1. GFZ Representative Report
The Electronic
Geophysical Year
GFZ Representative Report
Bernd Ritschel, GFZ ISDC* Manager
*Information System and Data Center
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

2. CHAMP Satellite Project
Partners: GFZ, DLR, NASA, CNES
Lifetime: 04/2000 – 09/2010
Main objectives:
Global Earth gravity field (models)
Global Earth magnetic field (models)
Atmospheric/Ionospheric sounding (GPS occultations)
Monitoring surface heights (GPS altimetry experiment)
Combination Gravity Field Model
EIGEN-CG01C (CHAMP-GRACE-TERR.)
Double difference geometry of GPS
limb sounding with CHAMP
Magnitude of non-dipolar field
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

3. GRACE Satellite Project
Partners: GFZ, DLR, NASA, CSR
Lifetime: 03/2004 – 2014
Main objectives:
Global Earth gravity field (constant/time variable)
Occultation atmosphere/ ionosphere
Deep ocean current changes
GRACE Gravity Field Model
Earth mass distributions
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

4. TerraSAR-X Satellite Project
Partners: GFZ, DLR, Industry
Lifetime: 07/2007 – 2012
Main objective:
X-band radar based SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) interferometry images
Source: ESA
TerraSAR-x StripMap product, 30 x 55 kilometres, as an example of EEC projection.
It shows the Upsala Glacier in Patagonia.
The three SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) modes:
Spotlight, Stripmap and ScanSAR.
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

5. Tandem-X Satellite Project
Partners: GFZ, DLR, Industry
Lifetime: 06/2010 – 2015
Main objectives
X-band radar based SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) interferometry images
Digital Earth elevation model (high accurate 12 x 12 x 2m)
Velocity measurements
TanDEM-X and TerraSAR-X in formation flight
Source: ESA
This elevation model shows different accuracies:
1 kilometre, 90 metres, 30 metres and 12 metres (TanDEM-X).
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

6. SWARM Satellit Project
Partners: GFZ, ESA, DLR
Status: Phase D
Lifetime: 2012 – 2016
Main objectives:
Global Earth magnetic field (model)
3D Earth crust conductivity
Electric currents in ionosphere
Swarm constellation of three satellites
The Earth's magnetic field
is mainly produced by a
self-sustaining dynamo
in the fluid outer-core
Dynamics of the Earth generating
the Gravity and Magnetic Field
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

7. MicroGEM Satellite Project
Partner: GFZ, TU Berlin, Industry
Status: Phase A
Lifetime: ?
Main objectives:
Occultation atmosphere/ionosphere ([Space] Weather)
Topside ionosphere tomography
Reflectometry ocean/ice with GALILEO/GPS
POD with VLBI (for the first time) SLR and GNSS
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

8. Planned Satellite Projects
GRACE “Filler” Mission
Partners: DLR, GFZ, ...
Status: Phase 0
Lifetime: 2015 – 2020
Main Objective: Gravity field monitoring
GRACE Follow-on
Partners: NASE, CSR Texas, GFZ
Status: Concept
Lifetime: 2020 –
Main Objective: Gravity field/water storage monitoring
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

9. Global Geodetic Project (GGP)
IAG Inter-Commission Project IC-P3.1  Joint with Commission 2 - The Gravity Field, &
Commission 3 - Earth Rotation and Geodynamics
Research areas:
Gravity field variations
Environmental influences
local/global Hydrology
Example for research domain and dealing with data and information

10. GGP SG* Station Network
30 SG stations around the globe
Basis for WDCC for Earth Tides
*Superconducting Gravimeter

11. GFZ ISDC* Portal Homepage: http://isdc.gfz-potsdam.de
GGP Superconducting Gravimeter Station Network
*Information System and Data Center
The 2007 International Geohazards Week, Frascati, Italy, 5-9 November 2007

12. ISDC Data and Users
289 product types from different geoscience domains
113 product types for public use
4 product types with grants for science teams
180 internal product types
14,38 Terra Byte of data
23,65 Million products
5.000 files/day data flow
< 2390 national and international users and user groups
19 data provider (scientific groups) GFZ+Unis+JPL+UCAR
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

13. Georesearch Challenges and Semantic Relations
Workflows & vocabularies
Semantic relations
Science domain
related concepts
Technical driven
concepts & metadata
Culture of scientific work
producing
Research object
exponential
growing volume
of data and information
Complex Systems 1 2
Focus is Informatics
1http://
2http://

14. Geoscience Objectives and Semantic Web Idea
Modeling the world of geoscience knowledge generation
Integration of multi-domain data and information for the research of complex geo-systems
Discovery, retrieval, reuse and share of data, information and knowledge
Combining and aligning of data and information using controlled vocabularies and inference based rules
Putting the content of data and information in to the appropriate inner and outer context, incl. literature (DOI)
Integration of user generated context information and knowledge using Web 2.0 technology
Visualization of knowledge concepts and semantic relations

15. Requirements for Modeling and Detecting of Semantic Coherence
Describe the content and context of data in the right way => (standardized) metadata
Design the metadata in the right structure => concept map/RDF-triples/ontology model
Find/use the right terms for addressing the properties of data/metadata => controlled vocabulary
Open/adopt the ontology for the chance of data and metadata interoperability => merging/alignment of domain-centered ontologies

16. Visualization of Semantic Relations
Tool for modeling and representation of concepts/ontolgies
Detect entities and features
Find relations between entities
Estimate properties of relations
Support for interactive retrieval applications
User guidance => navigation and exploration
Interactive presentation of content and context related features and relations
Tool for representation of retrieval/reasoning results (knowledge)
Presentation of highly complex correlations
Reduction of information overload
Supply of visual links to related extended information

17. DIF Metadata Classes
Data Product Type = „Parent DIF Document“, Version 9.x
=> FGDC/OGC/ISO compliant (incomplete)
Instrument (Sensor) = Instrument DIF => OGC SWE
Platform (Source) = Platform DIF => OGC SWE
Project (Campaign, Mission) = Project DIF
Data Center = Data Center DIF
Institution*
*in addition to GCMD

18. ISDC Ontology Class Model
Controlled Vocabulary*
Free Vocabulary c
Project
Platform
Instrument
Science Domain
Institution
Product Type *

19. ISDC Concept Map Metadata Class Ontology

21. eyePlorer Concept Primary results Secondary results
Central concept Search term(s)
Associates eyeSpots
Associate Ranking Diameter of eyeSpots
Relations Lines between eyeSpots
Categories (Domain) Coloured circle segments
Facts (from CMS) Text, Pictures, …
Sources Repository Selection
Secondary results

22. eyePlorer Architecture for Primary Results
Picture taken from VIONTO presentation

23. eyePlorer Architecture for Secundary Results (Facts)
Picture taken from VIONTO presentation

24. ISDC/eyePlorer Categories Relationships

25. ISDC/eyePlorer[Wiki] Definition Relationships

26. ISDC/eyePlorer[Wiki] Keywords and Relations Relationships

27. ISDC eyePlorer mock-up: Climate

28. Conclusions and Further Tasks
Visualization of ontologies is a suitable approach for knowledge representation and management
We have a preliminary ISDC ontology model
There are detailed ideas/use cases for semantic- based ISDC retrieval application similar to eyePlorer
Finishing the ISDC ontology modelling process
Finding/filling the semantic gaps, both features/ properties and appropriate values
Ontology alignment/merching (very difficult cognitive task), e.g. DC, FOAF, SWEET, …
Transforming XML metadata files and rules into OWL and SWRL files according to the ontology model

29. Challenges (from WGISS 24)
Sustainable funding of human, technology and technical resources for operational data and information services
Developing/Using of a philosophy for sustainable data and information management at the GFZ
Providing a high available (long-term) archive and services for data, information and knowledge
Education campaign for scientists related to ESSI1
ESSI1 must become important research domain within German geoscience work, like in many EU countries, Japan and U.S.
1 Earth and Space Science Informatics
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

30. Einsteinturm (1921)
Thank you, Questions?

31. CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-24, Oberpfaffenhofen, Oct , 2007

32.
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-24, Oberpfaffenhofen, Oct , 2007

33. Semantic-based Use Cases for GGP - Fuzzy Logic is Focus of Use Cases-
Show all SG stations which are in operation and delivering calibrated gravity data and additional trustful environmental data in a certain time and space frame
Give all earthquake SG data for stations which also have collocated or nearby located permanent GPS observations
Show all geoscientific projects which use GGP data and information for the validation of global gravity field models as well as other global geophysical models
Connect GGP gravity data with relevant and free available Web information (Web pages, literature, catalogs …)
Network and visualize user generated context (tagging, blogs, mashups, social navigation data) with GGP data

34. Usage and Benefit of Semantic Relations
Integration of different domain-related data and information to answer domain-specific questions
Re-usage and combination of (tailored) domain-specific data and information for inter-domain complex questions
Considering and benefit from different cultures and workflows of research approaches
Connection of data and related science publications
Combination of knowledge of data providers (concept and controlled vocabularies) and data users (folksonomies)
Bridge from hardcore science results to open societal knowledge

35. ISDC and GFZ
ISDC is even smaller group now, only 2 persons with support from System and DB administrator
New head of the Geodesy and Remote Sensing department (coming from university)
New director of the GFZ (coming from a technical university)
Interested in more transparency
Common data policy within the GFZ
New mechanism for funding of IT infrastructure
Improvement of long-term archive facilities
… but new requirements are coming from everybody
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010

36. Atmosphere/Ionosphere
Initial scientific satellite based
use of Galileo for
Earth observation
POD:GNSS
Topside Ionosphere
Tomograhy
MicroGEM (Phase A)
POD: SLR
POD: VLBI
Occultation
Atmosphere/Ionosphere
Reflectometry
Ocean/Ice
with Galileo
with GPS
Combination
with ground GNSS

37. Projects related to WGISS
remote
CHAMP (multi-domain mission)
GRACE (multi-domain mission)
GPS-PDR (geodesy)
GASP (GPS) (atmosphere/ionosphere)
TerraSAR-X (multi-domain mission)
GGSP (Galileo?)
in-situ
GGP (gravity data)
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services, WGISS-29, Bonn, May , 2010