What is the difference between a project and an NSF award?
A project can represent a single NSF award or multiple awards that are part of one collaborative research project. Usually this means they have the same award title and share the same data management plan.
When should I register my NSF award?
You can register your project as soon as you have received and NSF award. The latest NSF guidelines suggest that you register your project sometime during the first year of the project, so you can list it in the first annual report.
I don’t have any data yet. Should I register my award/project?
Yes, you can register your project, even I you have no datasets yet. You can update the project page as data are being produced.
Once I have registered a project, can I update the information?
Yes, we actually expect that the project pages are updated as (more) data become available. You can use the “edit” button on the project page to update your project. If you have issues or need other changes, you can check with us (e.g. email info@usap-dc.org)
Can I register a project when I don’t have an NSF award?
The main purpose of project pages is to provide an overview and link to datasets provided by NSF-funded Antarctic projects. If you have data that are not linked to an NSF award and don’t find another center to deal with the data, please contact USAP-DC (info@usap-dc.org) first to discuss potential options.
Why is my NSF award not listed and what should I do?
We are harvesting award information from an NSF database in regular intervals, but it is possible that an award is to recent or was missed. Add your award to the list, or contact us at (info@usap-dc.org). We will update our database accordingly.
Do I have to submit my data to USAP-DC when I need to register my award?
No. You can create a project before you have data. You can also deposit your dataset at other repositories. In fact, in many cases using a disciplinary repository would be a better choice than using USAP-DC, because your peers will more likely search those databases (see this list for other repositories). Once you have deposited your dataset with another repository, you should update your project page and add the information that links to the dataset (you can use the edit button or email info@usap-dc.org).
What data can I send to USAP-DC?
There are no firm restrictions on the type of data that are send to USAP-DC. However, we prefer that data for which disciplinary repositories exist be send there. For data that are submitted to USAP-DC, we prefer that they are in an open and re-usable format such as text files, csv tables, netcdf, common image formats. We do except Excel formats. Binary data formats should be submitted with detailed description of the format and, if possible, example code to read the data. Special, proprietary formats that would require specific software should not be avoided.
Can I submit preliminary data?
We discourage submitting preliminary data. It is preferred to submit final datasets. If someone really need to submit preliminary data and submits a final version later, we will most likely ingest the later as a new version of the dataset. The preliminary data should be marked as such in title and description.
Will I get a DOI for my submitted dataset?
Yes, we prepare and register DOI (Digital Object Identifier) though DataCite for every dataset we ingest into the USAP-DC
Can I have proprietary hold on the dataset?
By default, we make a dataset publicly accessible once it is ingested. However, we can place a proprietary hold on the data, for example if you need to demonstrate that dataset exists for a publication, but don’t wont the data to be accessible before publication, or if you need to deposit your data at the end of the project, but a Ph.D. student is still working on the data. You can update the release date until which the dataset should be kept proprietary by changing the release data in the submission form. Other users will be able to see the dataset and its metadata, but won’t be able to download the data until the specified release data.
Is there a size limit for datasets? I have a large (>1TByte) dataset.
We have no fixed size limit for datasets that we are hosting. We currently host datasets of several Terabytes in size. There is however a limit of ~250Mbyte for direct uploading data through the web form. For a larger dataset, please contact us (info@usap-dc.org) to discuss details and arrange the data transfer. We also ask that you contact us well ahead of submission if you have very large datasets for archiving. This will allow us to plan accordingly for storage needs and confirm that the dataset will be appropriate for us to handle.
In what format should I submit my data?
Data should optimally be submitted in an open, well-documented format that will be readable in many years and that follow community standards.
ASCII text is prefered, when appropriate with CSV (comma-separated values) or Tab separated files for tables.
Since it is used widely, Excel is acceptable, but the newer xlmx versions are preferred (since it is basically xml).
For raster and grid data NetCDF is optimal; tif or Geotiff for spatial rasters is also acceptable. Matlab format files are accepted (but not encouraged)
and should have details on how to read the data.
For images we suggest jpg, tif, png.
Avoid proprietary formats that require special software to read and might not be supported in the long future.
Check with us when in doubt.
What is the AMD?
The Antarctic Metadata Directory (AMD) is a portal of the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). It is a metadata catalog that is run and maintained by NASA.
It was chosen by SCAR as the platform to share information about existing Antarctic data from its member countries.
The AMD is a catalog and not a repository, it contains metadata about datasets and links to the data, but not the data itself.
The metadata format used by the GCMD/AMD is known as the Directory Interchange Format (DIF). It has evolved over the years and serves the user community in
the discovery of Earth science data.
There are currently over 9300 records in the AMD of which ~3000 are from the USA.
Is the Antarctic Metadata Directory (AMD) part of USAP-DC?
No. The Antarctic Metadata Directory (AMD) is a metadata catalog that is run and maintained by NASA as subset of the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). USAP-DC prepares and submits metadata to the GCMD/AMD based on the information provided in the project pages as a service for its users and to ensure that submissions follows the AMD standard.
How do I get or create my AMD catalog entry that is required by NSF?
If you register your NSF funded project award with USAP-DC, we will create and submit the AMD catalog entry for you, based on the information you provide
for the project.
It might take a couple weeks before the project ids live in the AMD. If you need this sooner, please let us know
(info@usap-dc.org).
Why are some data only available on request?
A few, very large dataset (10s of GByte or TByte) are stored at an offline archive. It is not practical to download these datasets using the standard web interface. We work with interested users to make the full or a selected subset of these data available and to arrange the data transfer.
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Funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) |