NOAA Paleoclimatology Program

Data Citations

All paleoenvironmental data held in the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology (WDC) are generated by research scientists, and original scientific references should be cited, whenever possible. Original references are provided in the Readme files on our FTP site, in Memo fields in the PaleoVu program, or in data file headers. The WDC may also be cited as the source and archive location of the data.
For unpublished data, the original contributor, Data Cooperative, if any, and the WDC should all be cited. Paleoenvironmental Data Cooperatives archiving data at the WDC include: the Global Pollen Database, the International Ice-Core Cooperative, and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.
Although the peer-review process helps ensure that work published containing data from other researchers includes the proper citation, data citations are not always checked by reviewers. The WDC strongly urges you to remember to include proper data citations in both publications and presentations.

General form for citing published World Data Center for Paleoclimatology Data:
Anderson, D.W., W.L. Prell, and N.J. Barratt. 1989. Estimates of sea surface temperature in the Coral Sea at the last glacial maximum. Paleoceanography 4(6):615-627. Data archived at the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, Boulder, Colorado, USA.

General form for citing unpublished World Data Center for Paleoclimatology Data:
Rind, D. 1994. General Circulation Model Output Data Set. IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series #1994-012. NOAA/NCDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Citation for Data archived via a Data Cooperative:
McAndrews, J.H. 1996. Martin Pond pollen record. In E.C. Grimm et al., editors, North American Pollen Database. IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology. NOAA/NCDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Citation for group of contributors that is too large to cite individually:
Contributors of the International Tree-Ring Data Bank, IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, NOAA/NCDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder, Colorado, USA.