VI. More Specific Guidance

1. As discussed in the General Data Policy, for most ocean data there are designated National Data Centers where data must be deposited. These Centers and a brief description of the data they support are described in Appendix I. Submission of data to alternate databases does not eliminate the requirement for final deposition of data in these National Data Centers.

2. Focused programs supported by NSF’s Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) may establish (in consultation with OCE Program Officers) more stringent data submission procedures to meet the needs of such programs. Principal Investigators supported by these programs are required to follow these data submission procedures. Examples of these Program Specific Requirements are listed in Appendix II.

3. For some special programs and focused community initiatives, alternative database activities exist. Some of these databases are listed in Appendix III. These databases may be funded by NSF, by other Federal Agencies, or by non-governmental organizations. Principal Investigators are encouraged to submit their data to these databases when appropriate. Since such databases may not provide long-term archival capabilities, such submission will satisfy the Principal Investigator's obligations only if the database submits the data to one of the National Data Centers.

4. Community standards for handling genomic data are still evolving. Principal Investigators who employ genomic techniques should articulate a strategy for providing timely community access to the data collected and for establishing links between genomic and environmental data. Sequence data should be submitted to a publicly accessible data repository (e.g., National Center for Biotechnology Information). The human genome community has recently articulated a philosophy of pre-publication access to sequence data, which is available at: http://www.genome.gov/page.cfm?pageID=10506537.