Advanced technologies and data management practices in environmental science: lessons from academia

Environmental scientists stand uniquely poised to capitalize on recent advancements in technology, computation, and data management, however, it is unknown the degree to which this is occurring. We analyzed survey responses of 445 graduate students in California to evaluate understanding and use of such advances in the environmental sciences. Of students who had completed their degree, 64.3% had completed the data life cycle, 30.5% had archived research data so that it is available online, and 61.4% had no plans to create metadata for research data sets. Roughly one-third of students used an environmental sensor and collaborated with someone outside their expertise. Results varied by students’ research status and by university type. Doing excellent science in this data-intensive age may necessitate greater emphasis by university programs on data management best practices borrowed from information technology, and skills supplemented by unique training opportunities, courses, counsel fro...