Coordination of long-term data management in the Gulf of Mexico: Lessons learned and recommendations from two years of cross-agency collaboration

This paper presents a summary of collaborative work, lessons learned, and suggestions for next steps in coordinating long-term data management in the Gulf of Mexico in the years following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH). A decade of increased research and monitoring following the DWH has yielded a vast amount of diverse data collected from response and assessment efforts as well as ongoing restoration efforts. To maximize the benefits of this data through proper management and coordination, a cross-agency and organization Long-Term Data Management (LTDM) working group was established in 2017 with sponsorship from NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Restoration Center (NMFS RC) and facilitated by the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center. This paper will describe the LTDM working group’s efforts to foster collaboration, data sharing, and best data management practices among the many state, federal, academic and non-governmental entities working to restore and improve the coastal environment in the Gulf following the DWH. Through collaborative workshops and working groups, participants have helped to characterize region-specific challenges, identify areas for growth, leverage existing connections, and develop recommended actions for stakeholders at all organizational levels who share an interest in data coordination and management activities.