Creating and Accessing the Global Fluxnet Data Set

Author(s): Humphrey, Marty; Beekwilder, Norm; Agarwal, Deb; Baldocchi, Dennis; Goode, Monte; Ingen, Catharine van; Papale, Dario; Reichstein, Markus; Rodriguez, Matthew; Vargas, Rodrigo; Li, Nolan; Gupchup, Jayant; Ryu, Youngryel | Abstract: The recently-gathered FLUXNET synthesis dataset contains over 900 site years of eddy covariance data from over 240 sites. Over the last year, the raw data supplied by individual tower investigators has been uniformly processed to produce a quality-assessed and gap-filled science data product. The dataset also contains associated site ancillary data such as site climate characteristics and soil parameters. The resulting collection is now being used by scientists world-wide. The size of the dataset is such that data browsing is difficult. For instance, a search of the dataset for sites with particular meteorological or flux characteristics would require downloading the complete dataset and then running all of the data through a preliminary analysis. Using Microsoft SQL Server, we enable interactive data browsing as well as automated generation of data summaries for quick reference. The use of the dataset is currently limited to FLUXNET scientists for cross-site synthesis analyses only. We have leveraged Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to both protect and simplify access. Since data cleaning will occur over time, the dataset will become more generally-available to other scientific communities.