HR: 1330h
AN: U22A-0006    [PDF]
TI: Metadata Standards for Atmospheric Science Virtual Observatories Based on Experiences with the Madrigal/Cedar Databases
AU: Rideout, W C
EM: wrideout@haystack.mit.edu
AF: MIT Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 United States
AU: * Holt, J M
EM: jholt@haystack.mit.edu
AF: MIT Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 United States
AB: The concept of Virtual Observatories as distributed islands of measured data, accessed so that they appear to the user as a single instrument, is a compelling one for Atmospheric Science. Given the coupled nature of the various regions of the solar system, the ability to query data in a simple way from numerous instruments to study a single event would greatly enhance our understanding of these couplings. One key tool in such a Virtual Observatory is a well-defined metadata standard, which defines as precisely and succinctly as possible what data is available. Our experience with the Madrigal and Cedar databases, which also depend on a metadata standard, has taught us a number of important lessons. These include the need for well-defined measured parameters, and a method for easily adding new parameters. Since a number of different frames of reference are used for different regions of the solar system, well-defined standards for position and time are also required. Standards are also needed for describing regions of space, since the metadata cannot contain too much detail about the exact position of the measurements. These and other lessons learned from our database experience will be discussed.
DE: 0910 Data processing
SC: U
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting