Table of Contents

Procedure in 3 easy steps

All users of data uploaded on the Climate Data Store (CDS) must provide clear and visible attribution to the Copernicus program and are asked to accredit the creators of the data. This can be achieved by following the 3 steps below:


Step 1 - Acknowledge as per dataset licence

Dataset licences often include an attribution clause. Please carefully check the licence.

If the dataset licence does not contain explicit indication on how to acknowledge the data you still need to provide attribution to the Copernicus program (see Step 2). Otherwise, you need both, to follow the indications provided in the licence and to acknowledge the Copernicus program.

Step 2 - Provide clear and visible attribution to the Copernicus program

To acknowledge the Copernicus program, simply cite the Climate Data Store (CDS) Catalogue entry from where the data were downloaded. That citation can be found on the Catalogue entry  (see Citation under References when available otherwise please contact us) .

Step 3 - Cite the dataset to accredit the creators of the data

You will find the information on how to cite the dataset in the CDS catalogue entry (see Citation under References, when available otherwise please contact us) .

The formatting of the citation can change depending on the journal (or other content provider where you are referencing the data)  requirements. The formatting of the  Citation provided by the CDS is given as an example. 


Terminology: DOI and Citation

It is important to understand the difference between a DOI and a Citation.

The DOI provides a link to a landing page where you can discover the contents it refers to. However, before using the link, the DOI itself does not provide information about the contents. 

The Citation provides information about the contents but does not tell where to find that content.

Obviously, both information are useful and complementary, and usually they are used together when they are both available.


Procedure in practice with illustrating examples

This document has been produced in the context of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

The activities leading to these results have been contracted by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, operator of C3S on behalf of the European Union (Delegation Agreement signed on 11/11/2014 and Contribution Agreement signed on 22/07/2021). All information in this document is provided "as is" and no guarantee or warranty is given that the information is fit for any particular purpose.

The users thereof use the information at their sole risk and liability. For the avoidance of all doubt , the European Commission and the European Centre for Medium - Range Weather Forecasts have no liability in respect of this document, which is merely representing the author's view.

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