Topic 4 – Data management

At present, there is no single location where data on chemicals in terrestrial ecosystems in Europe can be store, analysed and accessed. The NORMAN Database System (NDS), and in particular the biota modules and related data treatment tools developed under the precursor LIFE APEX project (2019-2022), offer a promising location in this respect. NDS is already widely used by regulators, industry and academia, already stores several million data points on chemicals in biota as well as on chemicals in abiotic media and is linked to IPCHEM, the European Commission’s data portal on chemicals in the environment.

Objectives

  1. To establish a TerraChem Data Management System (TDMS) hosting data generated under Topics 1 and 2 (and relevant pre-existing secondary data).
  2. To develop a TerraChem Early Warning System for chemicals in the terrestrial compartment in Europe.
  3. To develop a TerraChem Dashboard as a front-end to the TDMS, providing together a one-stop shop for the storage, analysis and visualisation of data on chemicals in the terrestrial compartment in Europe.

Working being carried out

The TerraChem Data Management System (TDMS) builds on The NORMAN Database System (NDS) by:

  • Populating, with primary data from the TerraChem case studies and with relevant secondary data (extracted from literature and related databases), existing NDS modules:
    • Sample Catalogue (data on biota samples used for contaminant analysis)
    • Chemical Occurrence database (data from wide-scope target analysis and conventional target analyses)
  • Developing additional database modules to accommodate new types of data arising from TerraChem, such as data on effects of chemicals on genetic diversity, functional diversity and ecosystem services
  • Developing new data interpretation tools, for example, to provide information on routes of exposure (where the databases house data on co-located samples along trophic chains), to provide information on bioaccumulation, biomagnification and trophic transfer, and tools allowing users to run models developed under topic 2 using data stored in or uploaded to the databases, including a new TerraChem Early Warning System
  • Developing a front-end TerraChem Dashboard that gives access to the data and data interpretation tools, and that conveys key findings to end users.