Improving Communications Between NASA Data Centers and Airborne Field Campaign Researchers
Abstract
Data from airborne sensors is typically acquired during field campaigns of short duration compared to satellite missions. While the latter may last for 10 years or more, airborne campaigns may take place in a few weeks or a month per year. Satellite researchers may spend a significant number of years working with a single data publication facility, while airborne campaign researchers may be assigned to a different data publication facility with each campaign over the course of their careers. Within NASA's Earth Observation System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), there are 12 separate Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) that researchers may be directed to work with. These DAACs operate largely independently, using their own, unique systems and procedures for ingesting, processing, archiving, and distributing data. The terms used to describe the data publication process may vary from one DAAC to another, or between DAACs and the researchers they are communicating with. Airborne researchers are burdened not only with the task of adapting to new and unfamiliar data publication systems and processes, but also with interpreting unfamiliar or unclear terminology.
In an effort to make the data publication process more consistent and less burdensome for both researchers and DAAC staff, NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System Project is directing an effort to develop a standard interface that researchers can use to publish data with an EOSDIS DAAC. The effort is subdivided into two thrusts: software development and information architecture. The information architecture team is identifying the communications and information exchange requirements that will help inform the Earthdata Publication software design. Among other things, the team is assessing how DAACs communicate with data producers during the data publication process, with the goal of improving the consistency and effectiveness of communication across EOSDIS, and establishing common terminology for use in communications such as data submission forms, data publication process descriptions, user guides, and more. We present an overview of the Earthdata Publication information architecture, as well as the results of a survey about the terminology being used by DAACs and researchers in connection with the publication of Earth science data.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFMIN43C..02H
- Keywords:
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- 0394 Instruments and techniques;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 1910 Data assimilation;
- integration and fusion;
- INFORMATICS;
- 1926 Geospatial;
- INFORMATICS;
- 4294 Instruments and techniques;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL