The Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY)

Emily CoBabe-Ammann1, W.K. Peterson1, Daniel Baker1, Peter Fox2 and Charles Barton3

1Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Research, University of Colorado, 2National Center for Atmospheric Research and 3 Australian National University

An international program of scientific research

IHY Inauguration Ceremony – February 19, 2007

e-Science for Geoscience

The Electronic Geophysical1 Year, 2007-2008 develops a 21st Century “e-Science” approach to issues of data stewardship—making past, present, and future geoscientific data openly and readily available. eGY sets out to provide a cooperative environment and an international mandate to help revolutionize geophysical data availability and access worldwide using the capabilities offered by modern digital communications and information management technologies.

A Sequel to IGY

eGY coincides with the 50-year anniversary of the highly successful International Geophysical Year, 1957-1958 (IGY). By inspiring and coordinating geoscientific programs worldwide and establishing a global network of observatories and World Data Centers, IGY provided open access by the world community to vastly better and more comprehensive information about the Earth and geospace. eGY sets out to accomplish in 21st-Century terms what the IGY achieved 50 years ago.

© 2005 EvREsearch

LTD Declaration for a Geoscience Information Commons

“Knowledge is the common wealth of humanity” [1]

PreambleThe Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) joins with the International Council for Science, the World Summit on the Information Society, and many other bodies in recognizing that knowledge is the common wealth of humanity. We have a shared responsibility to create and implement strategies to realize the full potential of digital information for present and future generations. In the 21st century and beyond, access to digital information and new technologies for information integration and knowledge discovery will influence the free and productive development of societies around the world. Providing ready and open access to the vast and growing collections of cross-disciplinary digital information is the key to understanding and responding to complex Earth system phenomena that influence human survival. In the geosciences, as elsewhere, the issues of concern are as follows.

Article 1: Data accessEarth system data and information should be made available electronically with interoperable approaches that facilitate open access.

Article 2: Data releaseOwners, custodians, and creators of Earth system data should work together to share their digital information with the world community, though in a manner that respects intellectual property rights and security constraints.

Article 3: Data descriptionProviders and users of Earth system data and information should share descriptions of structure, content, and contexts to facilitate interoperability and the discovery of relationships within and between information resources.

Article 4: Data persistenceData and information about the Earth system should be preserved and sustained in forms that are both software and hardware independent so as to be openly accessible today and in the future.

Article 5: Data rescueEffort should be made to identify and rescue critical Earth system data and ensure

persistent access to them. Article 6: Common standards and cooperation

Standards for interoperability should be identified, created, and implemented through international collaboration.

Article 7: Capability building Communities with advanced information technology and communications capabilities should contribute to developing such capabilities elsewhere to reduce the digital divide.

Article 8: Education and public outreachStudents, scientists, decision-makers, and the public should be informed about and be enabled to contribute to our understanding and management of Earth system phenomena that impact human survival.

[1] Adama Samassekou, Convener of the UN World Summit on the Information Society.

We can achieve a major step forward in geoscience capability, knowledge, and usage throughout the world for the benefit of humanity by accelerating the adoption

of modern and visionary practices for managing and sharing data and information. 

Further InformationVisit: http://www.egy.org

Education and Public Outreach

The goal of eGY Education and Public Outreach is to create an education portal that connects teachers, in a well-defined way, to the virtual observatories and modeling programs. The programming developed would allow teachers to use the virtual observatories and their data in an educational context, with supporting materials and activities. In addition, and perhaps as important, the portal would support virtual educational communities, both synchronously and asynchronously. There would be virtual seminars, not only on science content, but on the educational technology and assessment, for example. We would provide multimedia assets for teachers, including scientific talks, computer-based animations and interactives.

February 200719-20: IHY Launch, United Nations Basin Science

Program Meeting -- Vienna, Austria March 2007

13-14: eGY General Meeting--Boulder, CO, USA (www.egy.org)

April 200715-20: EGU General Assembly--Vienna, Austria (meetings.copernicus.org/egu2007/)

May 200714-18: IHY Conference 2007: Heliophysics: The Sun,

the Heliosphere and the EarthBad Honnef, Germany (ihy2007.org)

22-25: AGU Joint Assembly-- Acapulco, Mexico (www.agu.org)

June 200719-22: Virtual Observatories Conference, Denver, CO

(www.egy.org/Voconference.html)July 2007

2-13: IUGG XXIV General Assembly: Earth, Our Changing Planet-- Perugia, Italy (www.iugg2007perugia.it)

7: eGY Launch, IUGG General Assembly -- Perugia, Italy (www.egy.org)

• The GeoUnions - a new consortium comprising:IUGG—International Union of Geodesy and GeophysicsIUGS—International Union of Geological SciencesIUSS—International Union of Soil SciencesIGU—International Geographical UnionISPRS—International Society for Photogrammetry and

Remote Sensing• ICSU and its bodies • International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA)• CODATA and CODATA National Committees• The World Data Centers and ICSU’s WDC Panel• International science associations and organizations: IAHS, SCOSTEP, AOGS, IAG, IUSS, IAVCEI, IASPEI• National Academies of Science and national geoscience committees• National science agencies: NSF, NASA, USGS, NOAA, BGS • Geoscience Societies: AGU, SEG, AOGS• Climate and Weather of the Sun-Earth System (CAWSES) Scientific Committee On Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP)• Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR)• e-Science, digital information networks, and virtual observatories• Global observing system bodies and initiatives ( e.g., IGOSS, GEOS,

IRIS, ORFEUS)• INTERMAGNET• Laboratory for Advanced Information Technology and Standards,

George Mason University• Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Innsbruck• Geophysical Observatory Loparskaya, Murmansk, Russia

Cooperative agreements have been drawn up with other “International Year” initiatives linked to the 50-year anniversary of IGY: The International Polar Year (IPY), the International Year of Planet Earth, and the International Heliophysical Year (IHY).

The Electronic Geophysical Year Partners

A coordinated international effort spanning all geoscience disciplines will help us maximize the value to society of e-Science developments and to share the benefits equally between all nations.

The Electronic Geophysical Year Calendar