REPLAY: REProducible Luminescence Data AnalYses

• Applicants: Dr. Thomas Kolb; Dr. Sebastian Kreutzer
• Subject Area: Physical Geography
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 528704761

Reproducibility is a crucial element of science. In modern science, research software is vital for the discovery process, and quality and accessibility determine the reproducibility of results, such as in the field of luminescence-based Geochronology. Luminescence dating techniques are essential in Quaternary research, constituting cornerstones in Earth and Archaeological Sciences and beyond. Luminescence dating towards an age determination generates vast measurement data and requires various analysis steps. However, a fragmented, partly closed-source software landscape limits the transparency and reproducibility of results, and measures of rigours and professional quality assurance are seldom implemented. REPLAY will (1) build on the existing R-based software package ‘Luminescence’ to foster a community-driven reproducible and open research software framework in the bottom-up approach: the REPLAY system; (2) consequently implement the FAIR principles for research software; (3) provide a community tailored, accessible and usable open-source software suite enabling new analytical pathways promoting a re-evaluation and reporting of existing data beyond the target community of geochronologists; (4) facilitate interfaces from and to the REPLAY system to enable the extraction of raw data and pattern recognition of big datasets using the REPLAY system. (5) Finally, REPLAY aims to ensure long-term impacts in terms of visibility and active community participation. They are combined with a professional development workflow to secure long-term usability and sustained support of the REPLAY system.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria, Switzerland
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Loïc Martin; Privatdozent Dr. Christoph Schmidt
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Michael Dietze; Dr. Margret Christine Fuchs; Svenja Riedesel, Ph.D.