Synthesis of Systematic Resources - Annex I: Description of Work

Publication Type:Report
Year of Publication:2013
Corporate Authors:NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS KEW,, ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH,, MUSEUM NATIONAL D'HISTOIRE NATURELLE,, KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET,, AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS,, NATURHISTORISKA RIKSMUSEET,, STICHTING NATURALIS BIODIVERSITY CENTER,, FREIE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN,, MUSEUM FUR NATURKUNDE - LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR EVOLUTIONS- UND BIODIVERSITATSFORSCHUNG AN DER HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITAT ZU BERLIN,, NATURHISTORISCHES MUSEUM,, MAGYAR TERMESZETTUDOMANYI MUZEUM,, INSTITUT ROYAL DES SCIENCES NATURELLES DE BELGIQUE,, MUSEE ROYAL DE L'AFRIQUE CENTRALE,, NARODNI MUZEUM-NATIONAL MUSEUM NM,, VIZZUALITY SL,, STICHTING VU-VUMC,, HELLENIC CENTRE FOR MARINE RESEARCH,
Document Number:part A
Abstract:

SYNTHESYS3 will create an accessible, integrated European resource for researchers in the natural sciences
in Europe and globally. Building on the success of the previous SYNTHESYS IA, the NA will focus on improving
collections management of new physical and virtual collections. By focusing the JRA on extracting and
enhancing data from digitised collections, SYNTHESYS3 will increase the accessibility of these 340 million
strong collections. A wide range of services and access – both physical and digital – will be provided to a broad
range of scientific Users (from biological and geological related disciplines) in a consistent and accessible way.
The natural history collections, held within the museums and herbaria, of Europe are World-class in terms of their
magnitude and taxonomic coverage. They represent a resource unique in Europe as a model of the diversity
of life on earth and are a physical dataset enabling Users to research how the human activity (including climate
change) is having an increasingly negative impact on the diversity and distribution of biodiversity, which is
threatening the continued provision of ecosystem services essential to human well-being.
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith