How FAIR Is Geospatial Data? An Assessment of OEMC Datasets (Mustafa Serkan Isik & Imma Serra)

The Open-Earth Monitor Global Workshop 2026 "Next-Generation EO & GeoAI Built on Openness and Distributed Data" 7-9 October 2026, Barcelona, Spain https://earthmonitor.org/global-workshop-2026/ As FAIR principles become increasingly central to open science and research data stewardship, a persistent gap remains between their broad endorsement and their consistent practical validation in real-world repositories. This challenge is particularly visible for geospatial datasets, where domain-specific requirements such as spatial formats, metadata richness, and interoperability standards are not always captured by general FAIR assessment approaches. In this work, a structured FAIR assessment was applied to datasets produced within the Open-Earth-Monitor Cyberinfrastructure (OEMC) project. To support the evaluation, we developed a FAIR assessment tool tailored to geospatial data entries published on Zenodo, while designing the underlying framework to remain flexible and transferable to other repository environments. The assessment identifies both strengths and recurring gaps in current data publication practices and provides actionable recommendations for improving the long-term usability, transparency, and scientific value of geospatial datasets.