Environmental data vs Information product
Environmental data
NERC defines environmental data as individual items or records (both digital and analogue) usually obtained by measurement, observation or modelling of the natural world and the impact of humans upon it, including all necessary calibration and quality control. This includes data generated through complex systems, such as information retrieval algorithms, data assimilation techniques and the application of numerical models, including the model code used to produce the data.
A few examples of what we mean by environmental data are given below:
- Model output and code from running a numerical climate model
- Time series logged by environmental instrumentation
- Conductivity-Temperature-Depth casts from oceanographic cruises
- Groundwater chemistry and stable isotope measurements
- Butterfly abundance observations
Information products
Information Products are created by adding a level of intellectual input that refines or adds value to data through interpretation and/or combination with other data. They result from analysis orrepackaging of data in such a way that has provided significant added value (intellectual or commercial), e.g. tidal predictions or Land Cover maps are not covered by the data policy.
For more information see NERC data policy https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NERC-080322-policy-data-021219.pdf