Ocean Day sampling handbook. April 2016.

Abstract

The Ocean Sampling Day (OSD) Handbook, version of April 2016, is a best practice guide describing procedures and policies on the marine sample collection, logistics and bioinformatics intended primarily for marine research stations and cruises contributing to the Ocean Sampling Day event, (http://www.microb3.eu/osd). These guidelines on the OSD sample and data collection and archiving were developed by the Micro B3 consortium to support an objective of the Micro B3 project (http://www.microb3.eu/) to integrate global marine data with research on microbial diversity and functions. A collection of OSD samples acquired according to OSD Handbook guidelines, i.e. using standardised protocols and accompanied by a standardised set of environmental parameters, will enable molecular and morphological analysis of marine microbial biodiversity on a global scale and in a rich environmental context. OSD samples will be archived at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, USA, to allow their availability as technologies advances. OSD sample metadata and environmental data will be stored at the PANGAEA (http://www.pangaea.de), condensed summary of oceanographic data in the SeaDataNet (http://www.seadatanet.org/) and morphologybased biodiversity data in the EurOBIS (http://www.eurobis.org/). OSD sample metadata and sequence/read data will be archived at the ENA (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/). The Micro B3 Information System will provide a primary access to all OSD data.