IN23A-0945
Description Of Computational Routines For Accessing And Using Real Time Data In The Mexican Array Radiotelescope (MEXART)
The Mexican Array Radiotelescope (MEXART) is a 64x64 dipole antenna element array used to carry out IPS observations of various radio sources in the sky. This kind of observations are of importance for the construction of daily maps of the sky, and are helpful in the detection and trace of solar perturbations propagating througout the solar wind, which can reach the Earth. To obtain and to handle the MEXART data observations a lot of work of computation is required for the acquisition, storage and data processing. In this work we report the structure of the acquired data and programs implemented as a support tool for the real time data processing, that leads to some results in which some radio sources are observed.
IN23A-0946
Scatterer Informatics using NASA JPL Polarimetric Airsar Imagery
Polarimetric SAR data demonstrations found in the open literature show polarimetry as a very powerful tool for radar scatterer analysis for Earth and Space science applications, such as ship detection, target detection, search and rescue, land cover classification, interferometry, and others. Using polarimetric SAR imagery, a number of methods for identifying scatterers with point-like scattering behavior are available in the public scientific literature. Here, polarimetric processing control parameters of a number of these methods are being investigated for efficient processing of scatterers for detection and analysis. This investigation focuses on fully polarimetric SAR data that are available from the NASA JPL AirSAR public archive. This study explores a number of polarimetric SAR scenes, which include various land cover types such as urban, residential, vegetation, and others.
IN23A-0947
In Search of the Ideal User Interface for Real-Time and Retrospective Satellite Data
NGDC's accumulated experience with regard to connecting users to the data that they need is being applied to building an advanced prototype user support system for the GOES-R space weather data sets. GOES-R is scheduled for launch in 2014 and data from operational GOES instruments will serve as proxy. The prototype will implement a model that supports a variety of user needs. For example, some users require a graphical interface that will guide them through an interactive data selection process, others prefer to select prepared products off-the-shelf, and a growing community of users prefer to have access protocols that allow their software to tap directly into data packets. This prototype will take a similarly diverse tack with regard to data latency, products, formats, visualization and browse capabilities. This poster will present the initial challenges as we see them and solicit input from the space science informatics community regarding techniques that may be well suited to meeting those challenges. The GOES-R series of satellites will provide X-ray sensor data; X-ray images; EUV data; energetic proton, electron, and heavy ion data; and magnetometer data.
IN23A-0948
Evaluating Object-Based Image Analysis on Glacial Micromorphology
Micromorphology has recently been applied more in analyzing glacial sediments at a microscopic level. It provides additional information and details that may help to explain glacial processes in areas where macro- scale observations cannot yield sufficient information. However, the process of interpreting thin sections has been very subjective, and reaching general consensus about glacial processes is difficult. Remote sensing technology is increasingly helpful in the development and advancement of many sciences; the concepts that lie behind the technology in object cognition used in other fields, such as landscape ecology, can be applied to micromorphology. Similar to what has been done to landscape ecology in the past, automating the process of interpreting objects in glacial sediments may potentially simplify and decrease the subjectivity of the process. Definiens Professional 5 is an object-based image analysis program that imitates human cognitive methods; it is used in this study to identify objects apart from background matrices in multiple thin section images of glacial sediments. The program's initial results proved that more work was needed to be done for better results, but overall the software produced promising results. The method is repeatable and continues to generate consistent results with no bias or ambiguity, so the application of this method to micromorphology and other areas alike will be valuable.
IN23A-0949
New data and capabilities in the NASA Goddard Hurricane Data Portal
This presentation describes new additions to the NASA Goddard Hurricane Data Portal, a dedicated web portal (URL: http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/hurricane/) has been designed for viewing and studying Atlantic hurricanes by utilizing various measurements by NASA remote-sensing instruments. The portal consists of the following main components: · Current conditions (in pre-selected regions and updated 3-hourly or daily): the latest maps, animation and profiles from NASA satellites. At present, images or plots created using data from TRMM, AIRS, MODIS, MLS and CloudSat are available. Later, data from OMI and other instruments will be added. A new feature will be added to allow users to easily download/subset data associated with these images. · Current and past hurricane archive: maps, animation and profiles of past hurricanes were created using data from TRMM, AIRS, MODIS, MLS and CloudSat, allowing users to explore past hurricanes and download/subset data if necessary. A new feature has just been released to allow searching past hurricanes. Also users can view imagery via Google Earth. · Science focus: examples/stories describing data usage in hurricane monitoring and research. · Tools: descriptions and links of a number of in-house developed tools for hurricane exploration and event- based data ordering. For example, the GES-DISC Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (Giovanni, URL: http://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov), a series of online visualization and analysis systems, allows users to access data ranging from near-real-time to historical archives and generate customized analysis maps, plots and data on the fly over the Internet. A hurricane instance of Giovanni is under development. However, a prototype that allows investigating Quikscat ocean surface wind, TRMM precipitation and TRMM microwave sea surface temperature is available now (URL: http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/hurricane/trmm_quikscat_analysis.shtml). Mirador (URL: http://g0dup05u.ecs.nasa.gov/OPS/mirador/) is another in-house developed tool that offers a simplified interface for searching, browsing, and ordering Earth science data at NASA GES DICS. Users can do event based (e.g., entering a hurricane name) search and order data. · Hurricane viewer: provides users with a view of the hurricane track that overlays TRMM 3-hourly precipitation data. The interface provides users with the storm track, wind speeds, pressure, intensity and view of the data of the lifespan of the storm in an animated series. The Hurricane Viewer will be enhanced to allow users to select from multiple data parameters to view in the background of the track. · There are a number of other resources for hurricane related activities at the DISC, such as, viewing and exploring NASA 2-D and 3-D data (TRMM, CloudSat, AIRS, etc.) via Google Earth. Details and examples will be presented. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/hurricane/
IN23A-0950
A Vulnerability Assessment Approach for Dams of Mississippi
As part of a state-wide effort to characterize the vulnerability of Mississippi's dams, we are developing a new set of vulnerability assessment tools. Our vulnerability assessment methods will consider earlier attempts to develop risk indexing methods for dams, but will be designed to be applied to Mississippi's entire database of over 3,700 dams. Unlike earlier efforts to dams, which emphasized hazards posed by the dams, our methods will be designed to consider intrinsic and extrinsic vulnerability, and consider consequences as well. Intrinsic sources of vulnerability consider such factors as the potential for unstable slopes, piping, and spillway inadequacy. Extrinsic sources of vulnerability will include features such as the potential for intentional or unintentional human acts. Other factors that will be included will be the potential for neglect of maintenance of the dam and susceptibility to interference from wildlife. Consequences will be assessed by considering the downstream population and economic resources that may be at risk due to an uncontrolled release of the reservoir. The analysis of these vulnerabilities and consequences is being calculated using a GIS-based database of all of Mississippi's dams along with population distribution, terrain, and economic resources across the state. Conventional methods of analysis of a dam breach or other uncontrolled release will still be necessary, but the extent to which downstream features and population are affected can be more readily identified. This approach facilitates assessment and decision making on a large dam inventory to permit resources within the state to be directed efficiently to dams that merit attention.
IN23A-0951
Techniques for Efficiently Managing Large Geosciences Data Sets
We have developed techniques and software tools for efficiently managing large geosciences data sets. While the techniques were developed as part of an NSF-Funded ITR project that focuses on making NEXRAD weather data and rainfall products available to hydrologists and other scientists, they are relevant to other geosciences disciplines that deal with large data sets. Metadata, relational databases, data compression, and networking are central to our methodology. Data and derived products are stored on file servers in a compressed format. URLs to, and metadata about the data and derived products are managed in a PostgreSQL database. Virtually all access to the data and products is through this database. Geosciences data normally require a number of processing steps to transform the raw data into useful products: data quality assurance, coordinate transformations and georeferencing, applying calibration information, and many more. We have developed the concept of crawlers that manage this scientific workflow. Crawlers are unattended processes that run indefinitely, and at set intervals query the database for their next assignment. A database table functions as a roster for the crawlers. Crawlers perform well-defined tasks that are, except for perhaps sequencing, largely independent from other crawlers. Once a crawler is done with its current assignment, it updates the database roster table, and gets its next assignment by querying the database. We have developed a library that enables one to quickly add crawlers. The library provides hooks to external (i.e., C-language) compiled codes, so that developers can work and contribute independently. Processes called ingesters inject data into the system. The bulk of the data are from a real-time feed using UCAR/Unidata's IDD/LDM software. An exciting recent development is the establishment of a Unidata HYDRO feed that feeds value-added metadata over the IDD/LDM. Ingesters grab the metadata and populate the PostgreSQL tables. These and other concepts we have developed have enabled us to efficiently manage a 70 Tb (and growing) data weather radar data set.
IN23A-0952
Mapping the levels of eutrophication concentration in the Gulf of Mexico using high resolution ocean color data
Coastal eutrophication is a major global environmental problem that is caused by the increased use of nutrients primarily nitrogen and phosphorus that are brought down by the rivers to the coasts. The influx of excess nutrients to the coasts degrades water quality by stimulating excess phytoplankton or macroalgae growth including some noxious and toxic algal species. During the warm summer months, oxygen levels in the Mississippi plume region of the Gulf of Mexico fall from healthy concentrations to 2-3 milligrams per liter leading to hypoxia—a low-oxygen condition that can be stressful or fatal to marine life. An improved scientific understanding of the biological processes of the inland waters of the bay to various perturbations requires the routine acquisition of high resolution time series data to synoptically characterize large scale trends and water quality parameters that can be derived only from remote sensing instruments. This study is intended to explore the capability of high resolution ocean color remote sensing data to model hypoxia through monitoring phytoplankton blooms in the Dead Zone, especially the changes in boundary conditions that often accompany tropical storms. High resolution (250 m) MODIS (Aqua) data will be used to infer the spectral characteristics of the coastal waters in the Gulf. Phytoplankton blooms will be used as a precursor for anoxia. High phytoplankton blooms would indicate a likelihood of hypoxia. The spectral characteristics of the water will then be validated with the oxygen content of the water obtained from cruise data. The Canonical Correlation technique will be used to study the correlation between the spectral characteristics of the water in the Gulf and the oxygen levels derived from cruises.
IN23A-0953
Combined Geodata Management - a tool for interdisciplinary interpretation and visualization
In the last years, new methods of data acquisition and processing in geosciences have increased the amount of data – always inspired by and in relation to the increasing computational power available. On this poster we present the conception and technical realization of the SFB 574 Web Portal. The combination of geodata management as a metadata catalog together with web mapping technology is presented. Furthermore, future aims like implementing common standards to simplify data exchange will be pointed out and their impact on geoscientific work and the benefit for collaborative research centers in particular will be discussed. Moreover, a stereoscopic 3D visualization system recently installed will be presented. We briefly discuss the basic principle and compare the possible technical realizations. A case study will demonstrate the benefit for interpretation of complex geophysical and geological structures in space and time. The Kiel Collaborative Research Center "SFB 574 - Volatiles and Fluids in Subduction Zones: Climate Feedback and Trigger Mechanisms for Natural Disasters" is an interdisciplinary geoscientific research project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). As over fifty researchers are working on different geoscientific aspects of subduction processes, data management and presentation using internet technologies like web mapping is crucial for cooperation. Also ef- forts are made to strengthen the already ongoing work together with partners from Central America. http://www.geophysik.uni- kiel.de/~tdamm/AGU2007
IN23A-0954
RBNB DataTurbine streaming data middleware deployment for global lake ecological observatory network sites
GLEON, the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network, is a grassroots network of people, institutions, programs, and data, linked by cyberinfrastructure and united by the common mission to understand and predict the response of lake ecosystems to natural processes and human activity at regional, continental, and global scales. Lake Erken in Sweden serves as a natural laboratory where various important limnological processes and changes can be studied in situ including buildup of several data banks on all relevant atmospheric, aquatic, soil parameters that force the functioning and metabolism of the lake. Lake Erken has been instrumented with a broad range of sensors to pursue a deeper understanding of lake metabolism. The original monitoring program of automated lake weather and water temperature measurements began in the 1960s and, starting in 1986, these measurement systems were converted to digital recording. There is now a database of more than a 20 years of digital lake weather and water temperature data from Lake Erken, along with data from other lake stations and stream monitoring stations which are part of the monitoring network. The Erken Laboratory and its research staff strongly support the data sharing and scientific goals of the GLEON project and were interested in making their unique database part of the GLEON project. Lake Erken research staff was also interested in acquiring and sharing the real-time sensor data. Unfortunately, management of real-time sensor data streams presents major processing, communication and administrative challenges. More specifically, these applications demand scalable and secure support for data acquisition, instrument and data stream management, and analysis and visualization. However, most applications address these issues by building custom systems that are invariably complex and difficult to support. Extensibility, scalability, and interoperability are often sacrificed under this approach. To address these cyberinfrastructure challenges in a principled manner, we deployed RBNB DataTurbine – an open-source streaming data middleware system. More specifically, RBNB DataTurbine was deployed to perform sensor data acquisition, transport, and dissemination in a scalable and reliable fashion. All legacy data was input into the database designed for use by GLEON sites and the RBNB-based deployment was set up so that real-time data is automatically written into the database. This allowed local researchers not only to use and adapt RBNB DataTurbine for their site, but also enabled them to join the global GLEON community thereby giving them access to international data. In this poster, we discuss the set up at the Lake Erken site (including details on sensors and communication network etc.) followed by description of their traditional data acquisition methodology. We then give a detailed description of our RBNB DataTurbine deployment at Lake Erken.
IN23A-0955
Deduction of the global density of earth plasmasphere from the expected EUV imager of the Lunar orbit of the chinese Lunar Exploration Program and the High Elliptical Orbit of KuaFu B project using CT technique
In this paper we present the simulation of the global density of the Earth Plasmasphere created from the column density data observed simultaneously from the side and top of the plasmasphere, using X-CT technique. The column density data observed from the side of the plasmasphere is expected from the 30.4nm image data of the EUV Imager (EUVI) onboard the lander of the Second Phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (2ndCLEP) proposed to be launched around 2013. Where data observed from the top side is the images of the EUVI onboard KuaFu B1 and B2 in a High Elliptical Orbit. Observed simultaneously with 2ndCLEP. The orbit of KuaFu B1 and B2 are high elliptical orbit, similar with the orbit of IMAGE satellite, Two models of the initial distribution of the global density of the Earth Plasmasphere are supposed. The simple one is supposed that the initial distribution in L < 4 Earth radii (Re) is uniform, and is equal to 0 when L > 4Re. We try to check if there is a sharp boundary in L=4Re, by reconstructing the distribution of global density of the plasmasphere, created from the column density data of this simple model observed simultaneously from the side and top of the plasmasphere, using X-CT technique. The second model is the Horwitz's plasmasphere Model based on DE satellite observation, and used to prove if it will be reverted to the original density distribution, after data reconstruction. Our results show that a sufficient number of views must be used in order to reconstruct the density of the plasmasphere, and only data during the quite time with small variation can be reconstructed.
IN23A-0956
Incorporating Web Tracking Into EOSDIS Metrics Collection
The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) and related data centers have been collecting and analyzing information on the archiving, processing and distribution of Earth science data for more than 10 years. Long-standing approaches for evaluating the performance of systems managed by EOSDIS have provided insights into how system engineering requirements are being met, how user communities are being served and the levels of interest across the science data products. However, data and services are increasingly being made available to users via web-based applications that cannot be evaluated with current methodologies. New tools are required to record and analyze how users find, navigate and use the continuously evolving landscape of web-based resources supported by EOSDIS. Without such tools a significant portion of the data and services EOSDIS provides would not be captured. EOSDIS will be able to incorporate metrics collection on new web-based applications across geographically distributed and differently configured systems while not interfering in those systems' operations. A consistent process has been devised for collection and reporting of information on web data usage and the characterization of the community of web service users. To provide a more complete picture of system utilization, knowledge of the web resource usage is coupled with improvements to the current approaches for collection of processing, archival and distribution metrics of Earth science products. This combined information improves evaluation of engineering requirements and understanding of how the new web capabilities are impacting usage and distribution of science data and services provided by EOSDIS. This paper describes the new, non-intrusive methodology EOSDIS is using to capture and analyze information on the usage of web services across all related systems. The paper will discuss initial results demonstrating the benefits of the reengineered system.
IN23A-0957
GEOROC and GeoReM Databases – Linking Chemical Data and Data Quality
Since its introduction in 1999, the geochemical database GEOROC (Geochemistry of Rocks of the Oceans and Continents, http://georoc.mpch-mainz.gwdg.de) of the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Chemie in Mainz established itself as a major online resource available to the scientific community. GEOROC provides geochemical data published for volcanic whole rocks, glasses, minerals and inclusions from ocean islands, large igneous provinces, convergent margins, Archean greenstone belts, rift and intraplate volcanic regions. The database now provides about 300,000 analyses published in about 6,800 papers (status: 07/2007). The web interface of GEOROC allows the selection of samples by bibliographic, tectonic, geographic, petrological as well as chemical criteria. As part of the bibliographic query, the search for the GEOROC Reference Number permits an easier reproduction of published data plots created with the help of the database. A new query based on age information will be added in the near future. The geochemical database GeoReM (Geological and Environmental Reference Materials, http://georem.mpch- mainz.gwdg.de/) for reference materials and isotopic standards includes reference samples from rock powders, glasses, minerals, isotopic standards, river water, and seawater. GeoReM is a relational database with a structure compatible to that of GEOROC and contains published analytical and compilation data (major and trace element concentrations, radiogenic and stable isotope ratios), important metadata about the analytical values, such as uncertainty, uncertainty type, method and laboratory. Sample information and references are also included. Five different queries are now possible: Samples or materials, GeoReM preferred values, chemical criteria, bibliography, and methods and institutions. GeoReM contains more than 1500 geological reference materials and 14000 analyses (status: 07/2007). References available in both databases are linked to each other. It is now possible to get information through GEOROC about the geochemical analyses of rock samples belonging to analyses of reference materials and isotopic standards compiled in GeoReM. The detailed information of the analytical conditions available in GeoReM enables users of GEOROC to estimate the quality of the analysed rock samples. Vice versa it is possible to go directly from GeoReM to the respective papers in GEOROC to get the analyses of the studied samples. GEOROC joined with the databases PetDB and NAVDAT to initiate the EarthChem consortium (http://www.earthchem.org/), with the aim to increase the synergy between the three geochemical database efforts. The recently introduced EarthChem Portal (http://geoportal.kgs.ku.edu/earthchem/jtest/) offers a seamless search across the three databases using reference, location, rock type, chemistry or analysed material as selection criterion.