[Nauru [NOAA] [ETL]

U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric

Radiation Measurement Program

And

Japan Marine Science and Technology Center

Data Protocol for Nauru99

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of the United States of America, and the Ocean Research Department of the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC) of Japan are interested in the effective use of data obtained during the intensive field experiment called Nauru99.

It is recognized that the development and maintenance of a comprehensive and accurate data archive is a critical step in meeting the goals of Nauru99. The overall data management philosophy is to make the completed data set available to the world research community as soon as possible in order to better incorporate the information into world climate modeling efforts.

This data policy has been developed jointly by ARM and JAMSTEC with input from the participants of the Nauru99 campaign.

1. General guidelines:

  1. ARM-sponsored data will be shared in accordance with the basic tenets of the ARM Program:
    1. Free and open sharing of data.
    2. Immediate processing and sharing of data by DOE supported Principal Investigators, in the field when and where feasible.
    3. Timely release of data to the ARM Science Team and the general scientific community through ARM data system.
  2. All ARM and JAMSTEC collaborating scientists are encouraged to follow the ARM data protocols of timely release and free and open sharing.

2. Details:

  1. Nauru Site Health-of-status Data: ARM site Health-of-Station data (typically hourly) from Nauru will be made openly available through the ARM web site. These data are preliminary (see below) and should not be used for any purposes other than qualitative.
  2. Preliminary Data: "Preliminary data" are defined as data that have not necessarily been subjected to review, quality control and/or documentation by the responsible investigator. "Preliminary Data" are not considered publishable without the coordination and concurrence of the responsible investigator. During, and immediately after, the Nauru99 campaign, all participants will have free and open access to all preliminary data, where feasible, given the limitations of ship-to-ship or ship-to-island transfers, and bearing in mind that some instruments require extensive post analysis before usable data emerge.

    At the latest, preliminary data should be available to participating scientists within three months of the end of the experiment (by 1 Nov 1999). ARM and ETL have agreed to maintain restricted repositories for preliminary data sets.
  3. Quality Assured Data: "Quality-assured data" are fully calibrated and come with full documentation (metadata). All participating scientists will strive to prepare complete quality-assured data sets within one year of the end of the experiment (1 Aug 2000). It is recognized that for some instruments data processing can be lengthy, and the one-year schedule is not feasible. However, recognizing the open-data philosophy, investigators who cannot meet the deadline are requested to post a timetable by which they can submit the quality-assured sets.
  4. ETL will act to ensure collection and timely submittal of quality assurance data sets from the RON BROWN.
  5. JAMSTEC will act to ensure collection and timely submittal of quality data sets from the MIRAI.
  6. ETL and JAMSTEC will forward quality-controlled data sets to the ARM Archive as soon as they are available. They will coordinate data submittal to the ARM database including timetables for data submittals that extend beyond the one-year schedule.
  7. A Nauru99 data workshop will be scheduled for approximately December 1999, in advance of the March 2000 ARM Science Team Meeting. There are some data sets that are crucial to most participants for data analysis---e.g. navigation, radiosondes, mean meteorology, aircraft mean trackline data --- ETL, ARM, and JAMSTEC are encouraged to make these data sets available in a quality or near quality form as soon as possible.
  8. The ARM Archive will track data versions and ensure latest data versions are made available to data recipients.
  9. Nauru99 participants may release their own preliminary data to whomever they wish and the preliminary data of other investigators with the consent of the data's originator.
  10. Non-participants who wish to use Nauru99 data sets are encouraged to enlist the collaboration of the investigator for those data.

3. Data Attribution and Publication:

Early publication of research and analysis results is a key objective of the ARM Program. The following principles are established to encourage or facilitate early publication.

  1. All ARM routine data are freely publishable upon receipt.
  2. Data shared in the field are to be considered preliminary data; these data will not be considered publishable.
  3. Data originating from ARM-funded Nauru99 participants will be quality controlled and initially released to the ARM Archive for distribution to Nauru99 participants as soon as possible after collection, but no later than 1 August 2000. All data entered into the shared data archive for Nauru99 will be restricted to access by Nauru99 participants until 1 August 2000, when data will be moved to an archive accessible by the general scientific community. Until 1 August 2000, Nauru99 data users will not publish analytical results without the collaboration of the investigator responsible for the data.
  4. A final, quality controlled data set will be released to the ARM Archive as soon as possible, but no earlier than 1 August 2000. This data set will include all necessary quality assessments and documentation. At this time, the data will be considered openly publishable. Data users are cautioned to confirm data versions with the originator prior to publication.
  5. The ARM Nauru99 web page will list points of contact and versions for each data set.
  6. The automatic inclusion of a data originator as a co-author is not insisted upon in the ARM program. For Nauru99, until the general release of data on 31 March 2000, the investigator responsible for a data set will be given the opportunity to choose being listed as a co-author, or being acknowledged as the source of the data. After 3 March 2000, the source of any data can be recognized either through co-authorship or through an appropriate acknowledgment.
  7. The lead scientists, Dr. Tom Ackerman and Dr. Chris Fairall will prepare a summary of the Nauru99 campaign, for posting on the ARM web site. This summary will ultimately include a listing of available data and URLs as appropriate. An initial summary report will be posted within two weeks of the completion of the field effort and will be updated on a timely basis as data are made available.

The ARM Program and, where appropriate, the researcher responsible for a specific measurement should be acknowledged in publications. ARM should be acknowledged as the programmatic origin of the field program. ARM-funded investigators will use the following acknowledgment: "This research was supported by the Office of Biological and Environment Research of the U.S. Department of Energy (under grant or contract number - if you want or need to include it) as part of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program." ARM collaborators are encouraged to appropriately acknowledge the cooperation or collaboration of the " U.S. Department of Energy through its Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program."

When any data publications include the JAMSTEC, then proper acknowledgment will be given to the JAMSTEC, to the R/V MIRAI, and to the researcher responsible for the measurements.

Nauru 99 | ETL | Systems | Meteorology | Webmaster
Updated: Monday - March 15, 1999