CHORALE 1.6 Open Science Practices

Open Science is an operational foundation of CHORALE and directly supports its objective of bridging the long-standing silos separating hydrology-oriented and climate-oriented modelling communities. Rather than developing new infrastructures from scratch, CHORALE builds on the shared co-development and analysis environment established in WP10-12, integrating established community evaluation frameworks, such as ESMValTool and ILAMB, and leveraging containerised workflows and FAIR data practices inherited from recent European initiatives, including OptimESM, FUTURA, and EXPECT. Across the four participating ESM frameworks (EC-Earth, NorESM, CESM, CanESM), this common environment ensures that novel hydrological parameterisations, groundwater modules, diagnostics and evaluation workflows are systematically documented, containerised, and transferable.

1.6.1 Mandatory Open Science Practices

Immediate Open Access to Scientific Publications. CHORALE will ensure immediate open access to all peer-reviewed scientific publications arising from the project, in accordance with Horizon Europe rules. Publications and associated metadata will be deposited upon publication in trusted repositories such as Zenodo or institutional repositories, together with the research outputs necessary to support transparency and reproducibility. Beneficiaries will retain the rights necessary to fulfil these obligations, and publications will be open access whenever possible.

Research Data Management and FAIR Principles. Research data management is embedded directly in WP10-12 and coordinated through a Data Management Plan (DMP) delivered at Month 6 and updated during the project lifetime. All project datasets will follow FAIR principles and build on established CMIP7 and ESGF conventions wherever applicable. Datasets will be assigned persistent identifiers and accompanied by standardised metadata. Coordinated simulation outputs will be published through ESGF-compatible infrastructures, while supporting datasets, benchmark products and scenario information will be archived in trusted repositories. Standard variable naming conventions, NetCDF/CF standards and documented processing workflows will be applied throughout the project. Access restrictions will only be used when required by legitimate third-party licensing constraints or pre-existing background intellectual property rights, following the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. Long-term availability and curation of published project datasets beyond M54 are ensured through the federated ESGF infrastructure (maintained by CINECA and partner nodes) and trusted open repositories (Zenodo) for at least 5 years after the end of the action, in accordance with the data retention protocols defined in the Data Management Plan (D10.2, D12.1).

Information and Access for Validation and Reproducibility. To ensure reproducibility and independent validation across modelling frameworks, CHORALE will establish a common project repository hosting portable model developments, experiment protocols, diagnostics, workflows and associated documentation. The repository will also host the Development and Transferability Matrix developed in WP4, facilitating the portability of developments across EC-Earth, NorESM, CESM and CanESM and the regional configurations (WRF, GEM, ICON-TSMP). Analysis environments and workflows will be distributed through container technologies such as Apptainer and Docker to ensure consistent execution across different HPC facilities. Software releases, protocols and diagnostic tools will be version controlled, assigned persistent identifiers where appropriate, and accompanied by documentation sufficient to support reuse. All newly developed software, diagnostics and workflow components will be released under open-source licences whenever compatible with the governance and licensing structures of the underlying modelling frameworks. Thus, CHORALE will maximise transparency, transferability and long-term uptake of project developments across the international Earth system modelling community.

1.6.2 Recommended Open Science Practices

Early and Open Sharing of Research. CHORALE will promote the early sharing of scientific knowledge through preprints, public repositories and community dissemination channels. Experimental designs, benchmarking protocols and methodological developments will be shared as early as possible to facilitate community engagement and independent evaluation. Where relevant, coordinated simulation protocols developed within CHORALE, including those addressing irrigation and regreening scenarios, will be proposed to the wider Earth system modelling community through established international coordination mechanisms. Protocol specifications, forcing datasets and diagnostic methodologies will be released publicly following protocol freeze, enabling participation by external modelling groups and promoting broad community uptake.

Open and Transparent Scientific Evaluation. CHORALE will promote transparent scientific evaluation by combining project-specific methodologies with established community standards. Benchmarking and model evaluation activities will build on recognised frameworks, including ESMValTool and ILAMB, while project-specific diagnostics and transferability metrics will be openly documented and disseminated. Diagnostic recipes, evaluation metrics and uncertainty-assessment methodologies will be published through the project repository, enabling independent verification and reproducibility. Whenever feasible, consortium publications will target journals and publishing platforms supporting open peer review and transparent evaluation procedures.

Engagement with End-Users and Societal Actors. Open Science within CHORALE extends beyond the research community and includes structured engagement with users and stakeholders through WP7-9. These activities will connect project developments with scientific assessment communities, climate-service providers, water-resource managers, environmental agencies and policy actors. Stakeholder engagement activities will include targeted consultations, interviews and workshops to identify information needs, evaluate the usability of project outputs and support the translation of scientific findings into actionable knowledge. Attention will be devoted to the interpretation of coordinated experiments where scientific evidence must be considered alongside implementation constraints, sustainability considerations and policy objectives. The project will organise user-oriented dissemination activities and science-to-policy dialogues to strengthen the uptake of CHORALE results. Policy roundtables conducted during the project will provide opportunities to discuss emerging evidence, identify knowledge gaps and support the development of policy-relevant guidance material. CHORALE will thus ensure that its scientific advances remain accessible, reproducible and relevant to the research community and the wider ecosystem of users that depend on improved understanding of water-related climate risks.