PWD: Petrology Workspace & Database

Abstract

The Petrology Workspace and Database (PWD; https://petro.wovodat.org) is a web-based data repository and interface that allows researchers to access, share, store, and manage petrological, mineralogical, and whole rock data in a contextualized manner. The uniqueness of the PWD is that it links images to different types of images and to compositional data providing a powerful visualization and framework of information at a wide range of scales, from the meter-sized outcrop to a few micrometers of a thin rock section. The PWD archives various data types and formats, and it includes multilevel data sets with an interactive online interface. The database is linked with other databases for volcanic eruptions (Smithsonian' Global Volcanism Program (GVP)) and for whole rock chemistry (EarthChem). The tool has four main features: (1) storage and management of spatial-referenced data (e.g., from fieldwork notes to lab geochemical analysis); (2) a hierarchical relationship between different types of data using the Workspace interactive tool; (3) graph plots to visualize the data; and (4) the possibility of data sharing in a database structure that is managed by authorization levels. The PWD is a practical and efficient database management system that facilitates effective contextualized data preservation and sharing among scientists. It also can serve as a Data Management Plan and provide a framework for auditing research integrity both of which are becoming the new standards of most funding agencies and journals.