IHO CSB Trusted Node Agreement

International Hydrographic Organization
Crowdsourced Bathymetry Trusted Node
AGREEMENT
Terms of the Provision of Crowdsourced Bathymetry
Data
FROM
Trusted Node Name
TO THE
International Hydrographic Organization
FOR INCLUSION IN THE
IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry Archive

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Section 1: Introduction
This document represents the agreement that XYZ (XYZ) and the International Hydrographic Organization
have reached for submitting crowdsourced bathymetry data for long-term preservation and stewardship.
This document is a joint effort between XYZ and the IHO to accurately document the agreement and the
expectations between the two entities.

Section 2: Background
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organization that works to
ensure all the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters are surveyed and charted. Established in 1921, it
coordinates the activities of national hydrographic offices and promotes uniformity in nautical charts and
documents. It issues survey best practices, provides guidelines to maximize the use of hydrographic survey
data and develops hydrographic capabilities in Member States.
The IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB) was established in 1990 (IHO CL 23/1990) pursuant
to a proposal by the United States, to steward the worldwide collection of bathymetric data. The DCDB
archives and shares, openly and without restrictions, depth data contributed by mariners. The DCDB is
hosted by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers
for Environmental Information (NCEI) on behalf of the IHO Member States.
The IHO currently accepts CSB contributions through a network of Trusted Nodes. An IHO Trusted Node
is an approved organization or individual who systematically receives CSB data collected by vessels or
other platforms and delivers them to the IHO DCDB. Trusted Nodes may assist the mariner by providing
access to data logging or transmission equipment, providing technical support to vessels, downloading data
from data loggers, and providing the information to the DCDB. The DCDB works with each Trusted Node
to standardize metadata and data formats and define data delivery requirements. This model normalizes
data contributions and minimizes the requirements and effort for mariners.
[Brief description of XYZ company/organization/etc]
[Description of how data will be collected (eg: data logger, voyage data recorders (VDR), software)]

Section 3: Purpose and Scope
This Trusted Node agreement (TN Agreement) is a signed, approved agreement for data archiving and
access and becomes a reference document for XYZ and the IHO, and for implementation by the DCDB. It
is a negotiated agreement between the parties indicating a common understanding of performance and
intent. This TN Agreement describes XYZ’s and the IHO DCDB’s responsibilities in transferring,
disseminating, and archiving XYZ data. It contains, or has references to, all the information needed to
develop appropriate interfaces between two systems for data transfer and provides information on data
access and dissemination.

Section 4: References
The cited documents are applicable to or referenced from this TN Agreement.

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#
Reference Document
1 B-12 Edition 2.0.3 Guidance on Crowdsourced Bathymetry
2 Guidance for Submitting CSB Data to the IHODCDB_v1.0

Section 5: Contacts
A. Trusted Node Contacts
Trusted Node Function
Associated Provider-side function:
●
●

Project Manager
Subject Matter Expert

Associated Provider-side function:
●
●
●

Project Manager
Subject Matter Expert
Dataset POC

Trusted Node Contact
Last Name:
First Name:
Organization:
Position:
Phone:
E-mail:
Last Name:
First Name:
Organization:
Position:
Phone:
E-mail:

B. DCDB Contacts
DCDB Function
Associated DCDB-side function:
Project Management
Subject Matter Expert
Dataset POC
TN Agreement Author
Associated DCDB-side function:
●
●
●
●

●
●
●
●

Subject Matter Expert
Dataset POC
Integration & Testing
Data Manager

DCDB Contact
Last Name: Jencks
First Name: Jennifer
Organization: IHO DCDB
Position: Director
Phone: 303-497-6419
Email: jennifer.jencks@noaa.gov
Last Name: Zelenak
First Name: Georgie
Organization: IHO DCDB
Position: CSB Data Manager
Phone: 303-497-5809
Email: georgianna.zelenak@noaa.gov

Section 6: IHO DCDB Data Archive and Services
A. Creative Commons 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0)
The Trusted Node is, voluntarily and without financial compensation, providing CSB data to the IHO

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DCDB under a Creative Commons 1.0 Universal public domain dedication (CC0).
The IHO DCDB intends to store the Trusted Node’s data through the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in Boulder, Colorado.
Furthermore, the IHO DCDB intends to publicly release the Trusted Node’s Data in its original form under
the CC0 public domain dedication (creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=chooser-v1) via
interactive web map services.
In no event is the IHO DCDB liable to the Trusted Node for third-party use of Trusted Node-provided data.
By signing this TN Agreement, the Trusted Node indicates that it has sufficient legal authority over the CSB
data it provides to accept these terms.

B. Data Submission
All Trusted Nodes are requested to review the CSB Data Submission to the IHO DCDB Guidance
Document which provides detailed information and instructions on how to document, package and submit
CSB data to the IHO DCDB.
[Description of WHAT data package will consist of: geojson vs csv, uncorrected vs corrected, unprocessed
vs processed, metadata content.
Description of HOW data will be packaged and submitted to the IHO DCDB.
Description of data submission frequency: realtime, monthly, annually, etc.
Description of how DCDB will be notified that data is ready (if delivery isn’t realtime).]

C. Data Filtering
When CSB data has been collected within a country’s jurisdiction, the IHO DCDB will redistribute the data
in agreement with national legislation and caveats based on the information received by the IHO Secretariat
from individual coastal states on request.

D. Data Access
The DCDB map viewer (ncei.noaa.gov/maps/iho_dcdb/) is an online tool where users can search for,
identify and obtain CSB data. The map viewer contains filters that correspond to a specified time range or
submitting vessel (unless the submitting vessel chooses to remain anonymous). Users can also identify data
files geographically.

Section 7: General Provisions
A. This agreement is valid upon signature by both parties and remains in effect unless terminated.
B. Either party may request termination of this agreement, which will take effect after X days.
C. This agreement may be revised with the written agreement of both parties.

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D. Information contained in Section 5 and Section 6(b) are considered to be sensitive, and will not be
released publicly, to the extent permissible according to law and IHO Basic Documents.

Name, Title
XYZ

Date

Luigi Sinapi, Director
International Hydrographic Organization

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