Sprecher
Beschreibung
Because of traditionally large data volumes and the diversity of acquisition and processing workflows, internationally recognized metadata standards for marine seismic data are still lacking. At the same time, there is a growing need within the geophysical community to harmonise metadata in accordance with the FAIR principles, enabling semantic interoperability, long-term reuse, and emerging applications such as machine learning and large-scale data analysis. Within the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration (HMC) Project MetaSeis, we addressed metadata standardisation for two specific types of marine seismic data: ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) data acquired using artificial seismic sources (active-source experiments) and 3D reflection seismic data. While active-source OBS data have been archived for many years, no commonly agreed metadata standard exists. We therefore reviewed and consolidated existing practices at several international institutions, with a focus on clarifying acquisition, processing, and instrument-related metadata. Based on these findings and aligned with existing efforts for passive-source OBS data, we developed a first draft metadata standard that is currently under discussion in the community and open to further refinement. In parallel, we established an archiving workflow for legacy active-source OBS data acquired by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). Metadata retrieval for these datasets proved challenging due to incomplete or missing metadata, reports, and documentation. These gaps required retrospective reconstruction of metadata in close collaboration with domain experts, highlighting practical challenges in metadata harmonisation. In addition, existing metadata standards for raw 2D reflection seismic data were extended to include 3D reflection seismic data. This step was facilitated by the limited number of institutions in Germany and their prior agreement on the 2D metadata structure.