Information Technology forOcean Observations and Climate Research

TYKKI Workshop, December 9-11, 1998, Tokyo, Japan

Nancy N. Soreide

NOAA

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Vision

• Societal benefits through climate studies and improved climate prediction– Investing in observations, satellites, models,

research– Investments in Information Technology

• Remove restrictions of the past

• Build a pipeline to the future

• Maximize the return on investments

TAO as an example...

TAO as an example...

TAO as an example...

TRITON/TAO

• TAO/TRITON data integration – Mechanism for data intercomparisons

– Web pages for seamless delivery of integrated • Improved delivery of TRITON/TAO data

– User defined plotting options

– Sophisticated Web component

– JavaScript and Java Servlets*

– Highly interactive, all-Java application

• Collaborative PMEL/JAMSTEC effort * A Servlet is a Java application that runs in conjunction with a web server. Java Servlet technology has built-in functionality that makes it a good server technology, with faster response time, better performance, and reliability.

TAO

• TAO set a standard in the climate community• Data dissemination in initial project planning

– Researcher involvement has assured data quality

• Benefits of data dissemination– Wide use of TAO data – Traditional research, modeling, forecasting groups– Over 200 refereed publications in past 5 years– Related disciplines, educational, administrative, public

• With recent advances in technology, we can do much more...

How can Information Technology benefit Climate Programs?

• Data Access– Centralized, uniform, consistent access to

geographically distributed data in a common data format

• Realtime data

• Satellite data

• Model outputs

• Data & information products

• “Data Portal”– A “doorway” to climate data

The Data Portal: a “doorway” to climate data

• Why do we need a Data Portal?– Each Project Office provides a highly customized Web sites for

their data• but different datasets have different navigation and interface

characteristics

• so the user faces a bewildering spectrum of data access interfaces and locations

• Data Portal is single, uniform, consistent “doorway” to to climate data in a common format

• User goes to a single location and sees a consistent interface

• Complements the customized data access

How do we build a Data Portal?

• Build on a proven prototype

• Next Generation NOAAServer software– connects 5 geographically distributed data servers in Silver Spring, Boulder,

Seattle

– CORBA for network connections

– unified interactive Java graphics

– data from distributed servers are co-plotted together on the same axis on the users desktop

• Atmospheric and oceanic profiles, time series, ADCP data, global gridded data

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/~nns/noaaserver/nodc-coads-tao.html

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/~nns/noaaserver/coads-tao-raster.html

http://merlin/dwd/talks/mts98/unified_browse/

Next Generation NOAAServer

Next Generation NOAAServer

Next Generation NOAAServer

Other technology advances:

• Networks (100 Megabits/sec)– Next Generation Internet (NGI) and Internet 2

• Visualization– 3D

– Virtual reality

– Immersion technology

• Collaboration tools– advanced high-speed telecommunications systems for collaboration

applications

– tele-immersion systems allow individuals at different locations to share a single virtual environment

– Use networks not airplanes

Other technology advances:

3D Visualization

and

Virtual Reality (VRML)

http://pmel.noaa.gov/home/visualization/visual.html

Data Portal / Visualization/Collaboration

Traditional users:ModelersForecastersResearchers

New users:EducatorsStudentsGeneral Public

Data & Data & Information UsersInformation Users

Distributed data Observed data Satellite data Data and information products Model outputsVisualizationUniform network accessUniform network access

WebBrowser

JavaApplication

User

Network

CORBA*

Client Support

Java Servlet

Graphics

One or more Web Servers

TAO data support

CORBA*

Data

Observing System Server

Data

Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) is an industry standard Middleware. CORBA is used in the NOAAServer software from which this effort will leverage. Based on performance indicators, Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI), an alternative middleware, could easily be substituted for CORBA.

CORBA*

Network

Data ServerData Portal

WebBrowser

JavaApplication

User

Network

CORBA*

Client Support

Java Servlet

Graphics

One or more Web Servers

Drifter Data support

CORBA*

Data

TAO data support

CORBA*

Data

Observing System Servers

Satellite data support

CORBA*

Data

Satellite Data Servers

Model data support

CORBA*

Data

Model Output Servers

Data

Gridded data support

CORBA*

Data

Gridded Data ServersCommon Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) is an industry standard Middleware. CORBA is used in the NOAAServer software from which this effort will leverage. Based on performance indicators, Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI), an alternative middleware, could easily be substituted for CORBA.

CORBA*

Network

Data ServersData Portal

Information Technology Climate Centers (ITCCs)

• Focal point for utilization of Information Technology for the advancement of climate programs

• Provide technical software/hardware support

• Data Portal

• Unified, central access to distributed data servers– Observing system data, model outputs, satellite data, data &

information products

• Visualization– 3d, virtual reality, immersion technology

• Collaboration tools – use networks not airplanes

Typical ITCC requirements

• Facility or building• Data Portal:

– Computer and networking hardware and software – Increased network bandwidth/speed– Next Generation Internet (NGI) connection

• Visualization– 3D, Virtual Reality, collaborative virtual environments– SGI workstations, CAVE, ImmersaDesk...

• Personnel• Relationships:

– Observing System Project Offices– Research community, academia...– other ITCC nodes– Steering Committee

Climate Program Resource Allocation

Modeling and Forecasting

21%

Climate Observations

24%

Research46%

Data & Information

Dissemination9%

International Steering Committee

ITCC ITCC ITCC

ITCC CustomersProviders of Data & Information

Users of Data & Information

Observations&

Satellite Groups

Modeling&

ForecastingGroups

ResearchGroups

New Users Educational Administrators General Public

Information Technology Climate Center Structure