR assessment workflows inspired by RDA recommendations. The project ran pilots on cross-domain use-cases involving ocean gliders, Argo floats, flux towers from FLUXNET sites, and soil observatories cooperating with GLOS. Training and outreach targeted communities at conferences including AGU Fall Meeting, EGU General Assembly, FEMS, and EnviroInfo, and engaged stakeholders via workshops at ESIP, CODATA, and the European Geosciences Union. Software outputs were registered in registries such as GitHub, Zenodo, and Software Heritage and adopted by infrastructures like ICOS and EMSO.

Governance and Funding

Governance combined project boards with representation from national research organisations and ERICs, advisory panels including members from European Commission units, and technical working groups tied to ESFRI roadmaps. Funding derived from European programmes such as Horizon 2020 and national contributions from agencies like DFG, ANR, NERC, RVO and regional funds administered by bodies including Interreg and European Regional Development Fund stakeholders. Intellectual property and data policy alignment referenced frameworks from OECD and guidelines from UNESCO while legal support interfaced with European Court of Auditors standards for project reporting.

Impact and Legacy

ENVRI-FAIR catalysed adoption of FAIR practices across environmental infrastructures influencing successors and complementary initiatives like EOSC-Life, FAIRsFAIR, OpenAIRE, and national data strategies in countries such as Norway, Germany, France, Netherlands, Italy, and Spain. Its outputs informed policy briefs submitted to European Parliament committees and enhanced cross-domain research exemplified in publications in journals like Nature Climate Change, Science Advances, Frontiers in Earth Science, and Environmental Research Letters. Long-term legacy includes improved interoperability between networks such as GEOTRACES, GEO BON, GLOSS, and enhanced datasets used by modelling centres including ECMWF, Met Office, and Copernicus Marine Service, thereby supporting global assessments by bodies like IPCC and IPBES.

Category:European research projects