There are many good reasons to keep data and here are three of the best... 1) Re-use 2) Re-purposing 3) Citation. This presentation is all about why you were asked to provide CCMVal data to the BADC in CF complient NetCDF and how this self-describing standard enables the BADC to fulfill it's role as custodian of the CCMVal data archive.
RE-USE Providing data in CF complient NetCDF allows your data to be shared with other scientist now and in the future. Right now the CF NetCDF common fomat is facilitating the quick verification of data from different CCMVal models with the use of standard diagnositic tools. Twenty years from now the data will still be understood because it uses the self describing CF NetCDF standard.
RE-PURPOSING Using CF standard names to describe the CCMVal variables will enable scientists from other diciplines to make use of the CCMVal data when it is eventually made available to them. The CF standard names facilitate data discovery through vocabulary servers which allow users to find data without needing to know the exact names of variables. Such value added services satisfy the increasing expactation from funders that science data can be used by different research communities.
CITATION CCMVal data is an ideal candidate for publication in the new data journals because it used the CF NetCDF standard. Once the CCMVal data has been verified and moved to the archive at the BADC our data scientists can help with the process of publishing the data so that your data can be cited
