CORRESPONDENCE
WITH U.S. NSF
December 2, 2003
Dear
Dr. Verardo,
Thank
you for your reply. Since my earlier email, I've examined data
archiving matters more closely and can make a somewhat more specific inquiry.
It seems self-evident that the data and algorithms under pertinent National
Science Awards are at a minimum subject to the 1991 USGCRP policy statement and
subsequent guidelines, all of which support public access to data and algorithms
developed under N.S.F. grants.
I
have a particular interest in the data, algorithms and supporting materials
developed under National Science Award #:9626833 to Raymond Bradley et al.
The resulting publication was the well-known paper by Mann, Bradley and Hughes
in Nature 1998, which stated that 112 proxy series were used in a temperature
reconstruction. Ross McKitrick and I recently published an examination of the
data used in this paper. Mann et al. published a response in which they
reported that 159 series were used. They also stated that the reconstruction
methodology implemented by McKitrick and myself did not correctly
implement the methodology of MBH98. Accordingly, we requested identification of
the 159 series now stated to have been used in MBH98 and a copy of the computer
program used to collate input data and produce the temperature index in order to
effect a reconciliation. This information has been refused. I am
accordingly writing to you.
I
note that there was no contemporaneous archiving of the proxy series and
programs actually used and Professor Mann's current FTP site now stated to
be the data archive only dates from mid-2002. The information at this FTP site
does not contain sufficient information to identify the 159 series now said to
have been used and does not contain the computer programs sued to generate the
temperature index, although it contains several computer programs used to
calculate principal components of various tree ring series. Also, after the
publication of our paper, some pertinent information was deleted from this FTP
site.
Our
concern is first and foremost that this and similar data be properly archived in
a public location such as the excellent World Data Center for Paleoclimatology
and secondly that we be provided access to this information under any applicable
authority (e.g. FOI).
Thank
you for any assistance which you can provide in this matter.
Yours
truly,
Stephen
McIntyre |