The National Cryosphere Desert Data Center (hereinafter referred to as NCDC) is a national scientific data center recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China, hosted by the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences. NCDC is dedicated to the management and sharing of scientific data in cold and arid regions, encompassing comprehensive datasets covering global glaciers, permafrost, deserts, loess, and cryospheric hazards.
NCDC currently hosts 4,092 datasets with a total volume of 157 TB. The data primarily comprise text, raster, and vector data, predominantly in formats such as CSV, Excel, Shapefile, GeoTIFF, and NetCDF. The Center provides standardized data submission, long-term preservation, and permanently free open access services for users worldwide, and has become the preferred platform for researchers, policymakers, and engineering institutions at home and abroad to access critical scientific data in cold and arid regions.
This policy details NCDC's approach to data resource acquisition and will be subject to periodic review and revision in accordance with relevant national policies and the Center's development needs.
NCDC is committed to collecting, managing, and sharing scientific data in the fields of cold and arid regions and global change, in order to support research and decision-making in Earth and environmental sciences. Through this Data Acquisition and Acceptance Policy, NCDC aims to:
This policy document covers the nature and scope of NCDC's data acquisition, the decision-making process and criteria for data acceptance, the rights and obligations of data submitters, and the regulations on data access and use. This policy applies to all individuals or organizations that submit data to NCDC, including:
This policy does not include specific technical guidance on how data submitters should generate data, which will be addressed in separate technical specification documents to be issued by NCDC.
NCDC accepts data primarily covering the following domains:
In terms of data formats, NCDC preferentially accepts data in open, non-proprietary formats, including but not limited to:
| Data Type | Preferred Formats | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tabular Data | CSV, Excel | Structured observation data, statistical data |
| Raster Data | GeoTIFF, NetCDF, HDF | Remote sensing imagery, model outputs |
| Vector Data | Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML | Spatial features, boundary data |
| Document Data | PDF, Markdown | Technical reports, documentation |
| Image Data | JPEG, PNG, TIFF | Field photos, aerial imagery |
Other digital formats may be considered at NCDC's discretion, depending on data management feasibility and long-term reusability. In all cases, data must be accompanied by sufficient metadata and explanatory documentation to enable understanding and use without the need to contact the submitter. NCDC currently does not accept physical sample deposits but may recommend appropriate repositories depending on the data type.
During the data acceptance process, NCDC will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of each submission request based on the following criteria. Acceptance of data resources depends on meeting a combination of multiple criteria rather than any single criterion in isolation.
Submitted data should have long-term scientific value and be able to support research in cold and arid region science and global change studies. NCDC will perform quality checks appropriate to the data type, including assessments of data completeness, accuracy, and consistency.
Data should be accompanied by sufficient metadata and explanatory documentation to enable understanding and reuse, including:
Data conforming to other metadata standards may be submitted in their original format.
For data arising from projects under the National Key Research and Development Program:
Environmental observation data representing unique, non-replicable measurements in cold and arid regions should be accepted preferentially, for example:
Where practical, only the primary/master copy of the data shall be accepted. Data already published elsewhere under a license that restricts reuse, or data derived from data with restrictive licenses, may not be accepted.
NCDC requires that all submitted data:
All data submitters are required to sign the Data Submission and Publication Agreement at the time of submission. This Agreement grants NCDC a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and royalty-free license to carry out necessary long-term preservation, format migration, quality control, dissemination, and distribution of the submitted digital objects. The intellectual property rights of the original data remain with the data producers or funding agencies.
NCDC does not accept data that poses a disclosure risk. Submitters shall ensure that the data does not contain:
NCDC will inspect the submitted data and supporting documentation to ensure they contain no sensitive information. Where necessary, data shall be anonymized or aggregated.
Model output data should be accepted if the following conditions are met:
For specialized domain-specific data where a more suitable dedicated repository exists, NCDC may recommend that submitters submit the data to alternative repositories, including but not limited to:
For data remittance from National Key Research and Development Program projects: As a national scientific data center, NCDC undertakes the receipt, review, preservation, and sharing services of remitted data at no cost to data submitters.
For voluntarily submitted data: NCDC currently does not charge submitters for data management services. Should exceptional circumstances arise in the future due to excessively large data volumes or extremely complex processing, resulting in additional costs, such costs shall be negotiated with the submitter in advance.
NCDC prioritizes the processing of data remitted from national projects, followed by voluntarily submitted data requests.
Any publicly published papers, theses, data products, and unpublished research reports that use NCDC data shall include proper attribution and citation in accordance with the specifications. Detailed citation format requirements are available in the NCDC Citation Guide on the official website.
For data with reasonable justification, NCDC supports the submitter's right of first publication by agreeing on a reasonable embargo period. During the embargo period, data are ingested and preserved by NCDC but are not made publicly accessible. Upon expiration of the embargo period, the data will be automatically open for sharing.
NCDC maintains effective oversight and enforcement mechanisms:
As the data manager, NCDC assumes the following core responsibilities:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| FAIR Principles | Guiding principles that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable |
| Metadata | Data that describes other data, including information about content, quality, conditions, authorship, and other characteristics |
| Data Remittance | The process by which research project undertakers or individuals submit data to a designated data management organization as agreed |
| Remittance Plan | A plan document formulated by the data submitter specifying the content, format, and quality control of data to be remitted |
| Embargo Period | A period after data submission but before public release, intended to protect the submitter's right of first publication |
| CC BY 4.0 | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) |
| Non-Exclusive License | A license under which the data provider retains the right to use the data themselves and to authorize others to use it |
For any questions or suggestions regarding this policy, please contact:
National Cryosphere Desert Data Center (NCDC)
NCDC's Data Acquisition Policy follows the following laws, regulations, and policy frameworks:
| Assessment Dimension | Key Question |
|---|---|
| Data Scope | Does the data fall within the domain of cold and arid region or cryospheric science? |
| Long-Term Value | Does the data have long-term scientific value for relevant research fields? |
| Uniqueness | Does the data represent unique, non-replicable observations or experiments? |
| Data Quality | Has the data undergone necessary quality control and validation? |
| Documentation Completeness | Is the data accompanied by sufficient metadata and supporting documentation? |
| Compliance | Does the data involve sensitive information or violate relevant laws and regulations? |
| Reusability | Is the data provided in open, non-proprietary formats? |
| Resource Fit | Does NCDC have the technical capacity to preserve and manage this data? |
