Introduction
===================

The `MERIDIAN Discovery Portal`_ is a web service designed to help users discover data related to underwater acoustics and vessel tracking, as well as tools used to manipulate and visualize the data. It provides a central hub for locating relevant resources produced across Canada and around the globe. Currently, the following types of data and resources can be located through the discovery portal:

- Underwater acoustic data;
- Bioacoustic data;
- Modelled acoustic and sound propagation data;
- Vessel tracking data; and
- Software products (data models, deep-learning architectures, analysis tools, etc.).

We do not host the datasets or files, but provide detailed records about what data and resources exist, and how they can be accessed. These records are submitted by members of the community who want to make their resources more discoverable. To contribute information on your own data and tools, we encourage you to visit our interactive and user-friendly `Submission Form`_.

Our metadata records are designed to be interoperable with other geospatial repositories and catalogs, and conform to standards from ISO19115, DarwinCore, and the `CodeMeta Project`_. For more information on our metadata standard, visit the `MERIDIAN Metadata Profile for Underwater Acoustic and Vessel Tracking Data`_ document.

This guide provides an overview of the use of the MERIDIAN Discovery Portal, and the process of submitting data through the Submission Form or through bulk harvesting protocols.

We are dedicated to improving our service, and welcome your feedback. Contact us with questions or comments at meridian@dal.ca or using the `contact form`_ on our website.


.. _`MERIDIAN Discovery Portal`: https://discovery.meridian.cs.dal.ca
.. _`Submission Form`: https://discovery.meridian.cs.dal.ca/submission
.. _`CodeMeta Project`: https://codemeta.github.io/
.. _`MERIDIAN Metadata Profile for Underwater Acoustic and Vessel Tracking Data`: https://documentation.meridian.cs.dal.ca
.. _`contact form`: https://discovery.meridian.cs.dal.ca/contact