SOUP: A Recipe for Managing Ocean Data from the Abyss to Archive

Okeanos Explorer

© NOAA OMAO

By Maureen Cribb

Scientist Anna Lienesch has had continuing CISESS funding to innovate the capture and archiving of ocean exploration data with NCEI and OMAO. Her latest work builds on the NOAA "Explorer Model" that integrates ocean science and resource management through a community-driven approach to explore and characterize data-scarce regions of the deep ocean. Exploration sampling plays a critical role in these efforts by collecting biological, geological, and water samples that provide the data needed to assess genetic diversity, morphology, ecological connectivity, taxonomy, and seafloor composition within areas of interest. NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) plays a key role in this process by managing and preserving the data on these precious samples throughout their lifecycle, from collection and processing to facilitation of long-term archiving and public access. 

The Sampling Operations User Portal (SOUP) is the new sampling data management system that NCEI and NOAA Ocean Exploration will use during NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer expeditions. SOUP is a cloud-based application with a robust back-end database designed to store, manage, and maintain information about physical samples collected from the deep sea. Biological, geological, and water samples are collected during Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives and Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth rosette deployments. Each sample has associated environmental metadata, which can include the latitude and longitude, depth, temperature, and in-situimagery recorded at the time of collection. As Sample Data Manager and a primary user of this tool, Lienesch was involved in the tool’s design, feature enhancement, and testing.

Figure 1: (left) The sampling information displayed in the SOUP application for a sample collected during the ROV Shakedown. (right) Lienesch on the ROV Shakedown in June with the first official sample in hand, the SOUP application displayed on the laptop, and the first label printed using the new SOUP application. 

SOUP has taken onboard data processing to new depths with its streamlined user interface and integration into ship-based data recording software. With the simple click of a button within SOUP, a user can ingest sampling metadata, print museum quality labels, generate summary exports and reports, and so much more. Through automation processes and network-based pipelines, SOUP simplifies the sampling workflow, allowing for easier and faster data backup, remote access, and fewer errors. During the 2026 ROV shakedown, EX2603, SOUP was installed on the updated NOAA Ocean Exploration network, integrated into the workflow of the systems from which it pulls data, and tested to ensure all issues were addressed before the field season officially begins on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Looking ahead, SOUP may undergo further development to be utilized for other projects, replacing outdated workflows and streamlining processes. 

For more information on ocean data collection and archiving, see the longer article on CISESS Scientist Hyelim Yoo's project: NOAA Ship Data Assembly Center: Ready for Deployment.

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