ILWS and Data Services

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ILWS and Data Services

• D. G. Sibeck, Aaron Roberts
• NASA/GSFC
• Ray Walker
• UCLA

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Topics for This Discussion

• Motivation
• Why is this an ILWS topic?
• What do Researchers Need?
• Obstacles
• Solutions
• Action items

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Motivation

• Progress in space plasma physics frequently
  requires the correlative study of data sets from
  multiple instruments, spacecraft, simulations,
  and agencies.
• End-to-end analyses- the type of study fostered
  by ILWS- invariably require such correlative
  studies

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Why is this an ILWS Topic?

• ILWS-type research requires observations and
  model output from multiple international sources.
• Coordination can save time, effort, money, reveal
  simple solutions.
• ILWS can commission a task group to look into the
  subject, get the broad view, and coordinate.
• Benefits future missions/collaborations.

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What do Researchers Need?

• 1. Tools to search for and retrieve data.
• 2. Services that enable surveys and data set
  comparisons (plotting and browsing).
• 3. Tools that translate data formats and
  transform coordinates.
• 4. Tools that enable model-data comparisons

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Obstacles

• Primarily a lack of coordination
• multitude of incompatible efforts and data sets
  in a wide variety of locations, data systems, and
  formats
• Recognition that altruism is the best policy
• Funding focused on missions, rather than
  end-to-end studies
• Top-down, rather than bottom-up, approach to
  providing services
• Can result in services that are not user
  friendly, comprehensive, extendible, timely.

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Proposed Solutions

• 1. eGY
• 2. Virtual Observatories
• 3. SPASE

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eGY is an initiative of the International Union
of Geodesy and Geophysicsled by the
International Association of Geomagnetism and
AeronomyeGY Executive Director Dan Baker
sponsored by LASP, NASA, IUGG, IAGA
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Role

• Facilitate, inform, stimulate, encourage, and
  promote
• Modern data access and services (e-Science for
  Geoscience)
• Responsible data stewardship
• Cooperation among bodies/initiatives to reduce
  duplication and proliferation of standards, and
  share expertise
• Establishment of virtual observatories throughout
  the geosciences
• Establishment of criteria to determine optimal
  and minimum funding for data activities
  supporting research
• eGY also serves to provide a link between
  programs with related data and information
  requirements - IPY, IHY, Planet Earth, and
  initiatives such as GEOSS.
• eGY will be launched July 7 Perrugia IUGG
  Congress

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2. Virtual Observatories
A Virtual Observatory (VO) is a service that
unites distributed data repositories and service
providers to allow users to uniformly find,
access and use resources (data, software,
documents, images and services). A VO requires
data set/tool registration, description, and
query tools
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Some National Efforts

• CDPP France Interball, DEMETER, Cluster, GEOS,
  Viking..
• NGDC/SPIDR NOAA/SC, ground observations
• DARTS Japan Geotail
• NSSDC/SPDF Heliospheric, L1, magnetospheric
  services
• Mission level services Cluster, Yohkoh, ACE,
  TIMED

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A Virtual Observatory Connects Distributed
Resources
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Early Heliophysics VOs (starting 2001)

• VSO (Virtual Solar Observatory
  http//virtualsolar.org)
• Delivers solar physics images, spectra, etc. as
  FITS files or thumbnails covers most solar
  physics products
• Recently added browse movies, searching by event
  lists, a shopping cart, and other features
• VSPO (Virtual Space Physics Observatory
  http//vspo.gsfc.nasa.gov)
• Access a wide variety of space and solar physics
  products, including links to other Virtual
  Observatories and data from over 100
  observatories/spacecraft
• EGSO (European Grid of Solar Observations to
  become HELIO EU/ESA)
• Emphasizes catalogued events and features to
  constrain searches
• Was solar initially, but now expanding to all of
  HP

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Newer NASA HP VxOs

• VHO (Heliosphere GSFC)
• Has a prototype that delivers some data and
  allows multiple query types working on data
  descriptions, and collaborating with VMO-G to
  enhance middleware.
• VITMO (Ionosphere, Thermosphere, Mesosphere APL)
• Existing prototype delivers data based on
  parameter- and event-based searches will
  incorporate a coincidence tool to aid searches.
• VMO (Magnetosphere GSFC and UCLA)
• Developing many SPASE descriptions as well as
  useful registry tools and middleware.
• ViRBO (Radiation Belts GMU)
• Currently ingesting datasets and developing data
  descriptions and a web portal planning a strong
  connection to models

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Some Related Heliophysics VOs

• GAIA (Global Auroral Imaging and Access Canada)
• Integrates all-sky camera data from around the
  world serves increasing amounts and variety of
  ground-based HP data
• VSTO (Virtual Solar-Terrestrial Observatory
  NSF/NCAR)
• Portal for CEDAR (ground-based) data also MLSO
  (solar) broad charter.
• Based on ontologies and related tools.
• STARS (Solar-Terrestrial data Analysis and
  Reference System Japan)
• Builds on the DARTS system currently PC
  (Windows) based.
• See http//hpde.gsfc.nasa.gov for more
  documents, links, and details.

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3. SPACE Metadata and Data Models

• Uniform access requires uniform metadata
  description i.e. a data model or ontology
• Metadata about the data, written in a uniform
  language (e.g., SPASE) is essential
• SPASE is providing the data model for NASA HP
  VOs translators may be needed for
  interoperability
• See http//www.spase-group.org

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Ongoing Efforts

• 1. eGY -- advocating good citizenship
• 2. VxOs -- components of a comprehensive system
• 3. SPASE -- the words we need to describe data
  sets and services
• A good start

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ILWS Action Items

• Endorse eGY efforts (costs nothing and will
  encourage these enthusiasts/advocates).
• Endorse open and rapid data sharing policy
• Consider providing incentives for researchers to
  share data
• Commission a task group to
• Survey what is and what isnt available,
  recommend solutions
• Describe utility of existing services
• Identify potential partnerships and existing
  resources
• Communicate ongoing activities, solutions,
  opportunities
• Establish key links to data sets and services on
  our ILWS WWW pages