NERC MSTRF: access to the data

Acknowledgement of the data provider

There are two routes for accessing data from the NERC MST Radar Facility. These are described below. In either case, you must acknowledge the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) as the data provider wherever the data are used. More details about NCAS's data policy can be found on the Atmospheric Measurement & Observation Facility (AMOF) website.

If you use the data within a publication, you should also cite the dataset in the same way as you would cite a publication. The exact format to use within the bibliography section of the publication is given within the Citable as section of the relevant Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) catalogue page. You can find a link to this page through the Datasets section of the NERC MST Radar Facility dataset collection CEDA catalogue page. The basic format is as follows:

Natural Environment Research Council Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere Radar Facility at Aberystwyth; Hooper, D.A. (<year-of-dataset-creation>): <name-of-dataset>. Centre for Environmental Data Analysis, <date-of-citation>. <catalogue-page-url>

where:

• <year-of-dataset-creation> is the year that the dataset was first created.
• <name-of-dataset> is the official CEDA name for the dataset.
• <date-of-citation> is the date (in YYYY-MM-DD format) when the data were accessed. If data were accessed at different times, the date of the last access should be used.
• <catalogue-page-url> is the web address of the CEDA catalogue page for the dataset.

Route 1 - Campaign support

You will need to submit an application through the Atmospheric Measurement & Observation Facility website if you require:

• the MST Radar to be operated in support of a campaign
• guest instruments to be hosted at the radar site

You should discuss your requirements with the Facility Manager before submitting an application to ensure that they are feasible.

Route 2 - Long term measurement programme data

Data from:

• the MST Radar when it is not being operated in support of a campaign
• the other instruments operated by the NERC MST Radar Facility

contribute to NCAS's long term measurement programme. You do not need to submit an application through the AMOF website in order to access them. The data:

• are made openly-accessible under the (UK) Open Government Licence
• may be used for any purpose, including a commercial one

In order to gain access to the data:

• Visit the NERC MSTRF dataset collection page in the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) catalogue
• Select the appropriate dataset from the dropdown Datasets menu
• Follow the Request access link if you don't already have access to the dataset and/or a CEDA account
• Follow the Explore link if you already have access to the dataset and a CEDA account
• Follow the More Info link if you would like more details about the dataset

Data files covering a Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) day will typically be made available during the morning following data acquisition. This allows time for final quality control checks to be carried out. The release of data will be delayed when the facility manager is unavailable (e.g. during holidays and over weekends) or when there are technical problems with the data delivery.