Boundary-Layer Late Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence (BLLAST) project brings together re- search scientists who work on this transitory part of the day, when the surface heating sharply decreases, turbulence is decaying and the boundary layer is beginning to stratify, at the end of a convective day. This transition remains poorly understood, though it may have significant impacts on trace gas transport and scale interaction.
The aims of the BLLAST Data and Publication Policy are
- to ensure rapid exchange of data and results within the BLLAST participants group,
- to define mutual rights and obligations of data producers and data users, and in particular to ensure that BLLAST contributing scientists are associated to the scientific studies using the data they produced,
- to help monitoring the scientific production of the project
- to ensure that BLLAST data are preserved and made available after the end of the project.
The present data and publication policy covers the measurement data collected during the BLLAST field campaign that occurred at the “Centre de Recherches Atmosphériques” in Lannemezan from 14 June to 8 July 2011.
The access given to the data through this policy allows the sole and direct use of the data for scientific and educational activities. This categorically excludes the redistribution of data to third parties and the usage for commercial applications. Any commercial use of a dataset should be negotiated directly with the owners of the dataset, who generally are those who have paid for the data collection. The contact for such an agreement is the dataset principal investigator whose name is mentioned in the Metadata.
The data were originally collected for specific purposes and no warranty is given as to their suitability for use by the recipient. The database centers, the data owners and the data principal investigators have no liability for any loss, damage, claim, demand, cost or expense directly or indirectly arising from any use, receipt or supply of data under this agreement.
Principal investigator’s obligations and rights
- Principal investigators (PI) are associated with an instrument from instrument deployment and data collection, to data processing and transfer to the BLLAST database. A principal investigator is the scientist responsible for the instrument or any person (collaborator, student) that he/she may suggest.
- Metadata files must be created or completed by the PI using the on line instrument registration form. Data supply to the BLLAST database must be done using http deposit procedure. PIs are advised to provide data files written in the NetCDF format respecting CF conventions. But ASCII column or Excel files fully documented and self descriptive will be accepted too.
- Raw or preliminary data must be made available to other project participants as soon as possible. Quality controlled data must be submitted by 31st December 2011. For datasets corresponding to a second-level processing and quality control, a second deadline is set to 30 June 2012.
- A dataset can be updated at any time. The PIs are responsible for providing the best quality version of the dataset to the BLLAST database. Information on the evolving versions given by the PIs will be kept updated on the data base web site by the data base manager.
- The datasets will be firstly reserved to BLLAST participants until 30 June 2013. Starting 1st July 2013, the data will be opened to all the registered users.
- The PIs are invited to propose an acknowledgment sentence which will be used in publications using the supplied data. This acknowledgment sentence should appear in the metadata.
- The PIs are invited to refer to the database managers in case of any data misuse.
Data users obligations and rights
- Only metadata and BLLAST Operational Center (BOC) website can be accessed by non-registered users.
- Users wishing to get access to the BLLAST database are required to fill in an on line registration form including an abstract about the intended work, and to sign the data use rules. During the reserved access period, only BLLAST participants will be registered. Afterwards every person signing the present data policy will be registered.
- BLLAST data are delivered royalty free to the registered users for the sole purpose of scientific studies and educational activities. Commercial use or exploitation of BLLAST data received through the present policy is prohibited.
- Any re-export or transfer of BLLAST data received through the present data and publication policy to a third party is prohibited.
- Data users are expected to directly contact the PI of the data in order to offer collaboration. Any access to a dataset will automatically trigger an e-mail to the dataset PI so that he/she is aware of who intends to use the data.
- Depending on the significance of the dataset in the work published and the actuality of a scientific collaboration, any publication using BLLAST data will have to be either co-signed by the data PI or at least his/her contribution acknowledged.
- The institutions funding BLLAST project have to be acknowledged in any publication or commu- nication using the data. A general paragraph of acknowledgment is proposed, which should be included in the acknowledgment in each publication that is based on BLLAST database: “BLLAST field experiment was made possible thanks to the contribution of several institutions and supports : INSU-CNRS (Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers, Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, LEFE-IDAO program), Météo-France, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (University of Toulouse), EUFAR (EUropean Facility for Airborne Research) and COST ES0802 (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical). The field experiment would not have occurred without the contribution of all participating European and American research groups, which all have contributed in a significant amount (see supports). BLLAST field experiment was hosted by the instrumented site of Centre de Recherches Atmosphériques, Lannemezan, France (Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Laboratoire d’Aérologie). BLLAST data are managed by SEDOO, from Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées”.
For each dataset, a specific acknowledgment sentence can be added by the corresponding PI, which is mentioned in the metadata. - Any publication based on BLLAST data shall be transmitted in electronic form to the BLLAST project leader at bllast@aero.obs-mip.fr as soon as it is submitted to a journal, conference or any other publication support.