Through Tethys RDR, research data generated within the organisation is published as open data and in accordance with the FAIR principles.
Through Tethys RDR, research data generated within the organisation is published as open data and in accordance with the FAIR principles.
GeoSphere Tethys (formerly Tethys RDR) is a digital, trustworthy, and sustainable research data repository certified by CoreTrustSeal. It primarily serves the publication and long-term archiving of georeferenced research data from the disciplines represented at GeoSphere Austria. This data is generated as part of research projects at or on behalf of GeoSphere Austria, assigned a DOI, and thus made permanently citable.
The data publications and associated metadata are generally openly accessible and – subject to the respective usage rights – freely usable. The only exceptions are datasets subject to an embargo; in such cases, the metadata is still publicly accessible, while the data itself is only made available at a defined time.
Tethys is operated bilingually (German and English). Research data publications and metadata can be published in both languages. The technical infrastructure is based on the open-source software Opus 4, which was specifically adapted to the requirements of a geoscientific repository. The databases are hosted on a Linux SQL Server.
The Preservation Plan describes the strategies for long-term digital archiving and maintaining data integrity. As a certified repository, Tethys meets the highest standards for the permanent provision and reuse of research data.
The name Tethys is derived from the Titaness and sea goddess of the same name in Greek mythology. The term was adopted at the end of the 19th century by the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess, who named a Mesozoic ocean after it – a symbolic naming for a geoscientific repository.
Geosphere Austria has the legal mandate to establish and operate a central data infrastructure as a service for science, business, administration, and society with automated access (GSAG §4(3)5). One pillar of this infrastructure is GeoSphere Tethys, where various types of georeferenced geoscientific research data (e.g., measurements, GIS data, experiments, monitoring, 3D models) generated within the organization and in collaboration with other institutions are published openly.
GeoSphere Tethys' mission is to publish and archive research data according to FAIR and Open Data principles in a way that ensures discoverability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability. We attach great importance to scientific traceability, sustainable publication, and long-term archiving. Therefore, we also offer editorial support for the publication process. Data publications are provided with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and can be clearly and easily cited.
GeoSphere Tethys' RDR Policy contains fundamental information for handling research data and ensures consistent data quality. Compliance with these guidelines ensures solid, transparent, and sustainable data publication. It regulates which data can be published, how, in what form, and to what extent. A workflow is also provided and information about rights and obligations is provided. The authors (creators) of publications generally retain the intellectual property rights to their data. By uploading and publishing data in GeoSphere Tethys, submitters transfer the rights to copy, transform, store, and distribute the data to the repository.
Tethys is based on two principles already established in the scientific community that enable the sustainable archiving and publication of reusable, scientifically relevant data: Open Science Principles and FAIR Guiding Principles.
Data already published in GeoSphere Tethys cannot be deleted unless there is a legal conflict. In this case, an internal process intervenes, completely removing the metadata and the data from the landing page. Instead, the reason for deletion is stated.
This Data Policy is supplemented by the FAQ also provided here. It contains all relevant questions and answers about data publication in Tethys.
GeoSphere Tethys is responsible for the smooth publication of data from the moment of upload. If technical errors occur unnoticed during publication, they are documented and handled via an internal error management system and corrected as quickly as possible. If content errors become known, they are also documented but handled in a different way.
With Tethys RDR, we strive to actively participate in the international research data infrastructure and make it significantly easier for the community to find the data. Tethys is currently registered at re3data.org, at OAI, and at OpenDOAR. Further registrations are in preparation.