Data are shared following the CC-BY-4.0 data usage license (Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 International). The CC-BY-4.0 license requires that attribution be given with every use. With correct attribution, the data user is free to Share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and/or Adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose.
Data shared under the AmeriFlux CC-BY-4.0 License follow these attribution guidelines:
- Include the citation, including DOI, for each site’s data product in your paper or project. For journal articles, the citation must appear in the reference section or other section that supports citation tracking (e.g., not supplementary material). The citation is provided in the metadata available during the data download process
- Include the following text in the acknowledgment: Funding for the AmeriFlux data service was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.
- If there is a Data Availability section in your paper, include the following in that section (in addition to the citation in a reference section): “The AmeriFlux [DATA PRODUCT] were accessed from [SOURCE] on XX Month YYYY”.
The [SOURCE] for accessing data can be the AmeriFlux data portal, AmeriFlux APIs, FLUXNET User Interface for the Shuttle, or the FLUXNET Shuttle code.
- For the AmeriFlux FLUXNET data product, add the following text to the acknowledgment above: FLUXNET data products were produced and harmonized by eddy covariance regional networks and data processing centers, including AmeriFlux, ChinaFlux, European Fluxes Database, ICOS, JapanFlux, KoFlux, OzFlux, SAEON, and TERN. These products also include a modified version of ERA5 hourly data provided by the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Citations for data processing:
- AmeriFlux BASE: Chu, H., Christianson, D.S., Cheah, YW. et al. AmeriFlux BASE data pipeline to support network growth and data sharing. Sci Data 10, 614 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02531-2.
- AmeriFlux FLUXNET: Pastorello, G., Trotta, C., Canfora, E. et al. The FLUXNET2015 dataset and the ONEFlux processing pipeline for eddy covariance data. Sci Data 7, 225 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0534-3.
Note: Collaboration with data providers (AmeriFlux PIs) is not required under this CC-BY-4.0 license, but it can help avoid misinterpretation or other data issues and is appreciated by data providers. Regardless, it is recommended that data users inform data providers of forthcoming publications that use a site’s data.
The required citation with DOI and an email list of AmeriFlux PIs for the downloaded sites is provided to the data user with the data download. This information is also accessible via each site’s AmeriFlux Site Info page or can be generated for multiple sites using the “Site Set” feature (See Site Search).