Until now, the EPOS Data Portal, officially released in April 2023 at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2023 (EGU23), has been used by more than 17.000 users from 117 countries all over the world.
One of EPOS main priorities in the forthcoming years will be to continuously evolve the EPOS Data Portal, with the prospect of increasing the availability of datasets, services, and software. User feedback plays a pivotal role in this process, since it provides essential insights into the user experience and preferences, ultimately helping to improve the Data Portal functionality.
On October 9, 2023, several noteworthy updates have been rolled out:
- Contact Form: The new contact form allows users to directly communicate with dataset owners or service providers, streamlining requests for information, issue reporting, and feedback submission - in compliance with the GDPR provisions.
- Improved Data Provider Visibility: Enhanced visibility for data providers like EIDA improves users' ability to access and interact with datasets efficiently.
- Extended Time-Series Plotting: More services, including NFO and Geo-Electromagnetism, can now be visualized as time-series data, offering a comprehensive view of the information.
- User Experience Enhancements:
- Guided Tour: A step-by-step tour helps users in exploring the EPOS Data Portal's features, ensuring everyone can maximize its potential.
- Helpful Hints: Additional hints have been added to guide users through the portal's functions.
- Visualization Customization: Users now have the ability to customize their data visualizations, tailoring them to their specific needs.
- Improved Download: The download feature has been enhanced to support more file types, facilitating a seamless data retrieval experience.
- Upgrade to Angular 14: A significant upgrade to the data portal ensures a smoother and more secure user experience.
- Bug Fixes: Various bugs identified as Priority/High Critical have been addressed and resolved. Users can track the status of reported issues here.
The updates to the EPOS Data Portal improved the accessibility, usability, and functionality of the platform, ultimately benefiting the entire scientific community involved in solid Earth sciences. The continuous evolution of the portal aligns with EPOS's overarching mission to foster open science and ensure the widespread availability of FAIR data.
