FAIR Workflows and Methods for Scaling

The FAIR Principles, originally introduced as guiding principles for scientific data management and stewardship, also apply abstractly to other digital objects such as research software and scientific workflows. When introduced to the FAIR principles, most scientists can see that the concepts behind the FAIR principles — namely, to make digital objects Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable — will improve the quality of research artifacts. It is less common, however, that scientists immediately recognize the ways in which incorporating FAIR methods into their research can enable them to tackle problems of greater size and complexity. In short, focusing on making artifacts that are reusable in the FAIR sense makes those artifacts reusable by humans as well as machines, thus enabling computational workflows that handle scaling issues automatically and someday even self-assemble. Here, we will discuss recent community developments in FAIR computational workflows and how they can impact the earth sciences now and in the future.