PalMod-II Data Management Plan: A FAIR-inspired conceptual framework for data simulation, inter-comparison, sharing and publication

Large scale transient climate simulations and their intercomparison with paleo data within the German initiative PalMod (www.palmod.de, currently in phase II) provides an exclusive example of applying a Data Management Plan (DMP) to conceptualise  data workflows within and outside a large multidisciplinary project. PalMod-II data products include output of three state-of-the-art climate models with various coupling complexities and spatial resolutions  simulating the climate of the past 130,000 years. Additional to the long time series of model data, a comprehensive compilation of paleo-observation data (including a model-observation-comparison toolbox, Baudouin et al, 2021 EGU-CL1.2) is envisaged for validation. 

Owing to the enormous amount of data coming from models and observations, produced and handled by different groups of scientists spread across various institutions, a dedicated DMP as a living document provides a data-workflow framework for exchange and sharing of data within and outside the PalMod community. The DMP covers the data life cycle within the project starting from its generation (data formats and standards), analysis (intercomparison with models and observations), publication (usage, licences), dissemination (standardised, via ESGF) and finally archiving after the project lifetime. As an active and continually updated document, the DMP ensures the ownership and responsibilities of data subsets of various working groups along with their data sharing/reuse regulations within the working groups in order to ensure a sustained progress towards the project goals. 

This contribution discusses the current status and challenges of the DMP for PalMod-II which covers the details of data produced within various working groups, project-wide workflow strategy for sharing and exchange of data, as well as a definition of a PalMod-II variable list for ESGF standard publication. The FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) data principles play a central role and are proposed for the entire life cycle of PalMod-II data products (model and proxy paleo data) for sharing/reuse during and after the project lifetime.