What a difference 50 years can make

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The Electronic Geophysical Year, 2007-2008
What a difference 50 years can make
www.egy.org
Peter Fox (HAO/ESSL/NCAR) pfox_at_ucar.edu
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Outline

• The Who-What-Y of the Ys
• The How of eGY
• Challenges, opportunities and discussion

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Pedigree for International Science Years

• Program Start Years After
• 1st International Polar Year 1882
• 2nd International Polar Year 1932 50
• International Geophysical Year 1957 25
• International Quiet Sun Year 1964 7
• International M'spheric Study 1976 12
• Solar-Terr. Energy Program 1990 14
• International Heliophysical Year 2007 50 17

Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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IPY 1 (1882-1883) Justification

• Polar expeditions should be driven by scientific
  research instead of exploration.
• Establish network of circumpolar stations.
• Synoptic studies of geomagnetism, auroras,
  atmospheric electricity, and meteorology.
• Common data format for recording observations.

Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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Evolution in Understanding the Auroral Oval
At his auroral station in Lapland, 1882
Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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Birkeland Connects Auroras to Space
Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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IPY 2 (1932-1933) Justification

• Statement of the IMO
• magnetic, auroral and meteorological
  observations at a network of stations in the
  Arctic and Antarctic would materially advance
  present knowledge and understanding (of
  geomagnetic, auroral, and meteorological
  phenomena) not only within polar regions but in
  generalThis increased knowledge will be of
  practical application to problems connected with
  terrestrial magnetism, marine and aerial
  navigation, wireless telegraphy and weather
  forecasting."

i.e. synoptic studies
Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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IPY 2 Instrumentation

• Magnetometer network (here a station in Hudson
  Bay)
• Kite radiosondes
• Balloon radiosondes
• Ionosondes (here at Tromso)

Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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Innovations and Concepts Associated with IPY 2

• International polar observing network
• New instrumentation (radiosondes and ionosondes)
• Rapid run magnetometers
• Simultaneous measurements at multiple stations
• Global current pattern for specific magnetic
  disturbance (magnetic bays)
• i.e. Synoptic data in the third dimension
• Higher spatial and temporal resolution
• More evidence of global connectedness

Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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New Concepts Associated with IGY (1957-1958)

• Inter-hemispheric network of polar stations
• New instrumentation (all-sky cameras, satellites)
• Major discovery (radiation belts)
• New concepts (the magnetosphere, substorms)
• Exploration of space
• Global 3D synoptic data
• Evidence of time-dependent global dynamics

Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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IGY Justification

• "The IGY's main aim is to learn more about
  the fluid envelope of our planetthe atmosphere
  and oceansover all the earth and at all heights
  and depths. These researches demand widespread
  simultaneous observations." S. Chapman

i.e. expanded synoptic studies
Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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Famous Result from IGY

• From Explorer 1 and its followers, came the Van
  Allen radiation belts

Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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IGY Instrumentation and Innovations

• Antarctic stations
• All-sky cameras
• Scientific satellites
• Word Data Centers

Slide taken from presentation by George Siscoe at
First IHY Planning Workshop, NSO, Sacramento
Peak, NM
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Legacy of the IGY

• International Polar Year polar environment, and
  the polar environment as an indicator of climate,
  ICESTAR-IHY cluster proposal
• International Year of Planet Earth rational
  management of natural resources
• Electronic Geophysical Year modern electronic
  data practices
• International Heliophysical Year space
  environment

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GEOSS
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eGY Embraces and Extends IGY Principles

• International cooperation and data sharing
• Universal access to data and information
• Timely and convenient access to data
• Global, cross-disciplinary scope
• Data preservation
• Capacity building, especially in developing
  countries
• Education, public outreach, information for
  decision making

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An IUGG program led
bysponsored by NSF, IUGG, IAGA,
NASAin-kind support from LASP, NCAR, NOAA,
USGS NSIDC, BAS, INAF,
eGY Secretariat, LASP, Boulder, CO
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The Information Era Interoperability
Modern information and communications
technologies have creating an interoperable
information era in which ready access to data and
information can be truly universal. Open access
to data and services enables us to meet the new
challenges of understand the Earth and its space
environment as a complex system

• managing and accessing large data sets
• higher space/time resolution capabilities
• rapid response requirements
• data assimilation into models
• crossing disciplinary boundaries.

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Modern capabilities
drivers
Modern problems
Government attitudes
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What is eGY?

• eGY is a cooperative international effort to
  address the challenges of modern data
  stewardship, interoperability (e-Science), and
  integrative science
• Ready and open access to distributed data,
  information and services
• Access to large, complex, and cross-disciplinary
  data sets
• Real-time access and assimilation of data into
  models
• Data integration and knowledge discovery
• Data discovery (who holds what, where, how?
  Metadata issues)
• Data release (secure access permission)
• Data preservation (preserve existing and future
  data)
• Data rescue (identify and rescue critical data
  sets at risk)
• Education and public outreach informing decision
  makers
• Advancement of science in developing countries
  (reducing the digital divide)

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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.

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Deliverables

• Networking, links to experts and peers
• Coordination for the IY and other programs
• A mandate via the eGY Declaration for a
  Geoscience Information Commons
• Codes of best practice
• Meetings, workshops, and symposia at conferences
• Presentations, articles, brochure, press releases
• Website www.egy.org and eGY News
• Education and public outreach program
• Capacity building activities in developing
  countries (not yet implemented)

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What value can eGY add?

• Q. Theres nothing original in the principles and
  objectives behind eGY, and lots of informatics
  (e-Science) initiatives are already taking place,
  so why bother with eGY?
• A. We need awareness-raising and international
  cooperation to reduce duplication, reinvention,
  and proliferation of standards. IGY50, together
  with the advent of GEOSS, provides a timely
  opportunity to help accomplish this. IGY50 is
  also an opportunity to expand participation by
  geoscientists in informatics developments. eGY
  provides an international framework to help
  accomplish these goals and it has already done
  this!

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Knowledge is the common wealth of humanity
Article 1 Data access Article 2 Data
release Article 3 Data description Article 4
Data persistence Article 5 Data rescue Article
6 Common standards and cooperation Article 7
Capability building Article 8 Education and
public outreach
In the Earth and space sciences and elsewhere,
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. We have a shared
responsibility to create and implement strategies
to realise the full potential of digital
information and services for present and future
generations.
Adama Samassekou, Convener of the UN World
Summit on the Information Society
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Declaration for a Geoscience Information Commons
The underlying principles on which eGY is based
have been articulated by ICSU, the World Summit
on the Information Society, CODATA, and other
bodies. The principles are encapsulated in the
eGY Declaration for a Geoscience Information
Commons - a statement of aspirations and
principles of data stewardship. The aim is to
attract a large number of signatories from around
the world, thereby providing a mandate for action.
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Challenging the Heroic Science Funding Paradigm
eGY draws attention to the need for a
reassessment of funding priorities to recognise
that, in the new information era, the burden of
making data and information usable shifts from
the user to the provider.
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Shifting the Burden from the Userto the Provider
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Structure

• Secretariat (at LASP, Univ. Colorado)
• Director Dan Baker, LASP
• Secretary Bill Peterson
• Communications Marissa Russinek
• Public Relations and E/PO Emily CoBabe-Ammann
• International Committee
• Chair Charlie Barton Co-chair Guo Huadong
• Representatives from key bodies and countries
• Australia, Canada, China, Europe, France,
  Germany,
• Japan, RSA, Russia, UK, USA
• Working Groups
• Virtual Observatories Peter Fox
• Data Integration Knowledge Discovery Paul
  Berkman
• Best Practice (joint with CODATA) Eric Kihn
• Data Rescue and Preservation Jeff Love
• Education and Public Outreach Emily
  CoBabe-Ammann

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Working Group on Virtual Observatories
http//www.voig.net/ (voig_at_voig.net)

• Virtual observatories complement in cyberspace
  the role of physical observatories by providing
  ready access to data from distributed sources but
  make them look local and make them appear
  integrated. They also provide processing,
  analysis, visualisation, and simulation
  capabilities.
• Promoting the development of Virtual
  Observatories in the Earth and space sciences is
  a central objective of eGY.

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Working Group on Best Practices

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Working Group on Data Integration and Knowledge
Discovery
The Physics of Information The way we think about
data has changed
BORROMEAN RINGS Three interlinked circles that
represent inseparable parts of the whole. Remove
any one ring and the other two fall apart.
Borromean Rings have been used as a symbol of
unity in many fields.
Information ingredients content, context,
structure The ability to utilize automatically
the inherent structure of information marks the
threshold in information management from hardcopy
to digital media.
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Data has Lots of Audiences
More Strategic
Less Strategic
From Why EPO?, a NASA internal report on
science education, 2005
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Virtual Radiation Belt Observatory
User Interface and Displays
Nowcast/ Forecast Models
CISM End-to-End Models Assimilation of
Extreme-Event Data
Climatology Models
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Yikes!

• So..
• The data are there,
• They are a tremendous opportunity
• How do you get at it?

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The Problem VOs are Talking to Themselves

• VOs can answer the questions that they are
  designed to answer.
• And they have been designed to answer questions
  to a specific set of specialist scientist, not
  the general user.
• Sometimes you have to know a lot
• about the data you want in order to
• retrieve it

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What is a Non-Specialist Use Case?
Someone should be able to query a virtual
observatory without having specialist knowledge
Teacher accesses internet goes to An Educational
Virtual Observatory and enters a search for
Aurora.
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What should the User Receive?
Teacher receives four groupings of search
results 1) Educational materials
http//www.meted.ucar.edu/topics_spacewx.php and
http//www.meted.ucar.edu/hao/aurora/ 2)
Research, data and tools via VSTO, VSPO and
VITMO, knows to search for brightness, or
green/red line emission 3) Did you know? Aurora
is a phenomena of the upper terrestrial
atmosphere (ionosphere) also known as Northern
Lights 4) Did you mean? Aurora Borealis or
Aurora Australis, etc.
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Discussions are underway with GEO to explore how
to use eGY in the development of GEOSS
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Showcase Demonstrationshttp//www.egy.org/resour
ces
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Events

• Mar 2007 eGY General Meeting, NCAR Boulder
• Apr 2007 EGU, Vienna
• May 2007 AGU Joint Assembly, Acapulco
• Jun 2007 VOiG Conference, Boulder
• Jul 2007 IUGG General Assembly, Perugia
• 7 Jul 07 IGY50 events and launch of eGY, Perugia
• Dec 2007 Fall AGU, San Francisco
• Mar 2008 eGY General Meeting
• Mar 2008 Earth and Space Science Informatics
  Summit
• May 2008 AGU Joint Assembly
• Aug 2008 IGC-33, Oslo, Norway
• Oct 2008 CODATA Conference
• Dec 2008 Fall AGU, San Francisco
• 31 Dec 08 Close of eGY

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Challenges

• How do we find out who is doing what?
• Share experience expertise
• Coordinate activities (non-proliferation)
• Reduce replication of effort
• Promote common/best practices (standards)?

A4
US Letter
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Response (so far)

• As a result of finding out who is doing what,
  sharing experience/ expertise, and substantial
  coordination
• There is/ was still a gap between science and the
  underlying infrastructure and technology that is
  available

• Informatics - information science includes the
  science of information, the practice of
  information processing, and the engineering of
  information systems. Informatics studies the
  structure, behavior, and interactions of natural
  and artificial systems that store, process and
  communicate information. It also develops its own
  conceptual and theoretical foundations. Since
  computers, individuals and organizations all
  process information, informatics has
  computational, cognitive and social aspects,
  including study of the social impact of
  information technologies.

• Cyberinfrastructure is the new research
  environment(s) that support advanced data
  acquisition, data storage, data management, data
  integration, data mining, data visualization and
  other computing and information processing
  services over the Internet.

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Earth Space Science Informatics responses
0 11 11 01 00 00 11 01 10 11 1
WGISS
SCID
AVO Astrophysical Virtual Observatory NVO US
National Virtual Observatory VCO Virtual Carbon
Observatory VGMO Virtual Geomagnetic
Observatory VHO Virtual Heliophysical
Observatory ViRBO Virtual Radiation Belt
Observatory VMO Virtual Magnetospheric
Observatories VOO - Virtual Ocean Observatory VSN
Virtual Seismic Network VSO Virtual Solar
Observatory VSTO - Virtual Solar-Terrestrial
Observatory HIS
CGI One Geology
US National Geoinformatics
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Geoinformatics journals

• Computers and Geosciences, Elsevier
• 2. Data Science Journal, CODATA
• 3. Advances in Geosciences, EGU
• 4. Earth Science Informatics - Springer-Verlag
• AGU ESSI (with EGU?) is contemplating a new Earth
  Space Science Informatics journal

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And

• there is a revival of schools of informatics
• new and innovative funding programs appearing
• people are writing use cases
• standards are advancing, they are being used
• new work on community vocabularies and
  conventions, and (gasp) even ontologies
• working in informatics is getting (some) respect
  and is getting popular
• many agencies are responding - is yours?

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However
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www.egy.org - Presentations - Demonstrations
eGY NewsEmail lists - eGYTeam (for mngt
correspondence) - eGYParticipants (for most
people) - eGYObservers (main notices only)
Interested in getting involved?
Bill.Peterson_at_lasp.colorado.edu
Sign the Declaration for an Earth and Space
Science Information Commons
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Earth Space Science Informatics responses
0 11 11 01 00 00 11 01 10 11 1
WGISS
AVO Astrophysical Virtual Observatory NVO US
National Virtual Observatory VCO Virtual Carbon
Observatory VGMO Virtual Geomagnetic
Observatory VHO Virtual Heliophysical
Observatory ViRBO Virtual Radiation Belt
Observatory VMO Virtual Magnetospheric
Observatories VOO - Virtual Ocean Observatory VSN
Virtual Seismic Network VSO Virtual Solar
Observatory VSTO - Virtual Solar-Terrestrial
Observatory HIS
CGI One Geology
US National Geoinformatics
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themes

• Data access
• Data discovery
• Data release
• Data preservation
• Data rescue
• Outreach Education
• Capacity building

VHO architecture