Email 3118, Aug 2008: Tom Crowley complains that a researcher at an institute receiving "tons of federal money" is refusing to share "what the original investigator thinks is the best long term (back to about 900 AD*) reconstruction?"

Email 3118

Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:37:23 +0100 From: Thomas Crowley

To: mpurdy@ldeo.columbia.edu Subject: problem with one of your people not sharing data
Dear Dr. Purdy:

I am writing to you as the "last course of appeal" - otherwise I wouldn't bother you from more important work.

For years I and many fellow investigators have been trying to get Gordon Jacoby to share his data on a valuable long tree ring record he has produced from Mongolia.

the efforts have almost always failed - the only exception I know of is when he let Ed Cook use the data - big deal!

after appealing to NSF Gordon did release some of the data to the NOAA data repository but he did not release the synthesized index that is useful for including in other time series - only the raw data from the individual time series

yes one could look at the raw data and compile it oneself but don't you think it is best to have what the original investigator thinks is the best long term (back to about 900 AD*) reconstruction?
...
as a receiver of tons of federal money Lamont is obligated to share such data, and I KNOW they do so virtually all the time. sadly this is an exception and if I cannot get you to get him to release the synthesized data, then no one will ever have it - it will be a repeat of the Gerard Bond case where he refused to have his data released EVEN AFTER HE DIED (equivalent to giving everyone the finger from your coffin!)

Gordon C. Jacoby | Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Lamont Projects: 

• Tree Ring Research Laboratory