ScienceBase Updates - Fall 2023
Fall 2023 topics include information on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in ScienceBase, an update on the State of the Data project, a tip on searching by location in ScienceBase, and a featured data release on wind turbines in the United States.
Table of Contents
ScienceBase Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
USGS ‘State of the Data’ - Update
Did You Know? Search by Location
ScienceBase Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
In compliance with newly implemented Department of Interior (DOI) and USGS security requirements (Executive Order 14208 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity), the ScienceBase team will be transitioning to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for the ScienceBase platform.
In early November, users will see a new login screen when logging into the ScienceBase web application.
DOI ScienceBase Users (in web application)
DOI employees and contractors will log into ScienceBase with PIV card and their DOI-issued PIN. A password will no longer be required for logging into the system. For any users who have been in an exemption status for Smart Card Required for Login (SCRIL) within their IT group for required duties in ScienceBase, these users can now be SCRIL-enrolled. Please note that if a user needs a password for other USGS or DOI systems they will need to remain in the SCRIL-exempt group.
Non-DOI ScienceBase Users (in web application)
Current external ScienceBase users (myUSGS account holders with a USGS research sponsor) have been independently contacted via email about the forthcoming change and the requirement to obtain a Login.gov account (https://login.gov/). A login.gov account will provide USGS-sponsored external users a route for two-factor authentication to log into ScienceBase. If you work with external myUSGS ScienceBase collaborators, please ensure that they are aware of these new requirements and have followed up on the outlined instructions to ensure item permissions and user roles can be migrated where necessary.
Current users who have the same email associated with their external ScienceBase account as their login.gov account should not be required to make any changes. Current users with a different email associated with their login.gov account will need to log into ScienceBase with the login.gov email address after the MFA cutover is in place; these users will be re-mapped by ScienceBase admins in coordination with the system cutover.
Application Programming Interface (API) Users
The elimination of Active Directory passwords has required changes to the ScienceBase Python and R libraries for API use. The ScienceBase team is working with library maintainers in both languages to coordinate a new release of these libraries in coordination with the MFA cutover in ScienceBase; updates are being finalized.
When complete, users who have been in an exemption status for Smart Card Required for Login (SCRIL) within their IT group for required duties in ScienceBase can be SCRIL-enrolled. ScienceBase will support dynamic script login that will no longer requires an AD password. For the time being, API-based login with password will also still work for users (ScienceBase API users will need to update their local Python or R ScienceBase library to handle changes to the ScienceBase session object; users should watch for an SB Notify prompt to update their code libraries). However, all users should plan for password-less authentication and the eventual elimination of passwords from AD and begin to update code accordingly. The newest release of the R and Python libraries for ScienceBase will support an MFA approach for obtaining an API token and using that token within a script.
R documentation: https://github.com/DOI-USGS/sbtools
Python documentation: https://github.com/DOI-USGS/sciencebasepy
Sign up for ScienceBase Notify updates: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOIGS/signup/33958
ScienceBase Service Accounts
A limited number of ScienceBase users work with service accounts for system-to-system interaction or for recurring chron jobs. These users will need to update their R or Python libraries, but these workflows should continue to work as is. There may be changes to how service accounts will be configured in ScienceBase at a future point; the ScienceBase team will be coordinating with other primary business system leads within the Bureau and the ACDO to share information and, where possible, a common approach.
Please contact the ScienceBase team (sciencebase@usgs.gov) with any questions.
USGS ‘State of the Data’ - Update
The USGS Science Data Management (SDM) branch has conducted a research study titled “State of the Data” to evaluate and report on the current FAIRness of USGS data products.
The FAIR Principles (Wilkinson et al., 2016) provide a framework for making scientific data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable, and can serve as a concise and measurable strategy for optimizing the reuse of scientific data.
Project outputs include the USGS FAIR Rubric, which can be used to evaluate individual datasets against the FAIR principles, and the results of ~400 USGS dataset assessments completed using this rubric. Results will provide a baseline for measuring future progress in alignment with the FAIR principles.
The assessment dataset and rubric have been published as a data release (Hutchison et al., 2023). Also, there is ongoing work to publish a set of recommendations for the USGS to improve practices in developing and sharing FAIR data. Because many of the evaluated datasets are in ScienceBase, the ScienceBase team will use the results of this study to identify areas where the data release collection can improve its alignment with FAIR.
Hutchison, V.B., Zolly, L.S., Norkin, T., Hsu, L., and Hou, C.-Y., 2023, USGS State of the Data Project: Rubric and Assessment Data: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P97V4XA4.
Wilkinson, M., Dumontier, M., Aalbersberg, I. et al., 2016, The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship: Scientific Data, v.3, no.1, [article 160018], 9p, https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18.
Featured Data Release
Wind turbines have become crucial for renewable energy in the United States, spreading rapidly to address environmental concerns and energy needs. Despite the importance and proliferation of wind turbines across the U.S., there wasn’t a publicly available, regularly updated data source to describe those turbines and their locations until the United States Wind Turbine Database was released in 2018.
This data release’s landing page in ScienceBase has been accessed over 100,000 times, and its files downloaded over 40,000 times (according to the SBDR Dashboard). It is regularly updated, with the last update occurring in June 2023. The database has also been used in other publications, such as Bodini and others (2021), which explored how wind turbines impact local atmospheric conditions. Additionally, the database is viewable in a web app, making it easier for users to interact with the data.
Data Release: Hoen, B.D., Diffendorfer, J.E., Rand, J.T., Kramer, L.A., Garrity, C.P., and Hunt, H.E., 2018, United States Wind Turbine Database (ver. 6.0, May 2023): U.S. Geological Survey, American Clean Power Association, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7TX3DN0.
Related Publication: Rand, J.T., Kramer, L.A., Garrity, C.P. et al. A continuously updated, geospatially rectified database of utility-scale wind turbines in the United States. Sci Data 7, 15 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0353-6.
Publication utilizing the data: Bodini, N., Lundquist, J.K. & Moriarty, P. Wind plants can impact long-term local atmospheric conditions. Sci Rep 11, 22939 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02089-2.
Did You Know? Search by Location
ScienceBase includes many advanced search functions that help researchers efficiently discover data, including search by location. This feature utilizes defined ID extent queries to locate ScienceBase items based on their geospatial footprint (bounding box) information. Within the ScienceBase Advanced Search UI, this is as simple as searching your particular location with the relevant query relationships: “intersects”, “disjoint”, and “within”.
When you choose your search parameters, the parameters will be included in the URL for the search results page. These URLs go directly to the precise search you requested. You can take advantage of this consistent query URL format if you already know the extent ID and relation type needed to locate relevant data. The query URL has the following format: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/items/?q=&filter=extentQuery=<query…;
The following URL showcases the specific search parameters used for the same extent query in the screenshot above, with an additional filter for data release products: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/items?q=&filter=extentQuery={"extent":2002205,"relation":"within","buffer":""}&filter=systemType=Data+Release.
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