Open science resources for the discovery and analysis of Tara Oceans data

The Tara Oceans expedition (2009–2013) sampled contrasting ecosystems of the world oceans, collecting environmental data and plankton, from viruses to metazoans, for later analysis using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. It surveyed 210 ecosystems in 20 biogeographic provinces, collecting over 35,000 samples of seawater and plankton. The interpretation of such an extensive collection of samples in their ecological context requires means to explore, assess and access raw and validated data sets. To address this challenge, the Tara Oceans Consortium offers open science resources, including the use of open access archives for nucleotides (ENA) and for environmental, biogeochemical, taxonomic and morphological data (PANGAEA), and the development of on line discovery tools and collaborative annotation tools for sequences and images. Here, we present an overview of Tara Oceans Data, and we provide detailed registries (data sets) of all campaigns (from port-to-port), stations and sampling events. Design Type(s) observation design • global survey Measurement Type(s) Registry Technology Type(s) Written Documentation Factor Type(s) Sample Characteristic(s) Bay of Biscay • Strait of Gibraltar • Mediterranean Sea • Mediterranean Sea, Western Basin • Ligurian Sea • Tyrrhenian Sea • Ionian Sea • Adriatic Sea • Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Basin • Red Sea • Arabian Sea • Indian Ocean • Mozambique Channel • Southeast Atlantic Ocean • South Atlantic Ocean • Southwest Atlantic Ocean • Drake Passage • South Pacific Ocean • Equatorial Pacific Ocean • North East Pacific Ocean • Gulf of Mexico • Florida Straits • NW Atlantic Ocean • North Atlantic Ocean • NE Atlantic Ocean • Norwegian Sea • Kara Sea • Arctic Ocean • Beaufort Sea • Northwest Passages • Baffin Bay • marine biome Design Type(s) observation design • global survey Measurement Type(s) Registry Technology Type(s) Written Documentation Factor Type(s) Sample Characteristic(s) Bay of Biscay • Strait of Gibraltar • Mediterranean Sea • Mediterranean Sea, Western Basin • Ligurian Sea • Tyrrhenian Sea • Ionian Sea • Adriatic Sea • Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Basin • Red Sea • Arabian Sea • Indian Ocean • Mozambique Channel • Southeast Atlantic Ocean • South Atlantic Ocean • Southwest Atlantic Ocean • Drake Passage • South Pacific Ocean • Equatorial Pacific Ocean • North East Pacific Ocean • Gulf of Mexico • Florida Straits • NW Atlantic Ocean • North Atlantic Ocean • NE Atlantic Ocean • Norwegian Sea • Kara Sea • Arctic Ocean • Beaufort Sea • Northwest Passages • Baffin Bay • marine biome Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format)