| Marine data and information are the main products of the Australian Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS, www.imos.org.au) and data management is therefore a central element to the project's success. A single integrative framework for data and information management has been developed which allows discovery and access of the data by scientists, managers and the public, based on standards and interoperability. All data is freely available. IMOS has control over the delivery of these data, which simplifies the information flow. Recently IMOS has taken on the task of developing its information infrastructure to form the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN, www.aodn.org.au) which aims to become the 'one-stop-shop' for marine data in Australia. This widens the scope of marine data to be published, increases the number of organisations publishing data, and places additional demands on the IMOS information infrastructure. The development from IMOS to the AODN highlights some of the issues in developing a wide, unconstrained data network. |