The Geophysical and Bathymetric Data Distribution Centre manages the processing, integration, storage and dissemination of marine and terrestrial geophysical data.

• Objectives: to process and integrate geophysical and bathymetric data; to ensure consistent georeferencing and secure archiving; and to disseminate data at both national and international level.
• Instrumentation: processing systems, structured databases and metadata catalogues for the management of large volumes of data.
• Data management: OGS stores, enhances and distributes datasets through dedicated portals, supporting research and international data sharing.

The Centre brings together the scientific and technological expertise required for the processing of seismic data, both in the field of crustal geophysical exploration (geodynamics, seismic stratigraphy, seismicity and the exploitation of geo-resources) and in that of high-resolution near-surface geophysical exploration (civil engineering, hydrogeology and geothermal energy). Standard and advanced processing techniques are employed and adapted to the type of data being handled (for example, modern or “vintage” data, acquired on land or at sea), with the aim of obtaining the best possible image of the subsurface.

Adopting a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) approach and developing and using internationally recognized standards, OGS is in fact a reference point for data accessibility at an international level. These activities are stored and presented in two main web portals that OGS manages:

• SNAP where over 100.000 kilometers of seismic lines in the Mediterranean and Black Sea area are made available a short time after acquisition, but also where it is possible to find vintage data that have been recovered from paper sections and that are extremely important because of the environmental limitations imposed on new acquisitions.
• The Antarctic Seismic data Library System, a hub for all the seismic data acquired by all research institutions in Antarctica. This initiative and portal hosts more than 350.000 kilometers of seismic lines.

All the systems managed by OGS (geophysical data distribution infrastructure of the GEO section) are fully interoperable with major data sharing initiatives at National and International level (SeaDataNet, EMODnet, NADC and similar) and are compliant with principal data and metadata standards.

The Open Data approach allows researchers from the geophysical community to find and access data they are interested in, but through web semantic technologies it is possible to project data managed by OGS also towards other communities where they can be integrated in initially unforecastable multidisciplinary studies.

The Open Data approach and the possibility to use the developed systems in multiple contexts prompted OGS to develop a further research line that aims at developing technologies and paradigms designed for policymakers and society at large, both in the dissemination of the results of research and in their involvement in the activities of research themselves.

To this end, OGS has developed a citizen science infrastructure called GENA, which enables the acquisition, transmission, consolidation within a database, and visualisation through a web portal of real-time measurements of any kind (water quality, air quality, noise pollution and more). These measurements can be carried out independently by volunteers (citizen scientists) equipped with low-cost sensors connected to transmission systems, thereby considerably increasing the geographical and temporal coverage of measurements while significantly reducing acquisition costs.

The enormous quantity and heterogeneity of the data collected in this way require analysis techniques based on artificial intelligence to help analysts identify features of interest quickly and effectively. A specific line of research has therefore also been developed in this area.