Researchers race to save data:
"I'm utterly shocked"

Large amounts of scientific data are at risk of being deleted from official American platforms, reports the BBC.

As Donald Trump's administration cuts budgets for research projects, important climate research could disappear, writes Nature.

One example is the research institute NOAA, which works with climate models, weather, and hurricane warnings. They have now published a list of data scheduled for removal early in May.

In recent weeks, researchers all over the USA have therefore tried to save their work.

The goal is to collect the data on their own servers and platforms before it is potentially deleted from the official ones. This includes datasets on weather, flood risk, greenhouse gas emissions, energy production, and environmental law.

"The despair that researchers in the USA are feeling now is easy to understand," says Kristin Halvorsen, director at Cicero Center for Climate Research.

Those concerned about loss of data are now trying to recreate tools and models for future climate changes. 

"Treating researchers and research data in this way does not belong in a country that calls itself a democracy," she tells sciencenorway.no.

"Heart-breaking"

Several initiatives, such as the Open Environmental Data Project (OEDP), have emerged to support researchers. These organisations are receiving a steady stream of messages from desperate researchers seeking help to preserve their data.

Some of the messages are '"heart-breaking," Cathy Richards, a data and inclusion specialist at OEDP, tells the BBC.

Researchers who make contact are desperate to know if their data – which they have spent their entire professional lives collecting – will be saved, she says.

Global consequences

The consequences affect not only the researchers but also the research. And the world.

"The USA has historically played a central role in climate research. They have good observation programmes for monitoring the Earth, and several stations with long measurement series," says Roar Skålin, director at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

"If this is reduced, it will weaken our ability to monitor and understand climate change," he tells sciencenorway.no.

The USA both manages and provides access to large amounts of climate data for the rest of the world, including observational data and results from climate models simulations.

Much of it is used as the basis for the scientific reports of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Important for Norway

"American research is absolutely crucial for Norwegian research," says Kristin Halvorsen.

She believes that much of the data now under threat is relevant for Norwegian climate researchers.

Skålin believes there is still some uncertainty about what changes will come, and therefore also what the consequences for Norwegian climate research will be. 

He mentions the Norwegian climate model NorESM, which is based on the American model CESM.

"If the further development of CESM is reduced or stops, it will, over time, make it more difficult to keep our model updated. But we don't yet know whether the development of CESM will be affected by budget cuts in the USA," he says.

What can Norwegian institutions do?

Halvorsen explains that discussions are now taking place across many countries on how best to safeguard data and continue climate observations before any deletions occur.

"We're coordinating as best we can, and we have a long list of things we're monitoring," she says.

"The best thing would be if we can achieve joint solutions, either in Europe or Norway," says Skålin.

Climate research is especially vulnerable

The Trump administration has taken a hard line against research and academia.

Many have lost their jobs at government institutions, and even more positions are threatened by cuts. At the same time, the Trump administration has threatened to cut billions of dollars in funding to leading universities, including Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania, according to this article on sciencenorway.no.

Climate is among the research topics most severely affected. This is because Trump has politicised not only climate, but also health and diversity, according to Halvorsen.

"Trump, for example, has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, and he undermines international agreements in general," she says.

Concern for research under Trump

Another challenge is that climate research often involves enormous datasets, such as climate models and weather forecasting systems.

This means that projects require large storage capacity, which makes it even more difficult if they are deleted.

Halvorsen believes there is good reason to be concerned about everything happening with research under Trump.

"Free research is a cornerstone of a democracy. Now this is under threat. We must not get used to this," says Halvorsen.

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Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik

Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no

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