UK Environmental Observation Framework Data Advisory Group Advice Note 5: Big Data and Data from Sensors

This paper aims to provide a broad range of the UKEOF community and partners with a brief and introductory overview of the current state-of-play of big data, including UKEOF partner use cases in environmental observation and science, and highlights some key challenges in this rapidly emerging and developing space. Classifed as being one of the ‘eight great technologies’, big data is a rapidly evolving set of concepts and approaches which includes data discovery, collection, (re)combination, mining, analytics and preservation and may be applied to very large, dynamic and complex datasets. The UKEOF Data Advisory Group highlighted that a number of partners are working in this area and that there would be a beneft to bringing their knowledge together. Though aimed at the members of the UKEOF partnership, the paper illustrates in the context of both the providers, users of data and services through relevant use cases, particular technology issues and challenges, which are applicable to the wider environmental science community.