GLOBE Program's Data and Information System

"The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is an international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment" (www.globe.gov ). GLOBE Program has a rich community of students, teachers, scientists, trainers, country coordinators, and alumni across the world, technologically spanning both high- and low-end users. There are 117 GLOBE participating countries from around the world. GLOBE's Science data protocols and educational material span atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, soil (pedosphere), and Earth as a System scientific areas (http://www.globe.gov/do-globe/globe-teachers-guide). GLOBE's Data and Information System (DIS), when first introduced in 1995, was a cutting edge system that was well-received and innovative for its time. However, internet-based technologies have changed dramatically since then. Projects to modernize and evolve the GLOBE DIS started in 2010, resulting in today's GLOBE DIS. The current GLOBE DIS is now built upon the latest information technologies and is engaging and supporting the user community with advanced tools and services to further the goals of the GLOBE Program. GLOBE DIS consists of over 20 years of observation and training data, a rich set of software systems and applications for data entry, visualization, and analysis, as well as tools for training users in various science data protocols and enabling collaborations among members of the international user community. We present the existing GLOBE DIS, application technologies, and lessons learned for their operations, development, sustaining engineering, and data management practices. Examples of GLOBE DIS technologies include Liferay System for integrated user and content management, a Postgress/PostGIS database, Ruby on Rails for Data Entry systems, and OpenGeo for Visualization system.