Guest Editorial: Special issue Rescuing Legacy data for Future Science

Research and discovery in the natural sciences, particularly for documenting changes in our planet, is empowered by gathering, mining, and reusing observational data. However much of the data required, particularly data from the pre-digital era, are no longer accessible to science. The data are hidden away in investigators’ desks on printed paper records, or are no longer readable as they are on deteriorating or outdated media, and are not documented in a way that makes them re-usable. Special initiatives are required to rescue them and preserve such data so that they can contribute to the scientific debates of today and those of the future. Data rescue efforts are key to making data resources accessible that are at risk of being lost forever when researchers retire or die, or when data formats or storage media are obsolete and unreadable

Preserving the Science Legacy from the Apollo Missions to the Moon

Six Apollo missions landed on the Moon from 1969-72, returning to Earth 382 kg of lunar rock, soil, and core samples-among the best documented and preserved samples on Earth that have supported a robust research program for 45 years. From mission planning through sample collection, preliminary examination, and subsequent research, strict protocols and procedures are followed for handling and allocating Apollo subsamples. Even today, 100s of samples are allocated for research each year, building on the science foundation laid down by the early Apollo sample studies and combining new data from today's instrumentation, lunar remote sensing missions and lunar meteorites. Today's research includes advances in our understanding of lunar volatiles, lunar formation and evolution, and the origin of evolved lunar lithologies. Much sample information is available to researchers at curator.jsc.nasa.gov. Decades of analyses on lunar samples are published in LPSC proceedings volumes and other peer-reviewed journals, and tabulated in lunar sample compendia entries. However, for much of the 1969-1995 period, the processing documentation, individual and consortia analyses, and unpublished results exist only in analog forms or primitive digital formats that are either inaccessible or at risk of being lost forever because critical data from early investigators remain unpublished. We have initiated several new efforts to rescue some of the early Apollo data, including unpublished analytical data. We are scanning NASA documentation that is related to the Apollo missions and sample processing, and we are collaborating with IEDA to establish a geochemical database called Moon DB. To populate this database, we are working with prominent lunar PIs to organize and transcribe years of both published and unpublished data. Other initiatives include micro-CT scanning of complex lunar samples to document their interior structure (e.g. clasts, vesicles); linking high-resolution scans of Apollo film products to samples; and new procedures for systematic high resolution photography of samples before additional processing, enabling detailed 3D reconstructions of the samples. All of these efforts will provide comprehensive access to Apollo samples and support better curation of the samples for decades to come

Performance analysis on percentage of wheel slip for a passenger car using GPS and wheel speed sensor

This thesis deals with the analysis on percentage of wheel slip for a passenger car using GPS and wheel speed sensor. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the percentage of wheel slip for a passenger car in a various velocity, road condition and driving mode. The thesis describes the post-processing method to analyze the percentage of wheel slip and identify the effective rolling radius and the longitudinal tire stiffness for maximum tire life and performance. Driving and braking behaviour of vehicle were both studied in this thesis for paved and unpaved sandy road condition which commonly the contributing factors to the wheel slip to occur. The data used for the analysis is obtained through experimental test using UMP Test Car which has been installed with Wheel Pulse Transducer, Global Positioning System and DEWESOFT software for data acquisition purpose. The post-processing method was performed using Flexpro and Microsoft Office Excel. The post-processing method to analyze the percentage of wheel slip was performed using the SAE definition of wheel slip and the percent error in the distance travel by the car between free rolling and actual condition. Finally, the longitudinal force, the effective rolling radius and the longitudinal tire stiffness was determined for both driving and braking maneuver of vehicle on paved and unpaved sandy road condition. From the results, it is observed that the percentage of wheel slip during driving maneuver is higher for unpaved sandy road condition compares to that the paved road. It is also observed that the longitudinal force of the tire is lower for unpaved sandy road compare to the paved road condition. The effective rolling radius of the tire during driving maneuver was determined to be lower compare to the free rolling radius of the tire. During braking manuever, the results show that the percentage of wheel slip is higher for unpaved sandy road compare to that for paved road condition. The longitudinal force and tire stiffness also observed lower for unpaved sandy road condition. The effective rolling radius of the tire during braking determined higher compared to that in the free rolling radius. The results concluded that the percentage of wheel slip is strongly dependent to the longitudinal force and the tire road friction. Therefore, effective rolling radius and longitudinal tire stiffness obtained can significantly use to improve tire design and construction. The results also can be use to improve the energy usage efficiency and fuel consumption of vehicle

Data Services for Long Tail Science at the Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA) Data Facility

IEDA (Integrated Earth Data Applications) is a US-based data facility funded through a contract with the US National Science Foundation to operate data systems and data services for solid earth geoscience data. IEDA has developed a comprehensive suite of data services that are designed to address the concerns and needs of investigators, especially researchers working in the 'Long Tail of Science' (Heidorn 2008). IEDA provides a data publication service, registering datasets with DOI to ensure their proper citation and attribution. IEDA works with publishers on advanced linkages between datasets in the IEDA repository and scientific online articles to facilitate access to the data, enhance their visibility, and augment their use and citation. IEDA also developed a comprehensive investigator support that includes tools, tutorials, and virtual or face-to-face workshops that guide and assist investigators with data management planning, data submission, and data documentation. A critical aspect of IEDA's concept has been the disciplinary expertise within the team and its strong liaison with the science community, as well as a community-based governance. These have been fundamental to gain the trust and support of the scientists and have lead to significantly improved data preservation and access in the communities served by IEDA

Rescue of long-tail data from the ocean bottom to the Moon: IEDA Data Rescue Mini-Awards

Over the course of a scientific career, a large fraction of the data collected by scientific investigators turns into data at risk of becoming inaccessible to future science. Although a part of the investigators’ data is made available in manuscripts and databases, other data may remain unpublished, non-digital, on degrading or near obsolete digital media, or inadequately documented for reuse. In 2013, Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA) provided data rescue mini-awards to three Earth science investigators. IEDA’s user communities in geochemistry, petrology, geochronology, and marine geophysics collect long-tail data, defined as data produced by individuals and small teams for specific projects, tending to be of small volume and initially for use only by these teams, thus being less likely to be easily transferred or reused. Long-tail data are at greater risk of omission from the scientific record. The awarded projects topics were (1) Geochemical and Geochronological data on volcanic rocks from the Fiji, Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc, and Endeavor segments of the global mid-ocean ridge, (2) High-Resolution, Near-bottom Magnetic Field Data, and (3) Geochemistry of Lunar Glasses. IEDA worked closely with the awardees to create a plan for the data rescue, resulting in the registration of hundreds of samples and the entry of dozens of data and documentation files into IEDA data systems. The data were made openly accessible and citable by assigning persistent identifiers for samples and files. The mini-award program proved that a relatively small incentive combined with data facility guidance can motivate investigators to accomplish significant data rescue

A Study in Red: The Overlooked Role of Azo‐Moieties in Polymeric Carbon Nitride Photocatalysts with Strongly Extended Optical Absorption

The unique optical and photoredox properties of heptazine-based polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) materials make them promising semiconductors for driving various productive photocatalytic conversions. However, their typical absorption onset at ca. 430–450 nm is still far from optimum for efficient sunlight harvesting. Despite many reports of successful attempts to extend the light absorption range of PCNs, the determination of the structural features responsible for the red shift of the light absorption edge beyond 450 nm has often been obstructed by the highly disordered structure of PCNs and/or low content of the moieties responsible for changes in optical and electronic properties. In this work, we implement a high-temperature (900 °C) treatment procedure for turning the conventional melamine-derived yellow PCN into a red carbon nitride. This approach preserves the typical PCN structure but incorporates a new functionality that promotes visible light absorption. A detailed characterization of the prepared material reveals that partial heptazine fragmentation accompanied by de-ammonification leads to the formation of azo-groups in the red PCN, a chromophore moiety whose role in shifting the optical absorption edge of PCNs has been overlooked so far. These azo moieties can be activated under visible-light (470 nm) for H₂ evolution even without any additional co-catalyst, but are also responsible for enhanced charge-trapping and radiative recombination, as shown by spectroscopic studies

Call to action for global access to and harmonization of quality information of individual earth science datasets

Knowledge about the quality of data and metadata is important to support informed decisions on the (re)use of individual datasets and is an essential part of the ecosystem that supports open science. Quality assessments reflect the reliability and usability of data. They need to be consistently curated, fully traceable, and adequately documented, as these are crucial for sound decision- and policy-making efforts that rely on data. Quality assessments also need to be consistently represented and readily integrated across systems and tools to allow for improved sharing of information on quality at the dataset level for individual quality attribute or dimension. Although the need for assessing the quality of data and associated information is well recognized, methodologies for an evaluation framework and presentation of resultant quality information to end users may not have been comprehensively addressed within and across disciplines. Global interdisciplinary domain experts have come together to systematically explore needs, challenges and impacts of consistently curating and representing quality information through the entire lifecycle of a dataset. This paper describes the findings of that effort, argues the importance of sharing dataset quality information, calls for community action to develop practical guidelines, and outlines community recommendations for developing such guidelines. Practical guidelines will allow for global access to and harmonization of quality information at the level of individual Earth science datasets, which in turn will support open science

Electronic data publication in geochemistry

Many disciplines of geochemistry have no data reporting standards, and their use of metadata is inadequately developed. This presents problems to the quality of the published science, and it limits the utility of computers in data analysis and the exploitation of Information Technology (IT). We discuss problems of data and metadata publication, in particular for geochemistry, and offer solutions to these problems in the form of consistent data publication formats and a proposal for publication of metadata in geochemistry. Metadata are grouped according to types (location, sampling, characterization), and this grouping allows for the transfer of these formats to other Earth science disciplines. In a companion paper [Helly et al., 2003], we illustrate how these metadata groupings can be used in an IT context. Formats presented here are comprehensive and allow for modification and expansion. It is the hope of the authors that this paper initiates a constructive discussion of data formats and metadata in geochemistry. The most recent contributions to this discussion may be found at http:\\earthref.org\metadata\GERM\.Keywords: sample characterization, database, geochemistry, information technology, Metadata, cyberinfrastructur

Call to action for global access to and harmonization of quality information of individual earth science datasets

Knowledge about the quality of data and metadata is important to support informed decisions on the (re)use of individual datasets and is an essential part of the ecosystem that supports open science. Quality assessments reflect the reliability and usability of data. They need to be consistently curated, fully traceable, and adequately documented, as these are crucial for sound decision-and policy-making efforts that rely on data. Quality assessments also need to be consistently represented and readily integrated across systems and tools to allow for improved sharing of information on quality at the dataset level for individual quality attribute or dimension. Although the need for assessing the quality of data and associated information is well recognized, methodologies for an evaluation framework and presentation of resultant quality information to end users may not have been comprehensively addressed within and across disciplines. Global interdisciplinary domain experts have come together to systematically explore needs, challenges and impacts of consistently curating and representing quality information through the entire lifecycle of a dataset. This paper describes the findings of that effort, argues the importance of sharing dataset quality information, calls for community action to develop practical guidelines, and outlines community recommendations for developing such guidelines. Practical guidelines will allow for global access to and harmonization of quality information at the level of individual Earth science datasets, which in turn will support open science