ILWS and Data Services
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Transcript of ILWS and Data Services
ILWS and Data Services
D. G. Sibeck, Aaron Roberts
NASA/GSFC
Ray Walker
UCLA
Topics for This Discussion
• Motivation
• Why is this an ILWS topic?
• What do Researchers Need?
• Obstacles
• Solutions
• Action items
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
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.
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
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.
Proposed Solutions
• 1. eGY
• 2. Virtual Observatories
• 3. SPASE
eGY is an initiative of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
led by the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy
eGY Executive Director: Dan Baker
sponsored by: LASP, NASA, IUGG, IAGA
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
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
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…
A Virtual Observatory Connects Distributed Resources
VxO
VxOResidentArchive
IndividualResearcher
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
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
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.
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
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
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 isn’t 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