LBA-DIS Issues

The purposes of this document are to inform the SSC about LBA-DIS data and data system related issues that have been discussed at the workshops held to date by the LBA-DIS WG and NASA LBA-Ecology and to stimulate discussion of ideas by the SSC in relation to the issues.

At the January 13 to 17, 1997 pre-LBA meeting, the interim LBA-DIS WG started discussions about overall LBA-DIS data issues.  In addition, the first day of the March 12 to 14, 1997 meeting at NASA GSFC was spent refining a list of overall LBA data issues, assigning personnel to further develop the issue information, and planning for a workshop to be held in July 1997 that would attempt to make some decisions about the issues for LBA-DIS.

Attendees at the March 1997 meeting included Holger Hoff (European Union), Jose Marengo (Brazil, CPTEC), Drs. Don Deering and Betsy Middleton (NASA LBA-Ecology managers), personnel from the ORNL DAAC,and future LBA-Ecology and existing BOREAS Information System personnel from NASA GSFC.

The issues were divided into the following categories:

1. Data Policies
2. Data and Information Standards
3. Satellite Data
4. LBA-DIS Implementation
5. Project Management and Communications

Each of these categories will be briefly discussed in the following sections.  Personnel from the interim
LBA-DIS WG have been assigned to look at each issue further and compile detailed information.

Data Policies

1. Our understanding is that Brazil will require scientists to leave their original data in Brazil and take a copy of that data home with them for their analyses.  Jose Marengo described  the written policy as being rather vague and felt thqat further clarification is required.
Assuming that this is true, science teams must be informed of this and work with LBA management 
to establish appropriate procedures for compliance.  For LBA-DIS this may mean providing data copying capabilities, establishing a basic inventory of original data media so a science team could
get another caopy of their data if it is lost or corrupted in transport to their home site,etc.

2. Our current knowledge indicates that some data of interest to LBA may have copyright or other 
restrictions that prevent it from being included in an open LBA data archive at the end of the project. 
From BOREAS experience with Canada, some vector GIS data sets had to be converted to acceptable raster versions for distribution even within the BOREAS project.  It is important that the LBA-DIS, SSC, and OIC identify these as early as possible in order to handle them appropriately and to determine if some derived product would be openly distributable.

3. Each of the LBA science modules will be collecting data specific to their science goals.  Although 
overall sharing of data between modules is needed to enhance the integrative science of LBA, some time period of module exclusive use may be desired for quality checking and documentation.
An overall agreement/policy of exclusive data use periods should be established by the SSA and OIC while considering the current data policies of the sponsoring agencies.

4. Past experience with information systems for FIFE and BOREAS has shown that an undesireably 
large amount of time was spent in contacting science teams to remind them that they were required to deliver data and documentation.  LBA-DIS would prefer to use its resources to handle properly delivered data and  documentation versus needing to constantly contact lax teams.  LBA-DIS would like to work with the SSC and OIC to establish data delivery procedures, rewards, and penalties that are fari to all the teams and help optimize use of LBA-DIS resources.

Data and Information Standards

1. With the help of the SSC and OIC. LBA-DIS would like to establish format guidelines for the various types of data and information anticipated for LBA.  These include spatial data (raster images, raster and vector GIS layers), tabular ASCII data, text descriptions, documentation, graphics, and photographs.  Establishing formats  and guidelines will help improve the handling and exchange of data between the LBA participants.

2. Each discipline has historically adopted measurement units and reference systems and directions that
fit its studies and applications.  However, integration of these data into an information system and subsequent use and interpretation of these data by interdisciplinary teams is facilitated by establishing units and reference system standards (e.g., assimilation of micromoles of carbon versus grams of carbon being a positive versus a negative flux).

3. Communication within the project and publication and reading of project special journal issues
is improved by using standard symbols and super and sub-scripts for various parameters.  LBA-DIS is willing to work with the SSC to establish standard parameter symbols.

Satellite Data

1. We recognize that operational and derived satellite products of various spatial, temporal, and spectral  properties will be important to the integration and scaling of LBA science results.  Identification of some broad satellite data requirements by the SSC and LBA-DIS would help initiate discussion and negotiation within the OIC regarding the resources required to acquire, store, and derive desired products.  It will also help LBA-DIS to determine the software development and resources required to make these data rapidly available.
 
LBA-DIS Implementation

1. If we can get general or specific visions/ideas from Brazil and the LBA science modules of what they would like the end LBA data archive to be, we can keep our development of the system and its data handling procedures pointed toward the vision and hopefully through regular refocusing of the vision avoid problems and disappointments in the end.  The LBA-DIS WG encourages the SSC and OIC to provide us with concepts and ideas that we can investigate.

2. A coordinated development of the data management, access, and distribution mechanisms by the data amanagement sites rather than separate site development would help in reaching the goal of an integrated LBA data set and system.  
Particularly in the area of WWW site development, shared development efforts, information, graphics, and tools that are developed by one site should be shared with others to efficiently use resources.  We would look to the SSC to review the data management activities of LBA-DIS and provide us with feedback on some regular basis.
 
3. Each scientist and research group has its preference for exchanging and storing data.  Although LBA-DIS wants to facilitate data distribution by supporting as many media as we can, we cannot support all the types and sizes that are available.  In addition, although we hope to place image data on-line for access by those with sufficient network bandwith, not everyone will be able to access it on-line.  The LBA-DIS WG would like to work with the SSG to determine what media are reasonable to support.

4. Knowing that some LBA participants will not have reliable network access, LBA-DIS is already planning to produce CD-ROMs containing new data on some predetermined schedule.  It would help us to know what the SSC thinks the regular update interval should be in order to consider it in our planning.

Project Management and Communications

1. Although the first 'official' organizational groups of LBA are just starting to form, it is likely that the membership of  these groups will change over the duration of the project.  Particularly for the science teams who will likely have several graduate students involved during their participation. Having access to up-to-date address, telephone, fax, and email information for the current LBA participants is important for communication within the LBA project.  In addition, knowing that a particular person who left the project was the prime contact for a data set that now seems to contain unusual values can help solve the problem.
Lastly, having email lists for various project groups can greatly improve communications about science issues, workshops, etc.  
The LBA-DIS is very willing and able to provide the project with these capabilities.  What is needed is information on the groups and  sorts of informational fields that are currently anticipated.  For instance if it would be useful to know the nationality of a given person  or which funding organization is funding their efforts, LBA-DIS can design this information into the system for later use in creating email or mailing label creation.

Comments and suggestions