Several US-based Environmental Science Databases To Be Taken Down
Earlier this month, NOAA announced changes affecting data sources related to earthquakes and marine, coastal, and estuary science.
This comes amid wider concerns about publicly available scientific data in the US being taken down and measures to cut research funding, including at NOAA, by the current government.
The SMC asked experts to comment on what impact the database closures will have in Aotearoa.
Professor Craig Stevens, Department of Physics, University of Auckland, comments:
Note: Professor Stevens' comments on US science funding cuts in February are available here.
'The global climate science community over the last decade or so has been working towards FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles and making data as readily findable as possible. I would say most of these databases look reasonably low traffic and so NOAA, faced with dramatic cuts, is doing what it can to maintain critical functions. Also there looks to be a trail to archives with the data saved or the function taken on by some other instrument. But you never know of course, there will always be someone out there who has made something of the data and systems. And as we are seeing with various climate data, just because something is old and obscure doesn't mean it isn't valuable. These closures make this findability harder, and moreover, it is likely the tip of the iceberg in terms of coming impacts of reduced funding.'
Conflict of interest statement: Prof Stevens regularly collaborates with US government-funded colleagues. Prof Stevens is on the council of the NZ Association of Scientists.
Dr James Renwick, Professor of Physical Geography, Victoria University of Wellington, comments:
'The loss of environmental services and products eat away at our knowledge of the world around us. The recent news of cuts to NOAA and the NWS have been hugely concerning for weather, climate and climate sciences worldwide. However, this announcement of changes at NOAA do not seem so bad from my point of view. Many products and services will be replaced by newer or slightly different products, with not many discontinued altogether – at this stage at least. Set in the context of the major cuts to staffing and funding going on in the US to agencies like NOAA, I am concerned about what will happen next.'
Conflict of interest statement: 'I have many colleagues and friends at NOAA, NWS and other US agencies, and I have worked collaboratively with them on international projects and conferences. I receive no funding directly from the US.'
Our colleagues at the Taiwan SMC have also gathered expert comments in response to the closures and their impact on Taiwan. Below are machine-generated English translations of summaries of three expert comments. The translations have been checked by the authors for accuracy.
Huang, Wan-Ru, Prof. & Chair of the Department of Earth Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University:
Wan-Ru Huang pointed out that NOAA data is a core resource when doing analysis, simulation, teaching and even course training. Not only does it have complete data, long time series, and a consistent format, it also has processed climate averages and anomalies, which saves a lot of time and can be used directly for diagnosis or incorporated into a statistical framework. For researchers, it is a 'directly usable and reliable' source of information.
Wan-Ru Huang believes that the impact of closing the database will be direct and specific. Because the local data that researchers have is actually limited in spatial and temporal coverage when it comes to regional scales or when it comes to linking with global climate variability. Many research processes are built on the basis of NOAA data. If they are suddenly interrupted now, in addition to rebuilding the data process, the entire research design will also be affected, and even the direction of students' thesis may be disrupted.
Wan-Ru Huang explained that what is more worrying is that many new researchers or students actually rely on open data such as NOAA to learn analysis and do research. If even getting started becomes difficult, the talent training and research energy of the entire academic community will be affected in the long run.
Min-Hui Lo, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, National Taiwan University:
Professor Min-Hui Lo indicated that NOAA's observational and simulation data allow scientists to track short-term weather events such as heatwaves and rainstorms, analyze long-term climate trends, and investigate issues related to global warming and its impacts. This information is essential for understanding the functioning of the Earth system, building numerical simulation models, and developing effective strategies to address climate change.
Professor Lo emphasized that NOAA's databases have a profound impact on scientific research, which are widely used in global Earth system studies and climate model development. Many international research efforts rely heavily on the availability of these high-quality datasets for robust analysis. He further noted that when long-term observation data are discontinued or no longer updated, it becomes increasingly difficult to assess climate change trends and impacts accurately. Moreover, future scientists may find it challenging to trace back and explain events without continuous, high-quality data records.
Chen, Min-Te, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences, National Taiwan Ocean University:
Min-Te Chen expressed deep concern about the news that some databases will be closed soon. Min-Te Chen believes that this move will not only have an impact on the global ocean and earth science community, but will also have a more substantial impact on Taiwan's rapidly developing offshore engineering and disaster warning systems.
Min-Te Chen gave examples to explain that NOAA's seabed sediment thickness, crust age and volcanic distribution data have always been an indispensable reference for the early stages of submarine cable planning. Its closure will require relevant units to incur higher costs to build their own data, or they may risk carrying out projects based on incomplete information.
Min-Te Chen believes that the most regrettable thing is that NOAA's volcanic eruption records and seismic reflection data are among the few public, high-quality and long-term data sources in the world. Its closure may lead to a reduction in the accuracy of early warning simulations. For countries like Taiwan that are vulnerable to undersea earthquakes and tsunamis, the risks should not be underestimated.
Min-Te Chen believes that our government agencies and academic institutions should back up necessary data as quickly as possible and evaluate the possibility of establishing alternative databases or cooperating with international organizations. At the same time, we hope that NOAA will review the closure plan and provide relocation or extended access methods to avoid long-term adverse effects on global earth science research and marine engineering.
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