HR: 16:15h
AN: ED34A-02 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Knowledge Discovery in our World Information Society: Opportunities for the International Polar Year 2007-08
AU: * Berkman, P A
EM: berkman@bren.ucsb.edu
AF: Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 United States
AU: * Berkman, P A
EM: berkman@bren.ucsb.edu
AF: The New Media Studio, 2239 State Street, Suite A6, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 United States
AU: * Berkman, P A
EM: berkman@bren.ucsb.edu
AF: EvREsearch LTD, 1611 Tennyson Court, Columbus, OH 43235 United States
AB: The World Data Center system emerged in 1957-58 with the International Geophysical Year (which was renamed from the 3rd International Polar Year) to preserve and provide access to scientific data collected from observational programs throughout the Earth system. Fast forward a half century ... access to diverse digital information has become effectively infinite and instantaneous with nearly 20,000 petabytes of information produced and stored on print, optical and magnetic media each year; microprocessor speeds that have increased 5 orders of magnitude since 1972; existence of the Internet; increasing global capacity to collect and transmit information via satellites; availability of powerful search engines; and proliferation of data warehouses like the World Data Centers. The problem is that we already have reached the threshold in our world information society when accessing more information does not equate with generating more knowledge. In 2007-08, the International Council of Science and World Meteorological Organization will convene the next International Polar Year to accelerate our understanding of how the polar regions respond to, amplify and drive changes elsewhere in the Earth system (http://www.ipy.org). Beyond Earth system science, strategies and tools for integrating digital information to discover meaningful relationships among the disparate data would have societal benefits from boardrooms to classrooms. In the same sense that human-launched satellites became a strategic focus that justified national investments in the International Geophysical Year, developing the next generation of knowledge discovery tools is an opportunity for the International Polar Year 2007-08 and its affiliated programs to contribute in an area that is critical to the future of our global community.

Knowledge is the common wealth of humanity.
H.E. Mr. Adama Samassekou
President, World Summit on the Information Society
UR: http://www.evresearch.com
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
DE: 1630 Impacts of global change (1225)
DE: 6319 Institutions
DE: 6324 Legislation and regulations (6615)
DE: 6620 Science policy (0485)
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005