The Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY)

2007-2008

D.N. Baker, C. Barton, B. Fraser,V. Papitashvili, A. Rodger, B. Thompson,

J.H. Allen, B. Arora, D. Kerridge,and Y. Kamide

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

IGY: International Geophysical Year

• Objectives:– Allowed scientists to

participate in global observations of geophysical phenomena using common instruments and identical data processing

– Gathered data on geophysical phenomena from around the world

– Established the World Data Center system

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

The IUGG Response

• Celebrations to commemorate the IGY

• An electronic Geophysical Year (eGY)

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

International Year of Planet Earth – The International Union of Geosciences is leading the planning for the Planet Earth Program. Sponsored by the UN and UNESCO, Planet Earth will interpret the history of the Earth and use that knowledge as a basis for forecasting likely future events

International Heliophysical Year – IHY will be sponsored by ICSU, with the goal of fostering international cooperation in the study of heliophysical phenomena now and in the future

International Polar Year – IPY will be sponsored by ICSU, and will expand understanding of the key roles of the polar regions in the globally-linked environment

Electronic Geophysical Year – The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics is sponsoring, and ICSU will endorse, the eGY to promote a revolution in geoscientific data availability and access worldwide. This is a coordinated international initiative, making full use of the capabilities offered by modern information management and digital communications. The US is an active partner and it is timely for agencies to have an influence on this planning

Planning for International Programs

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

eGY Objectives

• Digitize and make available analog records

• Make existing data sets available– Free access to all

• Develop a system of Virtual Observatories

• Embrace and extend the IGY principles of data sharing and scientist involvement

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

To get scientific data from various, mostly distributed sources, a scientist may have to:

Increasing RequirementsEarth System ScienceHigher Resolution – Space and TimeAssimilation into Models

5. Finally, do some science

4. Process collected data using mostly proprietary codes, run models… and…

3. Then ingest retrieved data into a local database…

2. Get data via snail-mail, air-mail, e-mail, Web…

1. Search through a number of data centers, various institutions, observatories, contact colleagues…

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

Virtual Observatory Components

Distributed databases accessed through a single portal

Data Visualization

Format Conversion

Data Acquisition

Location Discovery

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

Virtual ObservatoriesThe best way to describe a virtual observatory is to give an example.• The Virtual Radiation Belt Observatory

– Assemble data from all available sources• Data from NOAA satellites (POES, GOES and NPOESS)• Data from EUMETSAT satellites (MetOp)• Data from NASA satellites (SAMPEX, POLAR)• Data from DoD satellites (HEO, etc.)

– Data Management System• Local data servers provide data to global data servers which provide data in a

standard data model to the applications software, the data assimilation model and to the physical models in response to requests

• This approach takes advantage of the SPIDR, ESG and CDAWeb systems operating at NGDC, AFCCC and NASA

– Merge with data assimilation models and physical models• Center for Integrated Space weather Models (CISM) funded by NSF

• Existing virtual observatory systems include the Virtual Solar Observatory, the Virtual Ocean Observatory, etc.

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

Virtual Radiation Belt ObservatoryData system that meets engineering, operational, and scientific needs.

– 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.

User Interfaceand Displays

Near Real Time Data

Long Term Archival Data

Gateway to distributeddata

ClimatologyModels

Nowcast/ForecastModels

GOESGOES POESPOES

• CISM End-to-End Models

• “Assimilation” of Extreme-Event Data

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

A Concept of Carbon Cycle Virtual Observatory

Dust from MODISFires and smoke plumes

Distributed fossil fuel aerosols from nighttime lights

• Authoritative descriptions of radiative forcing by aerosols for climate studies requires disparate data sets to drive numerical models.

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

Virtual Observatories• Access through a

browser or an Application Programming Interface (API)

• “Small box” uses registry of XML data service schema to construct appropriate queries for each relevant data service

• API or browser can refine queries

• Final data transfer is direct to requestor (no middleman)

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

eGY: Initial Timeline

• 2003– July: IUGG General Assembly, Sapporo endorsed eGY– December: eGY planning discussion at AGU

• 2004– March: Paper describing eGY in Eos– March: Submitted ICSU grant application– July: IAGA Executive meeting at COSPAR– September: IUGG Executive meeting

• 2005– IUGG Association meetings– Presentations and planning

Spring AGU Meeting Montreal, Quebec, 17-21 May 2004

eGY Characteristics

• Timeliness: Virtual Observatory software becoming available

• Interdisciplinary: Data sharing and data accessibility common issues in all fields of geophysics

• Affordable: Simple technology• Cost Effective: More/better science for money• Inclusive: Opportunities for developed and developing

countries• Capacity Building: Provide relevant research experience

for younger scientists• Complementary to IPY and other I*Y initiatives