NFDI4Earth FAIRness and Openness Commitment

Science advances when knowledge is openly shared. In response to the growing geo-societal challenges of our planet, and in light of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, trustworthy science increasingly requires the open sharing of well-documented data and their provenance in an ethical manner. This requires a cultural and systemic change that evolves current practices and that promotes solutions for data sharing within and beyond the Earth System Sciences. Only by working together as a community can this happen.

At its core, Earth System Sciences aims to unravel the complex processes that drive the Earth as a dynamic system. This includes the fluxes of matter and energy in the five main spheres - the geosphere, hydrosphere (including the cryosphere), atmosphere, biosphere and anthroposphere (cf. Leopoldina’s report Earth System Science: Discovery, Diagnosis, and Solutions in Times of Global Change).

Data acquisition, simulation, integration, and analysis are crucial to understanding these complex processes. The Earth System Sciences community already embraces many Open Science practices, including making its many types of research outputs findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable for humans and machines (as stated in the The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship). Equal priority should be given to data management and analysis tools that enable data-driven methods. Efficient and effective use of research outputs, facilities, and funding, as well as appropriate reward systems and recognition of all research activities are equally important parts of Earth System Sciences data activities.

NFDI4Earth - the consortium for the Earth System Sciences within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) - aims to become a central facilitator for research data management in the German Earth System Sciences community, enabling more open knowledge sharing. The mission of NFDI4Earth is to provide easy, efficient, open and, as far as possible, unrestricted and standardised access to all relevant Earth system data, scientific data management and data analysis services, and to ensure sustainable and quality-assured research data management infrastructures.
This commitment will help to engage the NFDI4Earth community in shaping, promoting, and implementing the NFDI4Earth agenda. In the longer term, the results of this work will also help to drive the much needed change in the way research is evaluated, as expressed in the DORA and CoARA declarations.

NFDI4Earth invites institutions and individual researchers, laboratories, infrastructure providers, publishers, academic societies, government agencies, administrations, industry, funders, and research organisations (see the list of signatories) to sign the following statement of commitment and become ambassadors for change towards more FAIR and Open data practices in Earth System Sciences. To support this shift, the NFDI4Earth website provides background information and guidance for different stakeholders.

Sign the Commitment at http://nfdi4earth.de/commit.

Signatories of the NFDI4Earth FAIRness and Openness Commitment pledge to support NFDI4Earth’s mission, products, and services. The signature of members and/or representatives of the Earth System Sciences community is a public signal of agreement with the goals and values of the Commitment. By collectively supporting the Commitment, the signatories realise NFDI4Earth as a community of practice, taking into account the full range of expertise and all relevant user groups of Earth System Sciences for a sustainable shift towards more FAIR and Open Research.
As signatories...

We commit to advance FAIRness and Openness in Earth System Sciences.

(1) Commit to the mission of NFDI in bringing together research communities to provide data for the common good, and the role of NFDI4Earth as a facilitator of sustainable, collaboratively developed solutions in Earth System Sciences.

(2) Support and uphold, where appropriate and possible, the principles and values outlined in existing Open Science declarations and statements.

(3) Be familiar with relevant data laws and acts, especially those related to geospatial data, in both national and European jurisdictions. These laws facilitate data sharing at both national and international levels.

(4) Give credit to all sources underlying our research findings and, whenever possible, credit is given through proper citations.

(5) Choose to publish Earth System Sciences data in Earth System Sciences domain repositories and other suitable research infrastructures that meet all four aspects of FAIR principles and consider the specific characteristics of Earth System Sciences data.

(6) Strengthen FAIR and Open Data practices by supporting educational networks, robust training programmes, and the production of educational materials that promote transparency and accessibility of research outputs.

(7) Adopt Data Management Plans as important tools for all research projects. These plans are invaluable for strategically planning data documentation, publication, and collaboratively monitoring data management activities. We seek and consider expert curation and guidance for them.

(8) Where possible, use open and permissive data and software licences that legally enable the envisioned free and open sharing of Earth System Sciences data.

(9) Support and align scientific work with governing bodies and organisations that advance the underlying causes of this commitment.

We value data infrastructures and
data experts.

(10) Recognise the vital role that Earth System Sciences domain repositories and their curation services play in achieving and preserving the highest possible FAIRness and Openness in the Earth System Sciences. As researchers, institutions, and funding agencies, we endeavour to ensure the sustainability of these repositories and other relevant research infrastructures.

(11) Collaborate with data curators and repository managers and leverage their expertise to make Earth System Sciences research outputs transparent, machine-readable, interoperable, and re-usable in the long term. They use diverse approaches, such as the NFDI4Earth Label, to document and advance interoperability across data repositories.

(12) Adhere to and contribute to international standards for harmonising Earth System Sciences data, metadata, data quality, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Support their implementation and development across research infrastructures, as this is crucial for effective interdisciplinary research and advancements in novel analysis methods such as Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning (AI & ML).

Institutions

Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI)
Contact: Anke Allner
https://www.awi.de

Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG)
Contact: Marcus Brühl
https://www.bkg.bund.de

Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ)
Contact: leitung@lrz.de
www.lrz.de

Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)
Contact: Carsten Hoffmann
https://www.zalf.de

SDI Germany (GDI-DE) represented by the Steering Committee SDI Germany
Contact: Katrin Weke
https://www.gdi-de.org

TUD Dresden University of Technology
Contact: Lars Bernard
https://tu-dresden.de/

GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
Contact: Wolfgang zu Castell
www.gfz.de

Organisations and groups

–

Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe (AGILE) | Contact: Carsten Keßler | https://agile-gi.eu
–

Chair of Geoinformatics, TUD Dresden University of Technology | Contact: Lars Bernard)| https://tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/geo/geoinformatik/
–

Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin | Contact: Timm John | https://www.geo.fu-berlin.de/
–

Department Biogeochemical Integration at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry | Contact: Markus Reichstein | https://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/en/bgi/home

Individuals

–

Daniel Nüst | TUD Dresden University of Technology | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0024-5046
–

Jörg Seegert | TUD Dresden University of Technology | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9357-2830
–

Carsten Keßler | Bochum University of Applied Sciences | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9724-820X
–

Farzaneh Sadeghi | Bochum University of Applied Sciences | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7920-4289
–

Jie Dodo Xu | Goethe-Universität Frankfurt | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8239-2076
–

Anna Brauer | TUD Dresden University of Technology | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7092-1492
–

Auriol Degbelo | TUD Dresden University of Technology | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5087-8776
–

Jonas Grieb | Senckenberg - Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8876-1722
–

Najla Rettberg | TUD Dresden University of Technology | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1888-2294
–

Dominik Hezel | Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5059-2281
–

Sheryl Singerling | Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8639-5039
–

Andreas Hübner | Freie Universität Berlin | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7342-9789
–

Sabine Timpf | Head of research group, University of Augsburg | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7964-4110
–

Avishai Abbo | Postdoctoral fellow, Goethe University Frankfurt | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3660-1433
–

Jonas Kuppler | GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
–

Fabian Gans | Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9614-0435
–

Melanie Lorenz | GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9496-342X
–

Frank Oliver Glöckner | Head of PANGAEA | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8528-9023
–

Tom Niers | TUD Dresden University of Technology | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5746-8590
–

Annette Strauch-Davey | Universität Witten/Herdecke (Forschungsdatenmanagement)
–

Christin Henzen | TUD Dresden University of Technology |
–

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5181-4368
–

Ronny Gey | research data consultant | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1028-1670
–

Gerhard Schmidt | Formerly at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5487-8917
–

Felix Cremer | Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8659-4361
–

Lennart Schüler | Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9362-1372
–

Maya Pretzsch
–

Eva Adelberger | TUD Dresden University of Technology | https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4121-1555
–

Jan Cermak |Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) |https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4240-595X
–

Robert Brylka|Senckenberg - Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research |https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5872-9959
–

Mélanie Weynants | Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1447-0105

–

Markus Reichstein | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5736-1112
–

Simeon Wetzel | Chair of Geoinformatics, TU Dresden, Research Associate | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7144-3376
–

Kai Hartmann | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2540-6798
–

Martin Werner | Professor in Technical University of Munich | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6951-8022
–

Christiane Schmidt | GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences| https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8461-3485
–

Carsten Hoffmann | FAIRagro Project Manager (ZALF Muencheberg) | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6457-4853
–

Oliver Kirchgeßner | FAIRagro, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
–

Ulrike Adolph
–

Sören Lorenz | CIO, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8577-6614
–

Markus Schmalzl
–

Marthe Klöcking | University of Münster | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6592-9270
–

Peter Braesicke |
–

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1423-0619
–

Hannes Thiemann
–

Monika Sester | Prof. for Cartography and Geoinformatics, Faculty Information Officer Department of Civil Engineering and Geodetic Sciences, Leibniz University Hannover
–

Stephan Frickenhaus | Head of Computing and Data Centre, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research |https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0356-9791
–

Matthias Mauder | Professor of Meteorology |
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8789-163X
–

Astrid Ziemann | TUD Dresden University of Technology |
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6686-3736
–

Sibylle Hassler | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5411-8491
–

Wolfgang zu Castell | GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Department Director | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2820-6564
–

Ivonne Anders | DKRZ German Climate Computing Center| https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7337-3009
–

Ralph Müller-Pfefferkorn | Head of department "Distributed and Dataintensive Computing" at Department Information Serivces and High Performance Computing (ZIH) at the Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Sciences (CIDS) | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8719-5741
–

Hildegard Gödde | Geo.X Research Network for Geosciences in Berlin and Potsdam, Managing Director
–

Hela Mehrtens | GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4526-2472
–

Conrad Jackisch | Jun.Prof. Flow and Transport Modelling in the Geosphere, TU Bergakademie Freiberg | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7389-1201
–

Julian Frey | University of Freiburg, Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7895-702X
–

Alois Wieshuber | Generaldirektion der Staatlichen Archive Bayerns | https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7010-7968
–

Nianhua Liu | Chair of Cartography and Visual Analytics, Technical University of Munich | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4044-2498
–
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Matthias Zeemann | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9186-2519
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Claus Weiland | Senckenberg - Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0351-6523
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Jan Cermak | Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4240-595X
–

Klaus Getzlaff | GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0347-7838

Your name, group, or organisation is missing? Sign the commitment here: nfdi4earth.de/commit.
Do you have any problems with signing or is your data incorrect? Please contact the NFDI4Earth Helpdesk at helpdesk@nfdi4earth.de.

Additional information

Citation and feedback

Full citation: NFDI4Earth Consortium. 2024. NFDI4Earth FAIRness and Openness Commitment (NFDI4EarthDeliverable D4.2.1). NFDI4Earth Community on Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10123880.

You can provide anonymous feedback at https://redcap.zih.tu-dresden.de/redcap/surveys/?s=YKTL79MPMEHDTMAK.

Related activities

FAIRagro FAIRness and Openness Commitment

The FAIRagro consortium with more than 30 partners is building a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) research data management system for the agrosystems research community. They are developing the tools and workflows to lay the foundations for sustainable crop production – now and in the future. In March 2025, FAIRagro published their version of the NFDI4Earth Commitment with minor adjustments to address the agro community.
https://fairagro.net/en/commitment

CC-BY-US @ NFDI

Without cultural change there is no sustainable research data sharing. That is why in 2023, members of several NFDI consortia came together to discuss the challenges and opportunities of sharing research data with and through the NFDI. In several online workshops and publications they investigate how cultural change can promote use of infrastructures, and how infrastructures can promote cultural change. Because data shall grow - and we with it.
https://cc-by-us.gitlab.io/

National and international statements and guidelines for Open Science practices

Data acts and other regulations related to Earth System Sciences

European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): rules relating to the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data to the free movement of personal data; realised into national laws, such as the German DSGVO.
The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community Directive (INSPIRE) serves to create an infrastructure for the shared use of spatial data by public authorities in Europe. By defining common standards for 34 spatial data themes, the directive makes it easier to find, share, and use spatial data.
The German Spatial Data Access Act (Geodatenzugangsgesetz - GeoZG) serves to establish a national infrastructure for spatial data within the framework of the European Directive 2007/2/EC (INSPIRE Directive). Since 2012, the law enables the free use of spatial data collected by federal authorities as open data.
The Geological Data Act (Geologiedatengesetz, GeoIDG) is the law on the governmental geological survey (e.g., by mapping the subsurface through drilling) which regulates the recording, archiving, public provision, and accessibility of geological data for public purposes.
Federal and state archive laws concern the publication and archival of geospatial data, especially from government agencies, such as the German BArchG or the Bavarian BayArchivG.
In spring of 2023, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) launched the consultation on the Research Data Act envisaged in the coalition agreement. The aim is to improve access to data for research and to create a framework for the transfer, storage, and protection of data.

Governing bodies and organisations supporting FAIR Earth System Sciences through specifications and standards

Acknowledgements

This work has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the project NFDI4Earth (TA4 M4.2, DFG project no. 460036893, https://nfdi4earth.de/) within the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI, https://www.nfdi.de/).

We thank all contributors from the NFDI4Earth community and beyond for their questions, feedback, edits, and their inspirational work that this commitment is grounded on. People who have agreed are listed in alphabetical order below using CRediT and as contributors on the Zenodo record. We also extend our sincere thanks to all unnamed contributors for their inputs, be they small, indirect, or given in passing, from the NFDI4Earth community and beyond, especially the members of the NFDI4Earth steering group and the participants of the in-person workshop "Towards a Cultural Change in ESS RDM" at the 3rd NFDI4Earth Plenary in Dresden in May 2024.

Lars Bernard - Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing
Peter Braesicke - Writing – review & editing
Kirsten Elger - Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing
Frank Oliver Glöckner - Supervision
Christina Habermehl - Writing – review & editing
Dominik Hezel - Writing – review & editing
Andreas Hübner - Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing
Carsten Keßler - Writing – review & editing
Marthe Klöcking - Supervision, Writing – review & editing
Melanie Lorenz - Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
Daniel Nüst - Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
Najla Rettberg - Supervision
Thomas Rose - Writing – review & editing
Markus Schmalzl - Writing – review & editing
Jörg Seegert - Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft
Monika Sester - Writing – review & editing
Claus Weiland - Writing – review & editing