NSIDC is involved in several important data management efforts for the International Polar Year (IPY), including the IPY Data and Information Service (IPYDIS). The Committee on Data and Science and Technology (CODATA) has now announced its strategy for long-term management of the wealth of data collected during the International Polar Year (IPY), the Polar Information Commons.
CODATA PRESS RELEASE
23 February 2009
The Polar Information Commons (PIC): Establishing the Framework for Long-term Stewardship of Polar Data and Information
The International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) has been a huge, scientific success, resulting in new insights in how the polar regions work. Now that the IPY officially draws to a close, it is critical to ensure that the data generated by IPY projects are accessible and preserved for future generations to benefit from.
CODATA, the Committee on Data for Science and Technology, is starting a new initiative to establish a Polar Information Commons (PIC), to further the process of ensuring long-term stewardship of and access to polar data and information coming out of the IPY.
This project: The Polar Information Commons (PIC): Establishing the Framework for Long-term Stewardship of Polar Data and Information, aims to establish a sustainable long-term framework for the preservation and access of polar data, building on recent "commons" approaches developed in other scientific fields and entraining new stakeholders and participants into polar data management.
Experiences in other scientific communities, such as the biodiversity/conservation and neuroscience communities, has shown that a "commons" approach will strengthen incentives for scientists, research institutions, nations, and other groups to contribute and document data, reduce barriers to data sharing, and provide a focal point for community efforts to fill in data gaps, improve data quality, and promote data access and usability.
CODATA looks forward to working with its supporting partners, the International Arctic Science Council (IASC); the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR); the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG); the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); the IPY International Program Office (IPY IPO); the World Data System Transition Team and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and many stakeholders in the development of this project and it thanks ICSU, the International Council for Science, for its support in the launch of the activity.