Building FAIR from the Ground:Unifying Data Stewardship Across Meteorological and Climate Research Institutes

Loewe, Katharina; Barthlott, Sabine

doi:10.5281/zenodo.17277538

Building FAIR from the Ground:Unifying Data Stewardship Across Meteorological and Climate Research Institutes

Loewe, Katharina; Barthlott, Sabine

Publisher: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17277538
Repository: zenodo.org
Language: en

Abstract

The Institutes of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMKs) at KIT operate a diverse range of instruments and models to investigate atmospheric and environmental processes. Historically, each working group has developed independent data management strategies, resulting in fragmented practices across the institutes. To address this challenge and ensure research data sustainability and FAIRness of research data, the IMK Data Management working group is implementing a unified data stewardship framework that integrates modern curation practices. Our approach is built on three pillars: 1. Infrastructure development that supports structured and secure data storage with robust metadata; 2. Active data curation throughout the research lifecycle to ensure data quality, provenance, and documentation; 3. Training programs tailored to researchers at all career stages.This initiative aligns with national efforts such as DataHub and NFDI4Earth while systematically addressing all FAIR principles—enhancing findability through consistent metadata schemas, accessibility through standardized repositories, interoperability through domain-specific standards, and reusability through clear licensing and contextual documentation. This presentation outlines our curation-centred methodology, implementation challenges across diverse research contexts, and emerging best practices for establishing scalable data stewardship infrastructure that supports day-to-day research activities while ensuring long-term data value.

Full text

Building FAIR from the Ground: Unifying Data Stewardship Across Meteorological and Climate Research Institutes Dr. Katharina Loewe, Dr. Sabine Barthlott, et al. Research data manager at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) DSgG 2025, Karlsruhe © rdm.kit.edu Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) 06/10/25 Katharina Loewe - Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research4 I. Infrastructure development II. Active data curation III. Training Data managers at the IMKs •Diverse background •Scientists •IT specialist •Software developer 06/10/25 Katharina Loewe - Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research5 https://www.atmohub.kit.edu Atmospheric Aerosol Research (AAF) Atmospheric Trace Gases and Remote Sensing (ASF) Troposphere Research (TRO) Atmospheric Environmental Research (IFU) •Different experiences •Institutes •Contact points •Communities 4 Institutes - many diverse data •Heterogeneous data landscape with different data types across scales (in situ – remote sensing – global modeling) •Requirements: •Postprocessing workflows •Handling of large datasets •Storage and exchange solutions •Publication best practices •… •Cooperation with the KIT infrastructures •Scientific computing center (SCC) •Library 06/10/25 Katharina Loewe - Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research6 Atmospheric Aerosol Research (AAF) Atmospheric Trace Gases and Remote Sensing (ASF) Troposphere Research (TRO) Atmospheric Environmental Research (IFU) ©Tatiana Klimiuk, IMKTRO © IMKASF, https://doi.org/10.48477/COCCON.PF24.KARLSRUHE.SN03 7.R04, https://doi.org/10.14291/tccon.ggg2020.karlsruhe01.R2 © Schneider et al., 2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-709-2022 © rdm.kit.edu Data management - support for scientists •Our goals: FAIR Data – Improve findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reuse •Data Organization & Storage – Secure, structured, and scalable solutions •Data Sharing & Publishing – Support repositories, licensing, and open access •Training & Support – Workshops, consultations, and best practices •Preservation & Security – Ensure long-term data integrity and protection •Open Science & Collaboration – Promote transparency and global sharing 06/10/25 Katharina Loewe - Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research7 Data management - support for scientists •Daily business •On-/Offboarding •Support data publications •Active participation in KIT, Helmholtz DataHub and NFDI4Earth communities •Training programs •Organize or advertise specific workshops (e.g. GitLab, Python, Jupyter) •PhD induction day •RDM lecture for Master students •IMK coffee lectures 06/10/25 Katharina Loewe - Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research8 Data management - support for scientists •Tools and best practices •SMS (https://helmholtz.software/software/sensor-management-system) •Research Data Management Organizer (https://rdmo.forschungsdaten.info/) •System for automated Quality Control (https://rdmsoftware.pages.ufz.de/saqc/) •Metadata guidelines for environmental data (https://codebase.helmholtz.cloud/kit-imk-datenmanagement/kit-imk-netcdfmetadata) •EDP (https://earth-data.de/) 06/10/25 Katharina Loewe - Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research9 06/10/25 Katharina Loewe - Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research10 Earth Data Portal Central access to joint interoperable virtual information infrastructure https://earth-data.de/ Data management challenges •Heterogeneous data landscape with different types of data across scales •Handling of large datasets •Metadata harmonization •AI readiness •Adjust and improve inefficient workflows •Bring all scientists on board (lack of time, convincement,…) 06/10/25 Katharina Loewe - Data management at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research11 Much convincing is needed. Tipps and good experiences are very welcome!