An Antarctic Meteorological Data Repository

Abstract There is a concerted effort to ensure data used in scientific research are made available following “FAIR” standards: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. With limits in Antarctic field work capacity due to the pandemic and budget pressures, a data repository to house current and future Antarctic meteorological research is crucial. Having broad access to a rich modern Antarctic meteorological data archive of past, present, and ongoing datasets offers new possibilities rather than lost opportunities. To meet the need for increased data access, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded the development of a meteorological discipline-based data repository: the Antarctic Meteorological Research and Data Center (AMRDC) Data Repository (ADR). The ADR aims to serve a variety of groups including but not limited to the research, education, and planning communities. The ADR provides metadata and issues digital object identifiers (DOIs) for each dataset in the repository. This is an important feature enabling authors the capability to have the proper citations required for any data used in their peer-reviewed manuscripts. An element that is unique to the ADR is that it also offers links to other Antarctic meteorological data found in other data repositories, including those of other nations. The ADR accepts datasets from the community to be placed into the repository, allowing principal investigators to meet grant data curation and management requirements such as those outlined by the NSF. Significance Statement In an era of limited field work opportunities and limited funding, science investigations require access to existing datasets to advance weather and climate research. A new repository for Antarctic weather and climate datasets provides the community with a critical resource to meet those needs following common practices and standards.