1. eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, 14-15 February 2005
The eGY
Opportunity
MESSAGES
IGY+50 = Opportunity
21st Century data and e-science environment provides both an opportunity and a challenges
Cooperation will produce a better result for all
eGY fills a need
……….
eGY_Team members
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

2. eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, 14-15 February 2005
Vision of the eGY
Geoscience in this century is given a forward impetus as IGY did 50 years ago
Use the geosciences to educate and to alert the public to the excitement of the world around us
Alternative to No. 3
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

3. eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, 14-15 February 2005
20th Century approach
Search data centers, institutions, observatories, colleagues…
Process data using mostly proprietary codes, run models…
Get data via post, air-mail, , Web…
20th Century approach is no longer adequate
… finally, do some science
Ingest data into a local database…
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

4. 21st century science drivers
Complex System (Earth) science
New cross-disciplinary science opportunities
Higher resolution – space and time
Rapid response
Data assimilation into models
Challenges: distributed data, cross-disciplinary data, large and complex data sets, open data access and sharing, data discovery, data preservation, data rescue, .. interoperability …
BACKGROUND
The drivers of 21st century science, combined with the technical ability to collect and transmit large amounts of data efficiently (Internet, GRID), have led to new challenges
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

5. Current Forms of Sharing Geoscience Data
Centralized distribution schemes – World Data Centers (WDC):
Require continuous support for the data acquisition, storage, and distribution
Submission of data remains voluntary
Collected data are often not suitable for submission; e.g., the WDCs only accept absolute geomagnetic measurements
“Push Data” Concept
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

6. Sharing Distributed Geoscience Data
Publishing and sharing data through World Wide Web:
Avoids additional steps in data preparation for submission to WDC
Achieves greater visibility amongst scientific and user communities
A GRID (“Fabric”) of many interconnected data nodes is a new vision of distributed, self-populating data repositories and centers
World Data Centers become an integral part of the worldwide data “fabric”, serving as “clearing houses” for the permanent data preservation
“Pull Data” Concept
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

7. VRBO - Architecture Unleashed
Data system that meets engineering, operational, and
scientific needs for:
Near Real
Time Data
GOES
POES
User Interface
and Displays
Nowcast/
Forecast
Models
Gateway to
distributed
data
CISM End-to-End Models
Assimilation of Extreme-Event Data
Long Term
Archival Data
Climatology
Models
Climatology model for designing satellites
Nowcasts/forecasts that provide situational awareness for satellite operators.
Long term archives of simulated and observed data for testing scientific theory
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

8. International Geophysical Year 1957 - 1958
Allowed scientists to participate in global observations of geoscientific phenomena using common instruments and data processing
Gathered data on geoscientific phenomena from around the world
Established the World Data Center system ……
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

9. IGY + 50 Planning for New International Programs
International Polar Year 2007 – 2008: IPY is sponsored by ICSU and WMO; expands understanding of the polar regions in the globally-linked environment
International Year of Planet Earth: IUGS is leading, sponsored by the UN and UNESCO; will interpret Earth history as a basis for forecasting likely future events
International Heliophysical Year 2007: IHY; sponsored by ICSU; will foster international cooperation in the study of heliophysical phenomena now and in the future
Alternative to No. 6
Electronic Geophysical Year 2007 – 2008: Sponsored by IUGG, endorsed by ICSU; will promote a revolution in geoscientific data availability and access worldwide
CAWSES, ILWS, ….
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

10. Embrace and extend IGY principles
International cooperation and sharing
Free, universal, open access to data
Timely and convenient access to data
Global, cross-disciplinary scope
Data preservation
Outreach
Capacity building, especially in developing countries
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

11. eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, 14-15 February 2005
Attractions of eGY
Timely – Virtual Observatory software is becoming available; e-Science initiatives are spreading
Interdisciplinary - data sharing and data accessibility are common issues in all areas of the geosciences
Affordable – low budget needs; technology development is funded elsewhere
Inclusive – opportunities for developed and developing countries
Appealing to young scientists - fast, convenient, comprehensive data access
Complements I*Y initiatives - IPY, IYPE, IHY, and CAWSES
Outreach capability - informs decision makers and public (promotes environmental literacy)
Capacity Building - can be used to reduce the digital divide
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005

12. eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, 14-15 February 2005
Summary
The eGY is an international initiative which envisions data sharing and major deployments of Virtual Geoscience Observatories in cyberspace
eGY has four major themes:
data access
data release
data preservation
science discovery
Capacity building and outreach are primary elements of eGY
eGY Planning Meeting Boulder, February 2005