The projects behind heatflow.world
heatflow.world is the idea to establish a community-driven portal and one-stop resource for heat flow-related data, publications, research projects, and expert networks. The new technical database is designed to adhere to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and OPEN data principles, ensuring broad accessibility and seamless integration with other geoscientific data services.
The new heat flow research data infrastructure is realized within two project phases:
Phase One (2022-2025)
World Heat Flow Database Project (WHFD)
Developing the basic research data infrastructure and pushing the assessment.
Phase Two (planned for 2025-2028)
World Heat Flow Portal (WHFP) project
Consolidating and optimizing the research data infrastructure and finalizing the global assessment.
Core Metadata Elements of the Database
A key feature of the portal is the inclusion of persistent identifiers to the machine-readable heat flow metadata that support citability and ensure traceability and data integration,:
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
Assign DOI (Digital Object Identifier) o newly submitted heat flow data and regular publications of the entire database content to ensure their long-term citability and accessibility, together with the provision of rich metadata for data discovery.
ORCID - Open Researcher and Contributor ID
ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) are used to uniquely identify researchers contributing to the database.
IGSN - International Generic Sample Number
The IGSN (International Generic Sample Number) links datasets and publications to the physical samples on which the measurements were performed.
ROR - Research Organization Registry
The ROR (Research Organization Registry) is a community-led registry of open persistent identifiers for research organizations.
Major milestones
Data portal - official release in July 2025
On the 8th of July, 2025, we will officially release the new heat flow research data infrastructure to the public.
Stakeholder workshop | EGU heatflow.spring 2024
During a feedback workshop, we concluded a first stakeholder evaluation process with evaluation and recommendations from experts in geoinformatics, research data infrastructure and geoscience.
Global Heat Flow Database: Data release 2024
A full data release of the Global Heat Flow Database with ca. 50% assessment ratio and assigned quality codes was published.
3rd 24hrs Global Heat Flow Day
On 22 Feb 2024, we organized 3rd Global Heat Flow Day - this time in the light of the new IHFC quality scheme and its adoptation to heat flow data.
New IHFC Data Quality Standardization
The heat fow community developed the new IHFC standard on data and metadata structure and a new quality scheme.
Global Heat Flow Database: Data release 2023
A full data release of the Global Heat Flow Database with the first assessed data sets was published.
2nd 24hrs Global Heat Flow Day
On 23 Feb 2023, we organized the 2nd 24hrs virtual live support session. The session offered an exchange and training format for the 2023 updated database structure.
Cermak7 Meeting hosted in Potsdam
The 7th International Meeting on “Heat Flow and the Thermal Structure of the Lithosphere” renewed the successful tradition of the Czech "castle meetings", which were organized by the Geophysical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Starting World Heat Flow Database (Phase One)
The DFG-funded project (phase one) starts with the development of a new research data infrastructure for heat flow data.
1st 24hrs Global Heat Flow Day
On 22 Feb 2022, we organized a 24hrs around the globe virtual live support session to help researchers get into the assessment of the global heat flow database. The sesseion offered discussion about the new data structure and hands-on expereinces on how to convert heat flow research data according to the new database requirements.
Task Force VIII of the International Lithosphere Program (ILP) founded
The ILP Task Force VIII on Lithospheric Heat Flow (2021-2026) was granted to Fuchs/Beardsmore/Verdoya/Liu/Harris/Negrete Aranda
Global data assessment project initiated
The global collaborative and voluntary assessment was initiated by the IHFC.
New data standardization
Starting a new era (IUGG Montreal)
At the IHFC meeting in 2019 the commission agreed on a new project of reassessment and redesign of the GHFDB, by checking and validating the available data and setting-up a modern research data infrastructure (e.g. providing doi for data) with a new data portal.