“Data Technical Articles” for Open Science

The Journal of Hydrometeorology offers a new publishing format

As of this month, the AMS Journal of Hydrometeorology (JHM) is accepting a new type of article — called a Data Technical Article — in response to growing need in the Earth science literature for high-quality, open data sets. We spoke with JHM Chief Editor Viviana Maggioni, PhD, to learn about how this change will serve JHM authors and readers.

As Chief Editor of the Journal of Hydrometeorology, what drew you to this field?

I am originally from Italy, where diverse climates and landscapes — from the Alps to the Mediterranean coast — create complex hydrologic patterns. Growing up witnessing the impacts of floods, droughts, landslides, and earthquakes, I became fascinated by understanding how these natural processes work and how they can be predicted to protect communities. This combined with my passion for math and science naturally drew me to hydrometeorology, as it combines analytical thinking, modeling, and problem-solving with real-world applications.

What is a “Data Technical Article”?

A Data Technical Article presents a novel or substantially improved dataset that captures important scientific processes and that is openly accessible to the public. These articles provide essential background, explain how the data were produced, document access and usage details, offer examples of potential applications; and discuss validation, uncertainty, and any factors that could influence how the data are interpreted or applied.

For JHM, this new article type reinforces the journal’s role as a central hub for high-quality hydrometeorological science, bridging observations, modeling, and applications. By providing a venue for openly sharing validated datasets, JHM helps the community advance reproducibility, accelerate research, and maximize the impact of valuable data resources. It is an important step toward supporting open science and ensuring that critical datasets remain discoverable and usable for years to come. We are now welcoming submissions!

Publishing datasets and data articles has become increasingly common for Earth science journals. What is driving this trend?

There are several reasons that are driving the growing practice of publishing data articles in Earth science journals.

First, the scientific community has placed increasing value on open science, recognizing that transparent, accessible data accelerates discovery, improves reproducibility, and enables independent verification of results. Funding agencies and institutions now routinely require data sharing, which encourages researchers to publish well-documented datasets as citable scholarly products.

Second, modern Earth science relies heavily on large, complex, and often expensive observational and modeling efforts. Publishing datasets allows teams to maximize the scientific return on these investments by enabling broader use across disciplines.

Third, journals and researchers alike recognize that datasets themselves are valuable scientific contributions. Data papers provide a structured format for describing how data were collected, processed, validated, and made accessible, giving proper credit to the substantial effort behind data generation.

Finally, the rise of FAIR data principles — that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable — has motivated journals to support dataset publication as part of good scientific practice. As Earth system research increasingly depends on integrating diverse, high-quality datasets, this trend is likely to continue growing.

How will publishing Data Technical Articles better serve Journal of Hydrometeorology authors and readers?

JHM serves researchers and practitioners who study precipitation, land–atmosphere interactions, hydrologic processes, modeling, and prediction. These communities rely heavily on high-quality observational, remote-sensing, and modeling datasets.

Data Technical Articles provide a formal, peer-reviewed venue to document and share these foundational datasets. Because hydrometeorology depends on complex, multiscale data that are essential for understanding processes and improving forecasts, this article type helps make important datasets more discoverable, trustworthy, and reusable — directly supporting the needs of the field.

Authors will have a clear, citable way to publish datasets as scholarly products, allowing them to receive credit for the substantial effort that goes into data collection, processing, and validation. This new format also provides space to document methods, uncertainties, and usage guidance in ways that traditional research articles usually cannot accommodate.

For readers, Data Technical Articles offer reliable, well-explained datasets that are easier to find, understand, and apply in their own work. The standardized format improves transparency, promotes reproducibility, and helps users evaluate whether a dataset is suitable for their purposes. Overall, the format strengthens both the visibility and the scientific utility of community data resources.

What were the challenges of developing a new article format?

Developing the Data Technical Article type required aligning expectations among editors, reviewers, and authors about what constitutes a high-quality data paper, since it differs from a traditional research manuscript. Clear guidelines had to be established for reviewers so they could assess data-focused manuscripts consistently and fairly. The JHM editorial board developed specific reviewer guidelines tailored for Data Technical Articles, building on the general AMS reviewer guidelines. By providing clear criteria, we ensure that reviews are consistent, rigorous, and focused on aspects of the data that are critical for long-term scientific value.

If I’m interested in submitting a Data Technical Article to the Journal of Hydrometeorology, what should I know?

This is a great opportunity to showcase your dataset as a valuable scientific contribution. A strong submission clearly explains the background, methods, and data processing, including validation, uncertainty, or limitations, and provides guidance on how others can access and use your data. Including examples of potential applications helps highlight the dataset’s impact.

Data Technical Articles undergo peer review designed specifically for datasets, so reviewers will evaluate both the quality of the data and how well it is documented. Attention to metadata, reproducibility, and transparency is key.

Publishing in this format not only increases the visibility and reuse of your dataset, but also allows you to receive formal credit for your data work, elevating it alongside traditional research publications. It’s a chance to make your data a lasting, citable resource for the community.

Information for Authors: There will be no author fees for Data Technical Articles submitted before 1 July 2026. All Data Technical Articles will be published open access.