Data Management during GEOTRACES

Data Management sub-committee:

Reiner Schlitzer, Jing Zhang, Bill Jenkins, Chris Measures

http://www.geotraces.org/

Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research

International Council for Science Sponsored by

And many national agencies.

Data policies for GEOTRACES

British Ocean Data Facility,Liverpool, UK, 30th November- 2nd December, 2005

Representatives from data management facilities

BODC, PROOF, CCHDO, LDEO and the CIESEN

Largely recommendations from a meeting held at:

Raymond Pollard, Reiner Schlitzer, Jing Zhang, Ed Urban, Chris Measures

Objectives of Data Management in GEOTRACES

Ensure that all GEOTRACES data are made available to the entire geochemical and modelling community in a timely manner

Establish data standards for reporting and archiving the products of GEOTRACES cruises

Ensure the compilation and archiving of full international

GEOTRACES data set by providing access to effective data

management infrastructure for participating countries without

national infrastructure

Establish a mechanism for the validation and quality control of data

Establish timescales for data submission and release

Do not reinvent the wheel!

Ocean sections

Routine hydrography data, T,S, nutrients, oxygen, etc.Bottle parameters, TM rosette and regular rosetteMuch experience of handling these data types In particular, the CLIVAR and Carbon Hydrographic Data Office (CCHDO) at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), originally the WOCE Hydrographic Data Assembly Centre (DAC), has considerable experience of handling vertical water profile data

Expected Data Types

More diverse than ocean sections. Some similar to but shorter than ocean sections Others will involve more varied types of data

e.g. video, pore water samplers, cores, sediment traps, mooring systems, etc.

Process studies will probably be co-operative ventures involving several countries with varying capabilities and resources

Some studies will be subject to Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) data-release restrictions.

Process studies

Terms of Reference of Data Management Committee DMC)

Oversee the work of the GEOTRACES Data Assembly Centres (DACs)

and the Data Liaison Officer in the International Project Office

Ensure that GEOTRACES creates and maintains an integrated,

international data and cruise inventory

Oversee the compilation and archiving of data

Ensure that all GEOTRACES data are made available

Monitor acceptance and compliance with GEOTRACES data policies

Report to and advise the GEOTRACES Scientific Steering Committee

(SSC)

Timescales for data submission

Metadata - as soon as created from the planning stage onwards

Data (not finalised) - within 1 month (of collection, or end of cruise),

with possible approved extension

Cruise report - within 6 months of the end of the cruise

Final detailed data report for each process study within 6 months of

the end of the process study

Final data - within 2 years, exceptions possible from the SSC

Timescales for data release

Participants in a particular cruise

- as soon as available at the DAC with knowledge and

permission of the relevant PI

Public release

- within two years of end of cruise

(+ extra time for particular data type as approved by SSC)

Validation and quality control

Individual PIs are responsible for quality control of their data

Questionable data should be flagged rather than discarded

Comparison with other parameters or comparison between data sets

at the same location

Data users report questionable data to the DACs

DACs will pass data quality problems back to the PIs.

Groups of PIs expert in a particular parameter (for example Fe) will

be encouraged to apply further quality controls, such as cruise

intercalibration.

Archiving

GEOTRACES data must be preserved for posterity

multiple copies e.g. DVDs

media degrade, formats and specifications change

The World Data Centres (WDCs) preserve data for the long term

and periodically update the media

Data sharing policies

Fundamental trade-off

Protection of the intellectual effort of original PIs

Need to compare various data sets and data types to check consistency

Need to make multi-tracer data available so that we learn new things about geochemical processes in the ocean

Participating scientists submit metadata to the Data Liaison Officer

at the DAC as soon as they are available

Preliminary metadata and data produced during the cruise made

available to participating scientists during the cruise

Basic hydrographic parameters- public a short time after cruise

Preliminary TEI data submitted to DAC within one month

2-year “publication rights period.”

Data made publicly available no later than 2 years from collection,

Extension of period for parameters that require extensive processing

Some nations will not permit release of data collected within EEZs

Prior to public release, all data will be considered preliminary

Such data will be available to participating scientists, who should

consult the data originator about its status.

Data should be shared with other cruise/process study participants as

soon as they become available during or after a cruise or process study

Data are the proprietary material of the originating scientist and may

not be used without their permission.

However, for non-participating scientists the data can be obtained only

with the permission of the responsible participating scientist.

The recipient DAC will not publicly redistribute such data, or a

derivative containing most of the information during the publication

rights period

The receiving investigator should not publish any paper based

predominantly on the received data during the publication rights period

Should co-author results with the originating investigator, and should

not redistribute the data

Adherence to this data policy is expected of all scientists participating

in national and international GEOTRACES activities

How shall we fund this?

International DAC

US- NSF 0.5FTE, another 0.5 FTE from another hero country

Short term

Long term

Subscriptions from member countries generating data

NSF and other funds to International Project Office