SM33D-01 INVITED  

Virtual Observatories and a Vision for 21st Century Data Systems

* Baker, D N (daniel.baker@lasp.colorado.edu), Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, CO 80303- 7814, United States
Weigel, R S (rweigel@gmu.edu), George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, United States

During the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958), member countries established geophysical observatories around the world. These nations were pursuing major IGY objectives - to collect geophysical data as widely as possible and to provide free access to these data for all scientists around the globe. By the beginning of the 21st century, we have achieved an unparalleled ability to acquire data and have attained a good understanding of traditional regions - the ionosphere, the magnetosphere, and other such "spheres". Much of the new and important science now is coming from the study of the boundaries between these regions and of coupling between geophysical domains. Thus, we need to make data available in a readily accessible form and in much greater quantities to a wider range of scientists than ever before. Several major international initiatives have been proposed to commemorate and to follow on from the original IGY. Scientific societies have promoted the establishment of a system of Virtual Observatories (VxOs). These initiatives have the potential of providing a forward impetus to advances in space science in this century similar to that provided by the IGY fifty years ago. The electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) program, for example, embraces all available and upcoming geophysical data (e.g., atmospheric, geomagnetic, ionospheric, magnetospheric, etc.) and will facilitate the deployment and integration of cross-disciplinary and international virtual geophysical observatories that are "deployed" in cyberspace. This concept implies a free access to all available data through the Internet and World Wide Web, taking advantage of existing networking infrastructure and software technologies (e.g., Internet, XML, Semantic Web, etc.). Such efforts can be smoothly incorporated into the planned International Years and will provide an international focus for a resolve to address the issues of data release, data discovery, and data preservation. In this talk we present a review and overview of the objectives and successes of the IGY and eGY programs and discuss the relationship of their goals with that of the Heliophysics Great Observatory.

SM33D-02  

An Overview of VOs for Integrating Space and Solar Physics Data

Weiss, M (michele.weiss@jhuapl.edu), JHU/APL, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, United States
* Roberts, D A (aaron.roberts@nasa.gov), NASA GSFC, Code 672, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States

NASA, NSF and other groups, both in the US and abroad, are developing an infrastructure for unified access to the wide range of heliophysics data products needed to respond to our evolving space mission set and research needs. This infrastructure will expand on existing services and use new computer technologies. The environment will continue to be distributed but integrated through the creation of virtual observatories. Starting in 2001, NASA sponsored the development of the Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO) and the Virtual Space Physics Observatory (VSPO). Drawing upon the successes of these projects, NASA selected in 2006 five new "VxOs" spanning the heliosphere, the Earth's magnetosphere and radiation belts, and ITM regions. These projects are now underway, as are the NSF sponsored VSTO, the Canadian GAIA, the European EGSO, and the Japanese STARS as well as other service and data oriented projects. This paper will introduce existing and planned VOs, their attributes, data sources, the SPASE data model intended to unite them, and the communities served. In addition to providing search and access capabilities, the VxOs will enable value-added services by allowing machine access to a wide variety of datasets.
http:hpde.gsfc.nasa.gov

SM33D-03  

SPASE Progress Facilitating Heliophysics Data Description, Location, and Acquisition

* Thieman, J R (james.r.thieman@nasa.gov), NASA/GSFC, Code 690.1 NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Weiss, M (Michele.Weiss@jhuapl.edu), JHU/APL, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, United States
King, T (tking@igpp.ucla.edu), UCLA, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics University of California 5881 Slichter Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
Roberts, A (aaron.roberts@nasa.gov), NASA/GSFC, Code 672 NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States

The Space Physics Archive Search and Extract (SPASE) team of representatives from throughout the solar and apace physics international community have continued to develop a Data Model and supportive tools for data description, location, and acquisition. SPASE Data Model 1.2 is now available through the SPASE website (http:www.spase-group.org). Hundreds of data sets have been described in accordance with this model but there is a need to describe more data sets from a broader spectrum of the heliophysics community data holdings. Tools for facilitating these data descriptions are being developed and can be tested in accordance with the present model. The SPASE effort facilitates the search and retrieval of data across the heliophysics Virtual Observatory data environment. An example of the types of search and retrieval than can presently be done based on SPASE-related data description can be found in the Virtual Space Physics Observatory Product Finder. The SPASE team continues to improve the Data Model by providing further capabilities to describe data down to the level of detailed data description. The group also continues to respond to feedback by the community for specific needs. We invite the general community to try the services that have been developed and join with us in developing still more versatility for the future.
http:www.spase-group.org

SM33D-04 INVITED  

Computational Modeling of the Sun-Earth System: A Key Component of the Emerging Virtual Observatories

* Millward, G H (george.millward@lasp.colorado.edu), Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States

One of the great challenges for the emerging virtual observatories is to be able to help scientists to easily and routinely analyze many disparate data sets at the same time. This is of particular importance within the science of the Sun-Earth system: A given measurement rarely has much meaning on it's own - but must be considered within the wider context. For instance, observations of the polar ionosphere by (say) the EISCAT radar are fairly meaningless without accompanying knowledge of conditions within the Solar Wind (from the ACE spacecraft) to provide some sort of background for conditions within the magnetosphere. One way in which we can help to bridge the gap between the large number of different data sources is to use computer models of the Sun-Earth system to provide a fully global and time-dependent environment within which data can be assessed and understood. My talk will focus on this need to integrate global computational modeling into the virtual observatories. I will draw on my experiences developing an ionosphere-thermosphere modeling capability as part of the UK Astrogrid project. I will also look at new efforts to transition a coupled model of the Solar wind, magnetosphere and ionosphere to operational status, as part of the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling (CISM).

SM33D-05 INVITED  

Science With the Virtual Solar Observatory: Today and Tomorrow

* Hill, F (fhill@noao.edu), National Solar Observatory, 950 N Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ 85719, United States
Bogart, R S (rbogart@spd.aas.org), Stanford University, CSSA/HEPL Annex A202, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
Davey, A R (adavey@spd.aas.org), SWRI, 1050 Walnut St, Boulder, CO 80302, United States
Gurman, J B (gurman@gsfc.nasa.gov), NASA/GSFC, Solar Physics Lab Code 671.1, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Hourcle, J A (jhourcle@spd.aas.org), NASA/GSFC, Solar Physics Lab Code 671.1, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Martens, P C (martens@solar.physics.montana.edu), Montana State University, Physics Dept PO Box 173840, Bozeman, MT 59717, United States
Reardon, K M (krearodn@spd.aas.org), Osserv Astrofisico di Arcetri, INAF Largo E Fermi, 5, Firenze, IT-50125, Italy
Suarez-Sola, I (igor@noao.edu), National Solar Observatory, 950 N Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ 85719, United States
Tian, K Q (ktian@spd.aas.org), Stanford University, CSSA/HEPL Annex A202, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
Yoshimura, K (yoshimura@solar.physics.montana.edu), Montana State University, Physics Dept PO Box 173840, Bozeman, MT 59717, United States

The Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO) was released to the community in December 2004. It is designed to provide solar physicists with a tool that allows them to locate and access solar data in an efficient manner, thus facilitating science studies involving multiple data sets. Examples of science projects that have been done with the VSO are a study of halo CME speeds and their visibility in a variety of SOHO data sets, and the calibration between helioseismic farside signals and the characteristics of active regions. Future possible projects include studies of farside coronal mass ejections; the relationship between subsurface flows and solar wind speeds; statistics of the active region life cycle; sunspot energetics, and space weather predictors.
http:sdac.virtualsolar.org/

SM33D-06 INVITED  

The TWINS Science Data System after the launch of TWINS 1

* Goldstein, J (jgoldstein@swri.edu), Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238, United States
Valek, P (pvalek@swri.edu), Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238, United States
Skoug, R (rskoug@lanl.gov), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Space Sciences and Applications, MS D466, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
Delapp, D (ddelapp@lanl.gov), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Space Sciences and Applications, MS D466, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
Redfern, J (jredfern@swri.edu), Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238, United States
Carruth, B (bc@ips-inc.net), Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238, United States
McComas, D (dmccomas@swri.edu), Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238, United States

The Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers (TWINS) 1 satellite is in orbit and science data are expected to commence in the near future. TWINS-1 comprises half of the TWINS stereoscopic neutral atom imaging system that will advance our knowledge of the Earth's ring current. To support the expected data return, we have developed a Science Data System (SDS) for the TWINS mission. The TWINS SDS is an IDL- and Java- driven data interface that operates primarily via a web browser, and has as its spine an SQL-queryable database. Through this interface, TWINS science data will be provided to the TWINS team, the space science community, and the public. In this paper we present the current and future capabilities of the TWINS SDS, as well as how the SDS fits into virtual observatory infrastructure.

SM33D-07  

3D Orbits, Orbit information and Conjunction Services of the SPDF

McGuire, R (robert.e.mcguire@nasa.gov), NASA GSFC, Heliospheric Physics Laboratory, Code 672 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Chimiak, R (reine.chimiak@nasa.gov), NASA GSFC, Mission Applications Branch, Code 583 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Harris, B (bernard.harris@nasa.gov), NASA GSFC, Mission Applications Branch, Code 583 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Johnson, R (johnson@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov), Perot Systems, Code 672 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Kovalick, T (kovalick@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov), Perot Systems, Code 672 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
* Bilitza, D (bilitza@mail630.gsfc.nasa.gov), Raytheon/ITSS, Code 672 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Candey, R (robert.m.candey@nasa.gov), NASA GSFC, Heliospheric Physics Laboratory, Code 672 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
Angelopoulos, V (vassilis@ssl.berkeley.edu), Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States

Among the orbit and science planning capabilities now served to the international science community by NASA's Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF) project are:

• 3D animated display of multiple science mission orbits and boundary surfaces such as the bow shock, magnetopause and neutral sheet;
• Digital orbit information such as
  • Time-dependent positions in many common coordinate systems
  • Distances from boundaries such as the magnetopause and bow shock
  • Traced geographic footpoints using current internal and external field models;
• Identification of times of multiple spacecraft-region, spacecraft-spacecraft, and spacecraft-ground magnetic conjunctions;
• Support for new missions including THEMIS and STEREO.

SM33D-08  

Distributed Data Mining System with Gateway for Virtual Observatories

* Karimabadi, H (homak@sciberquest.com), SciberQuest, Inc., Pacific Executive Plaza 777 South Highway 101, Suite 108, Solana Beach, ca 92075-2623, United States

Progress in space physics has always been strongly dependent on analysis of in situ spacecraft measurements. However, the vast majority of spacecraft data go unexplored and with upcoming multi-spacecraft NASA missions (THEMIS, MMS, etc.) the growing size of data promises to outpace the ability of scientists to analyze them. There are several NASA funded initiatives such as VSO, CoSEC, VHO, and VSPO to use the Internet to develop a software environment for searching, obtaining and analyzing data from archives of data distributed at many sites around the world. A natural extension of the function of such portals is to provide sophisticated data mining capabilities. Accordingly we have combined the latest advances in the fields of distributed computing and data mining to develop a unique tool that serves as the "computational" engine for Virtual Observatories (VOs). This tool extends the capability of VOs from data portal to a science analysis center. As one of the initial utility of this software, we have applied the algorithms to study of flux transfer events. Results from analysis of CLUSTER data will be presented. Our customized data mining software can work as a stand alone or be integrated into existing and future space physics data assimilation infrastructures (e.g., VSPO, VHO). Finally, we note that San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) has agreed to host data as well as our software on one of their clusters and make it available at no cost to the scientific community. This will enable access to their CPU farm and will be particularly valuable to promote usage of our software.

Authors (2007), Title, Eos Trans. AGU, 88(23), Jt. Assem. Suppl., Abstract xxxxx-xx