Druken K1, Torrance J1, Croucher J2, Heerdegen A1, Marchegiani D1, Robinson A2, Turner C1, Wong S1
1ACCESS-NRI, Acton, Australia, 2National Computational Infrastructure, Acton, Australia
Biography:
Kelsey Druken is the Associate Director, Release Management at ACCESS-NRI, Australia's climate simulator, with responsibility for software, data and training that support the Australian climate modelling community. Prior to joining ACCESS-NRI, she was Associate Director of Data Management at the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), where she led the implementation of NCI's research data repository and the development of data publication and stewardship practices for HPC-based research. She holds a PhD in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island.
Abstract:
Making research data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) is foundational for open and reproducible science. Yet operationalising FAIR practices remains challenging in data-intensive domains such as climate science, where large data volumes, complex software ecosystems and high-performance computing (HPC) environments complicate data management.
ACCESS-NRI and the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) are collaborating to embed FAIR data practices across the climate modelling lifecycle. Rather than treating FAIR as a final publication step, this approach progressively integrates FAIR principles from active development and collaboration through to long-term stewardship and publication.
The collaboration leverages complementary expertise in climate modelling, software engineering, data management and research infrastructure operations to provide multiple pathways for sharing and managing data. These range from flexible working spaces that support active research to curated collections designed for broader community access and long-term reuse. This staged approach enables FAIR practices to be introduced incrementally, reducing later curation effort while supporting diverse research workflows.
In parallel, ACCESS-NRI has improved the consistency and interoperability of climate model outputs by embedding community standards, data specifications and quality controls directly within model release and data processing workflows. By integrating FAIR-enabling practices into ACCESS software, many traditionally manual data management tasks can be streamlined, improving consistency and reducing barriers to reuse.
This presentation demonstrates how FAIR data practices can be advanced through approaches that align with real research workflows. While grounded in climate science, many of the challenges and lessons are relevant to other data-intensive disciplines operating in HPC environments.
