Enterprise Database (EDB) Building the foundation for improved interoperability, discovery and services

Supporting Cryospheric Research Since 1976 National Snow and Ice Data Center

Project Goals •  Provide overall improvements to NSIDC’s metadata

acquisition, creation, management, and dissemination

•  Develop a single, authoritative reference for metadata representing NSIDC holdings   EDB replaces multiple databases   Uses PostGIS and ISO-10115

•  Replace or enhance existing metadata infrastructure

•  Implement recommendations from the Metadata Workflow Project (M. Parsons)   Technical: databases, schemas, interfaces   Human: information hand-offs, QA processes

Benefits to Users

•  Richer and more consistent metadata enables improved search and discovery of NSIDC data holdings

•  File-level metadata enables data services for select data sets via Polaris/Searchlight and other applications

•  Use of a well-established metadata standard enables easy translation to various metadata schemas (DIF, FGDC)

•  Potential to export file-level metadata to ECHO which would provide a more uniform NSIDC search & order experience via Reverb

Benefit to NSIDC Data Managers

•  Greater efficiency and accuracy during metadata creation as a result of the new entry interface

•  Use of a well-established metadata standard promotes interoperability with data services, both internal & external   Libre, Icebridge, ACADIS

•  Critical preservation information (e.g., DOIs, checksums) is automatically and accurately captured

•  Extensible mechanism for providing file-level search, order, and services for data sets

Project Timeline •  Phase 1: The Foundation

In progress; anticipated completion by summer 2012   Migration of all metadata to EDB

  Operational applications interface with the EDB

  Metadata entry interface for Technical Writers

  Extend Searchlight services and EDB file-level ingest code

to additional data sets

Project Timeline •  Phase 2: The Enhancements

  Multiple metadata contributors   Allow direct metadata submission by Data set Creators,

Project/Program Leads, Data Operations, etc.

  Dynamically-generated product documentation   Increases cohesiveness   Reduces maintenance

  Additional metadata translation & export

  Automatically generate & store preservation metadata   DOIs   Checksums

Input from PoDAG on Priorities

EDB Enhancement

•  Dynamic documentation •  Direct metadata submission

by data set providers •  Preservation metadata •  Metadata export/translation

  ECHO

Polaris

•  Data sets   MeASUREs:

•  Formats   HDF: John Kimball’s MeASUREs

Freeze/Thaw   NetCDF: David Long’s Arctic

QuikSCAT •  Data types

  Point

•  Data services