Data Integration Across the Geoscience Disciplines: Challenges and Opportunities

As geoscience research becomes more interdisciplinary and integrative, it is also becoming increasingly dependent on rapid access to reliable information. Some of these data sets are extremely large and new data sets are being developed. Interoperability among data sets is of paramount importance and researchers are pushing for the development of new analytical tools. To better understand the full range of earth processes, community models and new theoretical frameworks are being developed that require increased computational capabilities. Within the NSF Geoscience Directorate, the three divisions (Earth, Atmospheric, and Ocean sciences) are working with their communities to formulate informatics programs. Whereas each division serves distinct communities, the various subdisciplines have overlapping informatics needs that require a mechanism to serve both their specific requirements as well as one that promotes syngerism among the sciences. For the Earth Sciences community, there is a natural division into at least four earth science-based informatics groups: 1) solid earth geophysics and active tectonics; 2) continental crustal evolution and architecture; 3) surficial processes and hydrologic sciences; and 4) sedimentary and ancient life systems. In addition, education-outreach and computational technology are critical parts of the overall system. Each of these components encompasses several ongoing or developing informatics efforts, such as those by IRIS, EarthScope, several NSF Information Technology Research (ITR) grants, GERM, NAVDAT, the Hydrologic Information System (CUAHSI), the Community Sediment Model (CSM), CHRONOS, and many others. GEON (A Research Project to Create Cyberinfrastructure for the Geosciences) is an ITR NSF project that perhaps forms a core part of the computational facilities for the earth sciences and it includes some science-based projects that are encompassed in the respective discipline based groupings. Neither the names or the "membership" in these topical groups are firmly establish. Furthermore, because informatics must reflect and serve the community needs, everyone who has an interest in or need for informatics must be provided an opportunity to become part of the effort. On the other hand, we must have a limited number of science-based categories or the funding and coordination of efforts becomes untenable. It is important to emphasize that there are clear overlaps between these earth science-based efforts and similar to parallel ones in the ocean and atmospheric sciences. The PETDB and ODP's Janus databases are two such academic-based examples that connect the earth science and oceanographic communities. Atmospheric and hydrologic scientists are working to bridge their information systems. Similarly, a need to cross the interface between the geosciences and the ecosystem and modern life sciences is being articulated. Representatives from federal and state agencies and industry sit on many of subdiscipline organizing and steering committees. The important point is that the scientists are the ones articulating the need for this informatics integration, and therefore it appears that informatics is becoming a bottom-up driver for better overall science integration.