Historicising Web-Based Environmental Data Dashboards: surfrider.org, 1997-2025

Publication Date

1-1-2026

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Internet Histories

DOI

10.1080/24701475.2026.2672795

Abstract

Web-based data dashboards provide critical points of access for users hoping to gain knowledge concerning environmental phenomena, yet their historical development has not been explicitly tracked in existing literature. This paper historicises environmental data on the web by examining preserved copies of the US-based non-profit organisation Surfrider Foundation’s coastal water quality monitoring data dating back to its earliest crawl via Wayback Machine in October, 1997. Building on literature concerning cultural techniques and the value of processual metadata, the study situates Surfrider’s data curation practices within broader shifts in web development during the identified historical period. Methodologically, it combines media archaeology and digital forensics to analyse changes in data formats, web design, and documentation practices. Findings show the site shifting from static HTML with rich sensory descriptions in 1997 to a dynamic web-based dashboard in 2025, which also correlates with increased reliance on specialised external libraries and standardised forms of representation. Considering these changes within the framework of changing cultural techniques for both scientific knowledge production and web development, the paper shows how the changing social impacts of data curation on the web exemplify broader social issues concerning knowledge production in digital environments.

Keywords

digital preservation, environmental science, sociology of knowledge, Web archives

Department

Information

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