MINOS Data Protocol
The participants in the MINOS project should obey the following rules and guidelines
with respect to the use of measurement data, model results and publication.
1. During the MINOS campaign each group will provide a quicklook of their data after each
measurement flight or each measurement day. These quicklooks provide a first impression
of the campaign results, but will also be used for further flight planning or adjustment
of the measurement strategy. For the aircraft measurements a standard format of 5 cm per
hour is chosen, for the ground based measurements 1 cm per hour. The quicklooks will not
be passed on to persons outside the MINOS group without prior permission of the owner.
2. The data will be distributed through a common distribution source at the Airchemistry
Department of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, that can be accessed by all
MINOS members through Telnet. The Airchemistry group will take responsibility for the data
management. Measurement data, software and modelling results will not be passed on to persons
outside the MINOS group without prior permission of the owner.
3. The group that has performed the measurements will submit the data in NASA 1001 ASCII
format (missing data in a miscellaneous integer/real) to the distribution address in Mainz
within 2 months after the campaign. These data will be "preliminary", but can be used to
obtain an impression of the campaign results. These data should not be shown to non-MINOS
participants without prior permission of the data owner.
4. The following relevant information should be added to your data set conform the NASA
Format 1001. This format includes: a) status of the data, b) accuracy and precision, c)
time lag, d) if there are parts of the data which may be suspicious or which need to be
interpreted with caution.
5. The final data, properly calibrated etc., will be submitted to the Mainz distribution
address within 6 months after the campaign. These data can be used in scientific projects,
but they remain the exclusive property of the group that has taken them. The use of the data
should be reported to the owner, who should preferably be involved in the analysis and
interpretation.
6. The final data can be used in publications by all MINOS members 12 months after the
measurement campaign. The person (usually the first author of a scientific paper) who uses
measurement data or modelling results from others should offer the data owner(s) participation
and co-authorship. If the data owner(s) refrain(s) from co-authorship, a second option is to
mention the data owner(s) in the acknowledgements.
7. The first author of a paper in which data or model results from others are used should
send the data owner(s) a draft manuscript and give the person(s) involved 2 months to respond
and comment on the manuscript. If many comments are given or if disagreements arise, the first
author should send a second draft manuscript to the data owner(s) and give the person(s)
involved 1 additional month to respond. If further disagreements arise the paper should not
be submitted to a journal and the dispute should be discussed in a MINOS meeting.
8. If a paper that includes MINOS data is submitted, the first author should send a copy to
all co-authors and to all group PI's. The acknowledgements should refer to the MINOS project.
It should be realized that the above rules and guidelines cannot prevent misunderstandings
in all cases and courtesy should be practiced as seems appropriate.