2. TOAR Data Portal
2.1. What is the TOAR data portal?
The TOAR Data Portal is accessible at https://toar-data.org. It’s intention is to provide a comprehensive overview about available tropospheric ozone datasets and in particular all datasets that are used in the second TOAR assessment report.
2.2. What data are available in the TOAR Data Portal?
The TOAR data portal provides descriptions and pointers to the following types if data:
The portal does not contain copies of any datasets but points you to the web pages and interfaces of the individual data providers. While we try to maintain the portal in an up-to-date state, we depend on the information that is given to us.
2.3. Why should I use the TOAR Data Portal?
The TOAR data portal provides succinct and standardized information about many tropospheric ozone data sets so that you can decide which data is right for you. It highlights the availability of modern REST APIs, data license conditions, and documentation and thus exposes the level of FAIRness of the different data collections. We see the TOAR data portal as a great starting point for your research.
2.4. How can I register my data on the TOAR data portal?
Simply fill the online form or send us an email with the required information. We will be happy to help you structure the information as needed. Please note that we can only list datasets if the repository that is linked has the necessary permissions to provide the data.
2.5. How can I report errors in the TOAR data portal?
Just follow the procedures for registering a new entry and indicate that you want to report or correct an error. Note that you don’t have to be the repository owner to send us this information. Anyone can contribute as long as the data resource that shall be listed is properly licensed.
2.6. How can I access data through the TOAR data portal?
This depends on the individual repository. Since the TOAR data portal does not hold copies of the datasets listed, we have no control over how data providers make their data available. You need to consult the individual web pages to find out how you can access the data, how it is formatted, and how it can be used. Our standardized links to REST-API, contact, and license can help you find this information faster.
2.7. What does the REST-API symbol in a repository entry stand for?
A REST API is a web service, where you can issue data queries by sending a URL that contains question marks and ampersands in a specified way. These URLs are interpreted as commands by the web service and it will return a query-specific response or dataset to you. If the repository that is listed has such a REST API service, this icon will lead you directly to it. Usually, you will find the description page how the specific REST API of that dataset can be used.
2.8. How often is the TOAR data portal updated?
Due to limited capacity, we cannot actively monitor the validity of the information andn links provided in the TOAR data portal. If you spot any outdated information or broken links, please contact us. It helps a lot if you can point out clearly what is wrong and provide the corrected information in one email.
2.9. Are you planning to list other data than ozone in the TOAR data portal?
No. This is beyond our capacity and it might make the TOAR data portal more cluttered and more difficult to navigate.