Science requires a solid database and access to dedicated instruments, laboratories, and data products. GFZ’s Modular Earth Science Infrastructure (MESI) provides essential observations for geosciences. It is thus one backbone of research at GFZ and is also available to users from universities and research institutes.
MESI comprises:
operational services and ground segments for satellite missions (especially GRACE-FO and Swarm)
globally distributed station networks for seismology, geodesy (GNSS and gravity), and the magnetic field
state-of-the-art instrument pools for seismology, magnetotellurics, and GNSS as well as support services for ICDP projects including the realisation of borehole physical measurements
specialized analytical laboratories (Secondary ion mass spectrometry, Potsdam Imaging and Spectral Analysis Facilities)
and data centres for geodesy and geophysics
Both raw data and a wide range of service data products are available to scientists and other stakeholders. To ensure excellent services, the individual modules are subject to oversight by external steering committees or are embedded into the governance of international coordination bodies. Consequently, MESI modules are integrated into the international research communities, allowing us to drive developments forward and pick up on international trends at an early stage.
External users can access the instrument pools and the laboratories free of charge, and data and associated products are distributed FAIR. The acronym FAIR stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. Specifically, MESI supports data mining and AI applications by providing most of its data in standardized formats through APIs and web services and delivering higher-order data products.
