science

NERC Data Centres

NERC Data Centres is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NERC Data Centres rather than just read about it. In short: The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has seven subject-based environmental data centres (EDCs) to store and distribute data from its own research programes and data that are of general use to the environmental research community. These data centres are sometimes called the NERC designated Data Centres.

Key takeaways

NERC Data Centres belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NERC Data Centres to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NERC Data Centres from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has seven subject-based environmental data centres (EDCs) to store and distribute data from its own research programes and data that are of general use to the environmental research community. These data centres are sometimes called the NERC designated Data Centres.

Data Centres The NERC Environmental Data Centres and their areas of responsibility are as follows:

British Oceanographic Data Centre – Marine Science Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA), joint responsibility with Science and Technology Facilities Council which include: British Atmospheric Data Centre – Atmospheric Science NERC Earth Observation Data Centre – Earth Observation UK Solar System Data Centre – Solar terrestrial physics (Earth Orientated) Environmental Information Data Centre – Terrestrial & Freshwater Science, part of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) – Earth Sciences – part of British Geological Survey Polar Data Centre (UK PDC) – Polar Science – British Antarctic Survey The data centres hold data from environmental scientists working in the UK and around the world. They provide access to a comprehensive data and information resource about our environment, through the NERC Data Catalog Service. As of 2018 CEDA hosts the NERC Data Catalog Service, data may also be cataloged from certain NERC Data Centres and also at data.gov.uk. Access to these data is freely available to students, researchers and stakeholders, as well as business users and policy makers, to help them understand the environment in which we live. Each data centre works to build user confidence, using common data formats and noting sources, contexts, and degrees of accuracy. They combine expertise in the scientific collection of information, state-of-the-art data management and preservation techniques, making them an important national asset.

NERC Data Policy The NERC Data Policy is commitment to support the long-term management of environmental data and also outlines the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in collecting and managing environmental data. The NERC Data Centres provide support and guidance in data management to those funded by NERC, are responsible for the long-term management of data and provide access to NERC's holdings of environmental data. The Data Policy is consistent with legal frameworks, such as the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 and contractual arrangements with other bodies where, for example, NERC holds data on their behalf but does not own the intellectual property rights. To reflect NERC's continuing commitment to openness and transparency in the research process, and in support of the government's developing agenda on open access to public data, the NERC Data Policy has been substantially revised, and this new version of NERC's Data Policy came into force in January 2011.

Charging policy The NERC charging regime recognizes two classes of data:

Raw or unrefined – these are data collected (or held) by NERC, with any necessary quality assurance or post processing applied, and used to deliver NERC's public function; Value added or refined – these are data where an extra level of intellectual input has been added, for example, by combining a number of data sets together, or producing an information product by the interpretation of a number of data sets, and crucially, is above and beyond what is required to deliver NERC's public function. The license charges that NERC can levy for the supply of data and information are governed by HM Treasury guidance and Government regulations. During 2010 NERC aimed to move to a position where it will supply its data for free for all teaching and research activities, apart from large or complex requests where they may make a nominal handling charge.

Science Information Strategy The NERC Science Information Strategy (SIS) was created to provide the framework for NERC to work more closely and effectively with its scientific communities, both internal and external, in delivering data and information management services to support its five-year science strategy, the Next Generation Science for Planet Earth 2007–2012. The Science Information Strategy is being implemented in three phases, beginning April 2010. Each of these phases will be made up of a number of smaller projects. Project/Phase 1 will concentrate on determining user requirements, documenting existing holdings, agreeing an information architecture, updating the NERC Data Policy and improving the data discovery tools. The benefits of the SIS implementation for science include the increased competence of data centre staff to inform the science community, policy and decision makers nationally and internationally on best practice, standards development and the establishment of new projects and initiatives (e.g. EU Framework projects): enhancing NERC's national and international reputation and increased capability to conduct multi-disciplinary, integrated science.

References

External links Natural Environment Research Council Official Website Natural Environment Research Council data centres Centre for Environmental Data Analysis Official Website British Oceanographic Data Centre Marine Science British Atmospheric Data Centre Atmospheric Science NERC Earth Observation Data Centre Earth Observation UK Solar System Data Centre Solar terrestrial physics (Earth Orientated) Environmental Information Data Centre Terrestrial & Freshwater Science National Geoscience Data Centre Earth Sciences Polar Data Centre Polar Science

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NERC Data Centres

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NERC Data Centres claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NERC Data Centres before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NERC Data Centres ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NERC Data Centres

In research: NERC Data Centres appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NERC Data Centres in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NERC Data Centres is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Conservation in the United Kingdom, Data centres in the United Kingdom, Environmental data, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NERC Data Centres outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NERC Data Centres in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NERC Data Centres means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NERC Data Centres out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NERC Data Centres in simple terms?

Why does NERC Data Centres matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NERC Data Centres?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NERC Data Centres.