Diatoms.org: supporting taxonomists, connecting communities.

Consistent identification of diatoms is a prerequisite for studying their ecology, biogeography, and successful application as environmental indicators. However, taxonomic consistency among observers has been difficult to achieve, because taxonomic information is scattered across numerous literature sources, presenting challenges to the diatomist. First, literature is often inaccessible because of cost, or its location in journals that are not widely circulated.