Principles
Global
Tropical cyclone (TC) best track data already exist as individual storm tracks at other centers. IBTrACS merges these data sets into a worldwide TC database.
Open
The methods used in merging and maintaining the data will be so that all data quality revisions and additions will be recorded and open for review. Information about the integrity or quality of a storm track will also be provided back to the center(s) providing the track data.
Provenance
Changes to any data will be recorded. Versions of all data will be maintained and data provenance will be recorded to preserve traceability and to easily determine the source of all data. Reasoning behind changes and algorithms that merge and adjust the datasets will be recorded such that the data can be well understood for years to come.
Ongoing
The dataset production will be ongoing and updated semi-annually: in the boreal spring following the completion of the Northern Hemisphere TC season and in the boreal autumn following the completion of the Southern Hemisphere TC season.
Accessibility
NOAA's NCDC will maintain the official archive of this product in one format, but will provide the data set in the many formats already in use by the TC community.
