Data Protocol for Data Users

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It is the spirit and purpose of the NDACC to foster the broadest possible collaboration among interested scientists via quick access to NDACC data. Data in the NDACC archive are provided by individual NDACC Instrument Principal Investigators (NDACC PI) in cooperation with and under the guidelines and best practices of the Instrument Working Groups (IWGs).  It is the NDACC PI’s responsibility to ensure data quality, and the data user’s responsibility to use the data correctly with appropriate attribution.

NDACC data products are archived at the DHF and publicly available at latest one year after data acquisition.  Most NDACC PIs also allow public release of their NDACC data as soon as they are posted to the DHF, which is often earlier than one year after observation.

Rapid Delivery

Some NDACC PIs provide public preliminary data to the Rapid Delivery (RD) section of the DHF shortly after acquisition.  These data have not yet been fully reviewed and certified to be of full NDACC quality, and are not considered part of the validated NDACC archive, but may be useful to the scientific community e.g. for quick satellite validation, or examination of timely events.  All data policies and rules of use detailed herein for NDACC validated data apply.

Privileged Data Users

A privileged data user has access to all data, private and public, housed at the DHF.  These users include all NDACC PIs, members of the Satellite and Theory & Analysis WG’s and users who apply and are approved for this status.

New users can use the Contact Us page on the NDACC web site (www.ndacc.org) to apply for Privileged Data User status. They need to indicate whether they wish to become affiliated with a specific Working Group or the NDACC in general.They will then be directed to the appropriate NDACC representative who will guide them in the preparation and submission of a suitable proposal for access.   Co-authorship shall always be offered on publications resulting from the use of the not yet public data sets.

Data Use Agreement

If the metadata of an NDACC data file contain an explicit Data License and/or explicit DATA_RULES_OF_USE, then the indicated Rules of Use prevail over the following General Rules of Use. In the absence of a Data License or explicit DATA_RULES_OF_USE associated with the datafile, the following General Rules of Use apply:

General Rules of Use

All NDACC data users at a minimum should acknowledge both the NDACC DHF and the NDACC PI in any publication, as follows:

When it is envisaged to use NDACC data in a publication or communication, the respective NDACC PI(s) or IWG co-chairs should be contacted during the preparation of the publication or communication to discuss possible collaboration with the NDACC PI and co-authorship.

In all cases, NDACC data users are expected to consult the online documentation and reference articles to fully understand the scope and limitations of the NDACC datasets available at the NDACC DHF. They are strongly encouraged to contact the respective NDACC PI (listed in the data documentation on the web page) to receive any additional information regarding the data product that could be useful in their studies/applications and as such ensure the proper use of specific data sets.

Data Aggregators or Institutional Data Users

It is paramount to the continuance of the network that all use of network data can be demonstrated.

When NDACC data are to be employed as a component of an operational system such as an assimilation model process or verification of such models where a specific study typically resulting in a targeted scientific publication is not necessarily the aim, the following protocols apply.

1. ;Use of the data within the specified dataset licenses.
2. Appropriate attribution of NDACC data is to be made commensurate with the Data Use Agreement above, and attribution must be made at the point of dissemination (e.g. website, presentations, and broadcasts) and include the NDACC logo.
3. Downloads may be programmatically linked to the NDACC DHF but the data are not to be reposted at another website for public dissemination unless there is a written agreement with NDACC.
4. Institutional data users are required to notify the NDACC DHF of their usage and to sign an NDACC Institutional Data Use Agreement.  The template is in the Appendix.

Appendix – Institutional Data User Guidelines

1. Institute & Individual Name
2. Date of the agreement, renewal/end date, mechanism for termination
3. Start & End Dates for data including RD data as appropriate
4. Data Products Used with mechanism for modifications and additions:
   • Instrument Working Group(s)
   • Dataset type e.g. RD or consolidated
   • Species
   • Version(s) of data used
   • Sites if appropriate
5. Explanation of Data use
6. Downstream expected users and scope of downstream data. Be as specific as possible.
7. Location of downstream data products if posted on Data archive or Web page.

Example of Institutional Data Use Agreement

1. ECMWF / Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service
2. Start: DD/MM/YYYY, End: DD/MM/YYYY. This agreement can be terminated by either party with proper 6 month written notification.
3. Rapid Delivery data (there is no explicit start/end date…) and consolidated NDACC data (all that is available and satisfies quality requirements)
4. Data sets
   • IRWG, UVVIS WG, LIDAR WG, Microwave WG (and soon also Dobson/Brewer WG)
   • GEOMS HDF files
   • O3, NO2, HCHO, CH4, CO
   • e.g. IRWG2020, Lidar: GLASS, or MONTHLY
   • all sites that deliver RD data
5. CAMS product validation (NRT global analyses and re-analyses)
6. All possible Copernicus users. Primary users are….
7. https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/