A Proposal for a Distributed Earth Observation Data Network

Matthew B JonesUC Santa Barbara

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)

Presentation at TDWG 2008

Freemantle, Australia

Global Change

Critical Areas in the Earth System

Where local or regional changes may have strong effects on earth system interactions, feedbacks, or connections

Coupled Human & Natural Systems

Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity Data Distribution

Many existing but unlinked data networks and federations in ecology, hydrology, taxonomy, genetics, vegetation science,

oceanography, atmospheric science, ...

DataNetONE

DataNetONE (Observation Network for Earth) Michener, Cook, Frame, Hampton, Smith, Allen, Horsburgh, Jones,

Sandusky, Scherle, Servilla, Vieglais, Wilson, Allard, Buneman, Butler, Cobb, Cruse, Deelman, DeRoure, Duke, Goble, Hobern, Honeyman, Hutchison, Kelling, Kranowitch, Kunze, Ludaescher, Normore, Pereira, Pouchard, Tenopir, Weltzin, Von Welch

Highly distributed network of earth observational data Linking existing systems

Focus on long-term sustainability (30+ years time horizon) Technical sustainability Financial sustainability

Mostly focused on production infrastructure Continual evaluation and incorporation of research findings

DataNetONE Participants

Cyberinfrastructure Objectives

Support synthesis in earth observation sciences Preserve data for long-term studies Powerful data access to distributed Member Nodes Support full lifecycle of scientific process

Design goals Distributed management at Member Nodes Replication and caching for preservation and performance Software must provide benefits for scientists today Evolution of software and standards Support and adapt existing community software efforts Emphasize Free and Open Source Software

What are the data/sources/providers?

Biological (genome to ecosystem) Environmental

Atmospheric Ecological Hydrological Oceanographic Taxonomic

Sources: Scientists Research networks Environmental observatories Citizen groups

Sources/Providers: US and international Long Term Ecological

Research Programs Biological specimens associated with museums,

herbaria Observational data relating to invasive species,

infectious diseases, wildlife and fisheries, and habitat

Natural resources and conservation data collected by US and international Parks System

Global and continental land cover/land change and biogeochemical data

What are the data/sources/providers?

Overview of Components

Member Nodes Earth observing institutions, projects, and networks Provide resources for their own data and replicated data Focused on serving their constituencies

Coordinating Nodes Provide network-wide services to Member Nodes Geographically replicated services

Investigator Toolkit Tools for researchers to access DataNetONE General Purpose and discipline-specific tools Adapt existing tools where possible

Common Service Interface

DataNetONE Service Interface

Federated Identity and Authorization Services

Object Management Services

Discovery and Usage Services

Preservation Services

Network Services

DataNetONE Components

What is the Investigator Toolkit?

Suite of software tools for researchers Principal mode of interaction with the network

Design goals Emphasize Free and Open Source, but support commercial General analysis frameworks (e.g., R, MATLAB) Domain-specific tools (e.g., GARP, Phylocom) Organized using scientific workflows

Communication via the Service Interface

Toolkit Functions

Supports the scientific lifecycle

Data management and preservation

Data query and access

Data analysis and visualization

Process management and preservation

Portal software

Longevity: organization & community

Broad, active community engagement Library educators engaging new generations of students Existing outreach and education

e.g., citizen science portals, NCEAS, NESCent, etc. workshops Strong organizational sustainability

30 years providing access to ecological data, biodiversity data, etc. More than 100 years experience for participating libraries