This page provides a glossary of terms used within the AquaINFRA project. The definitions provided are based on our understanding of the terminology and how it applies to the work we are doing. This glossary is intended to ensure a common understanding of these terms across the project and its stakeholders.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| 52°North | 52° North Spatial Information Research GmbH, Germany. |
| AAU | Aalborg Universitet (Aalborg University, Denmark), coordinator of AquaINFRA. |
| ADRA | AI, Data and Robotics Association – European innovation network. |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence; enabling computers to perform tasks requiring human-like intelligence. |
| AIOTI | Alliance for IoT Innovation – European IoT innovation network. |
| AIP | The AquaINFRA Interaction Platform: central gateway with integrated Workflow Canvas. |
| API | Application Programming Interface – enables inter-software communication. |
| AquaINFRA | EU-funded project building an infrastructure for marine & inland water research. |
| BDVA | Big Data Value Association – promoting big data-driven innovation across Europe. |
| BLIT | Blue Lobster IT Limited – associated partner in AquaINFRA. |
| BOKU | Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria), beneficiary. |
| BioDT | Biodiversity Digital Twin – digital representation of biodiversity for analysis/simulation. |
| CLAIRE | Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe. |
| COG | Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF – geospatial raster format optimized for cloud. |
| CREAF | Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Spain (beneficiary). |
| CSC | CSC – IT Center for Science, Finland (beneficiary). |
| CSIC | Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain (beneficiary). |
| Case | Study In AquaINFRA: real-world examples showing practical use and outcomes. |
| Co-design | Collaborative stakeholder-driven approach to service development. |
| Copernicus | EU Earth observation programme. |
| Cross-domain | Discovery Enables finding and accessing data across multiple domains. |
| DDAS | Data Discovery & Access Service – EOSC-aligned AquaINFRA service. |
| DKRZ | Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum, Germany (beneficiary). |
| DMP | Data Management Plan – details data lifecycle, reuse, and preservation. |
| DTO | Digital Twin of the Ocean – virtual representation for analysis/simulation. |
| Data | Lake (Bronze/Silver/Gold) Hierarchical data structure: raw, harmonized, analysis-ready zones. |
| Data | Harmonisation Aligning datasets from multiple sources for consistency and compatibility. |
| Data | Spaces FAIR/EOSC-aligned integrated repositories for harmonized data. |
| EC | European Commission – the EU’s executive branch. |
| EEA | European Environment Agency – provides environmental data for policy-making. |
| EMODnet | European Marine Observation and Data Network. |
| EOSC | European Open Science Cloud – federated environment for sharing research data. |
| EOSC-Core | Core services within EOSC, integrated by AquaINFRA. |
| EOSC-Exchange | Discovery layer in EOSC, exposing AquaINFRA resources. |
| EU‑Hydro | Pan-European hydrographic dataset. |
| Eurostat | EU’s statistical office. |
| FADA | Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment – freshwater biodiversity database. |
| FAIR | European Commission FAIR guidelines / OpenAIRE Principles for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable data (openaire.eu, fairdata.fi, dmeg.cessda.eu, research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu) |
| FIP | Fisheries Improvement Project – initiatives for sustainable fisheries. |
| FVB‑IGB | Forschungsverbund Berlin, Leibniz‑Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Germany (beneficiary). |
| GBIF | Global Biodiversity Information Facility. |
| GLEON | Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network. |
| Geospatial | Services Tools for spatial analysis, GIS, and environmental visualization. |
| HELCOM | Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission. |
| HEREON | www.hereon.de Hereon, Germany (beneficiary). |
| HSBO | Hochschule Bochum, Germany (beneficiary). |
| Hydrography | Connectivity Linking water bodies spatially to analyse aquatic systems. |
| INSPIRE | Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe – spatial data standardization. |
| IPR | Intellectual Property Rights – protecting creations and inventions. |
| Intelligent | Data Search Semantic and topology-aware dataset discovery in AquaINFRA. |
| Interoperability | Framework Standards and protocols ensuring system and data compatibility. |
| IoT | Internet of Things – networked sensors and devices exchanging data. |
| eLTER | Long-Term Ecosystem Research in Europe. |