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Our science is published in a variety of formats. Click here for more information. We also attend events and conferences in the UK, within Europe, and at venues around the world.CEH Information Gateway links up with the National Biodiversity Network
5 August 2011
Map search function on the CEH Information Gateway
The CEH Information Gateway (CIG) is a web portal that provides researchers and the wider public with quick, easy and direct access to a diverse range of environmental data.
The latest upgrade to the CIG allows users to run searches using other metadata catalogues, including the 65 million species records held on the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Gateway. This means users can now find species records and environmental information from a single source.
Because both systems employ common web service standards, CIG users can now search for NBN datasets using the CIG search interface.Users simply select the “Search Additional Catalogues” tickbox before running a search and records from the NBN catalogue will now be included in the results.
CEH expects the link with the NBNGateway to be the first of many similar connections as more data providers start providing matching services (using UK Location and EC INSPIRE standards) in the future.
The team behind the CIG have produced a short movie showing the distributed search in action, and showing how to change which catalogues are used.
The CEH Information Gateway is the first major output of the Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC), the NERC Data Centre for the Freshwater and Terrestrial Sciences. The EIDC hosts a wide variety of datasets including many nationally and often globally unique long-term datasets. It brings together data facilities such as the Biological Record Centre, the National River Flow Archive, the UK Environmental Change Network, Countryside Survey, Land Cover Map and the NERC Environmental Bioinformatics Centre.
The Gateway allows users to:
- Search the data catalogue and read descriptions of the nature and scope of datasets
- View, access and overlay maps of key spatial datasets
- Download key datasets in seconds (subject to terms and conditions of use)
- Create a personal account to save search terms and give feedback on dataset usability
Over 200 EIDC metadata records can currently be seen on the Gateway and 94 datasets can be downloaded directly. To date, nearly 400 external users have registered for Gateway services.
Additional Information
CEH is a founder member of the NBN Partnership, hosts the NBN Gateway and co-funds its development. CEH also hosts the Biological Record Centre which has supported networks of volunteer naturalists in the UK for more than 40 years. The value of volunteer contribution to biodiversity monitoring is estimated at approximately £55 million per year.
Access the gateway here
Find out more about the Gateway and the Environmental Information Data Centre LINK
CEH Information Gateway launched - 18 November 2010
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