.. _TOAR data general:
1. General
1.1. What data services are offered by the TOAR data infrastructure at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre?
The TOAR data centre team{target=_blank} develops and operates
the TOAR data portal{target=_blank} - a one stop shop to locate and access tropospheric ozone data from a large variety of measurement platforms and models,
the TOAR database{target=_blank} of global surface observations - one of the world’s largest collections of ozone measurements and related precursors and meteorological variables from the 1970s until recently
the TOAR data services{target=_blank} - a collection of graphical user iterfaces and REST APIs to access, download, analyze, and visualize TOAR data
a software repository{target=_blank} featuring easy-to-use Python code to integrate TOAR data in your workflows
the TOAR data publication service{target=_blank} that allows data providers to publish their datasets including metadata documentation with a citeable doi.
Check out our home page {target=_blank}to access all facilities of the TOAR data infrastructure.
1.2. What data are stored in the TOAR data infrastructure at JSC?
The TOAR database {target=_blank}only contains global surface station measurements. The TOAR assessment report{target=_blank} also includes many other data from satellites, vertical sounding, mobile platforms, and models. These are stored at other locations. The TOAR data portal{target=_blank} provides pointers to all datasets that are used in the assessment.
1.3. Who is working on the TOAR data infrastructure?
Our dedicated team{target=_blank} consists of experienced scientists and engineers as well as young researchers and students full of ideas. We are continuously exploring ways to make the TOAR data infrastructure more user-friendly and efficient. Please reach out to us if you would like to get involved in testing new concepts and services or help develop them. All TOAR data related software{target=_blank} is open source.
1.4. How is the TOAR data infrastructure funded?
The Jülich Supercomputing Centre{target=_blank} is committed to operate and develop the TOAR data infrastructure as a relevant real-life use case for modern FAIR{target=_blank} data management and as a platform to develop and test new concepts for web services. Base funding for the TOAR data infrastructure comes from the Helmholtz research field Information{target=_blank}. Currently, there is no 3rd party funding available to support TOAR data infrastructure development or data curation.
1.5. What is the TOAR data team doing (and not doing)?
Due to limited funding and person power (see above), the TOAR data centre team{target=_blank} must fully concentrate on all technical aspects of the TOAR data infrastructure, including the processing of new data submissions, the development and operation of dat aservices, and the curation of the documentation and web pages. We have only very limited capacity to engage in data quality control. This task is under responsibility of the different TOAR assessment paper writing teams.
1.6. What are the use conditions of TOAR data?
All data stored in the TOAR database{target=_blank} are licensed with a Creative Commons CC-BY4.0{target=_blank} deed. This means you are free to download, analyze, reformat, re-use, and distribute all data provided that you properly acknowledge the data providers and the TOAR data infrastructure. We have developed a specific data service (https://toar-data.fz-juelich.de/api/v2/#citations-and-attributions{target=_blank}) that assists you in finding the right information in your data citations.
1.7. What is the easiest way to access TOAR data?
That depends on the task you want to solve and your data analysis skills. For starters, our TOAR dashboard{target=_blank} is clearly the way to go. It offers a powerful and comfortable graphical user interface with rich filtering and visualisation options. To work with larger sets of TOAR data, we recommend to explore the TOAR REST API services{target=_blank}, and in particular the statistics{target=_blank} and trend analysis{target=_blank} service. If you want to include these services in your own programs, check out our software repository{target=_blank} with example scripts and Jupyter notebooks.
1.8. How much data can I obtain from the TOAR data infrastructure?
In principle, it is possible to obtain all the data that are stored in the TOAR database. However, to allow a fair and performant access to our services by all users, we are imposing some constraints on our services. As anonymous user, you can browse and view all data, but downloads and analyses are limited. If you become a registered user (use the button “Register as a TOAR user” within your profile after having logged in via the dashboard{target=_blank}) your limits will be increased so that you can perform meaningful analyses on a continental scale. For special cases, we can provide power user privileges for quasi unlimited access. Please get in contact with us if you need this.
Read a more detailed description of the TOAR User Concept here{target=_blank}.
1.9. Am I allowed to copy all TOAR data and build my own database from it?
Technically yes, because of the CC-BY4.0 license{target=_blank}. However, if you plan to do this, we ask you to get in contact with us so that we can arrange a meaningful collaboration. We are committed to providing a single access point to ozone surface data that are used in the TOAR assessment, and the construction of database clones will easily lead to inconsistent data versions. We are happy to work with you and distribute work and responsibilities, so let’s talk! Should you make a clone of the TOAR database without our explicit consent, please note that you are not allowed to call it “TOAR database” or anything else that would give the impression that your database has been approved by the TOAR steering committee{target=_blank}.
1.10. How can I engage with the TOAR initiative?
Please check out the main TOAR initiative web page{target=_blank} and register for the TOAR email list{target=_blank}. The TOAR co-chairs will update you about new developments every 3 months or so. Feel free to reach out to the coordinating lead authors of any TOAR assessment paper if you would like to engage in the scientific analysis of TOAR data and the paper writing.