The Geosciences Network (GEON)

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The Geosciences Network (GEON)

• An Example of Democratizing Science

(Cyberinfrastructure in Action)
G. Randy Keller - University of Oklahoma
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Some CI Principles

• Use state-of-the-art IT to support the
  day-to-day conduct of science (e-science), not
  just heroic computations
• Develop advanced IT where needed
• An environment based on Web/Grid services and
  other distributed technologies
• ? The two-tier approach
• Use best practices, including commercial tools,
• Develop advanced, open source technology while
  conducting CS research
• An equal partnership
• IT works in close conjunction with science, to
  create CI (i.e. the best practices, data sharing
  frameworks, and useful and usable capabilities
  and tools)
• Shared effort
• Create shared science infrastructure
• Integrated online databases with advanced search
  engines
• Online models, robust tools and applications,
  etc.
• Leverage from other intersecting projects
• Much commonality in technologies needed exists,
  regardless of the science disciplines
• Constantly work towards eliminating (at least,
  minimizing) the NIH syndrome (Not Invented
  Here)
• And, importantly, try not to reinvent what
  industry already knows how to do
• Technologies to bring remote resources together

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Why Geoinformatics?
It is too hard to find and work with data that
already exist, and too much data is in effect
lost. It is too hard to acquire or access
software tools and make them work. We have too
little access to modern IT tools that would
accelerate scientific progress. The result is too
little time for science! Also, a wide range of
students, scientists and engineers, industry,
policy makers, and the public should have access
to data and usable software tools.
To begin to remedy this situation, a number of
geoscience groups are being supported by the
National Science Foundation to develop the
cyberinfrastructure needed to move us forward.
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A Scientific Effort Vector
What Can We Expect from From Cyberinfrastructure?
Background Research
Data Collection and
Compilation Learning and Developing
Software

Science
Highly Integrated Science
Back- ground Research

Science - Analysis, Modeling, Interpretation,
Discovery
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Some Thoughts About Data (sets, bases, systems)

• The Geosciences are a discipline that is strongly
  data driven, and large data sets are often
  developed by researchers and government agencies
  and disseminated widely.
• Geoscientists have a tradition of sharing of
  data, but being willing to share data if asked or
  even maintaining a website accomplishes little.
  Also we have few mechanisms to share the work
  that has been done when a third party cleans up,
  reorganizes or embellishes an existing database.
• We waste a large amount of human capital in
  duplicative efforts and fall further behind by
  having no mechanism for existing databases to
  grow and evolve via community input.
• The goal is for data to evolve into information
  and then into knowledge as quickly and
  effectively as possible.

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Data layers
DEM (USGS, SRTM)
Geology (mostly 1500,000)
Landsat 7 / ASTER
Petrology/Geochron. (e.g. NAVDAT)
Drilling data (State surveys, USGS)
Magnetics
Gravity
.
To get 3-D, start with tomography, add gravity,
geologic interfaces, seismic interfaces, .
Provide input to geodynamic models
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We start at the surface and work down (3-D) and
back in time (4-D)
Earthquakes
Geology
Tectonics
Faults
Aquifers
Moho depth
Gravity
Mines
Focal Mechanisms
Sediment thickness
Magnetics
Topography
CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE GEOSCIENCES
Complied by Dogan Seber and A.K.Sinha
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The GEON Project

• NSF-funded IT Research Project,
• 2002-2007, 11.6M
• 15 participating institutions across US
• Over 20 other partner institutions,
• including universities, industry,
• government agencies/labs (USGS, NASA,
  Livermore)

• Partners
• ESRI
• California Institute for Telecommunications and
  Information Technology, Cal-(IT)2
• Chronos
• CUAHSI-HIS
• Geological Survey of Canada
• Georeference Online
• HP
• IBM
• Kansas Geological Survey
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• NASA Goddard, Earth System Division
• Southern California Earthquake Consortium (SCEC)
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Purdue University
• Affiliated Projects
• EarthScope, IRIS

• PI Institutions
• Arizona State University
• Bryn Mawr College
• Penn State University
• Rice University
• San Diego State University
• San Diego Supercomputer Center/UCSD
• University of Arizona
• University of Idaho
• University of Missouri, Columbia
• University of Oklahoma
• University of Texas at El Paso
• University of Utah
• Virginia Tech
• UNAVCO
• Digital Library for Earth System
• Education (DLESE)

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GEON Project Overview

• Close collaboration between geoscientists and IT
  to interlink databases and Grid-enable
  applications
• Deep data modeling of 4D data
• Situating 4D data in contextspatial, temporal,
  topic, process
• Semantic integration of Geosciences data
• Logic-based formalisms to represent knowledge and
  map between ontologies
• Grid computing
• Deploy a prototype GEONgrid heterogeneous
  networks, compute nodes, storage capabilities.
  Enable sharing of data, tools, expertise. Specify
  and execute workflows
• Interaction environments
• Information visualization. Visualization of
  concept maps
• Remote data visualization via high-speed networks
• Augmented reality in the field

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Technical Areas

• GEONgrid
• Deployment of a distributed data sharing and
  computing infrastructure, consisting of GEON
  nodes, which provide a interoperable software
  environment
• Data integration
• GIS Map Integration
• Knowledge-based integration of WMS (Web Mapping
  Services)
• Database Schema integration
• Seamless access to different types of data
  systems, e.g OpenDAP
• Knowledge Representation
• Geo-Ontology development
• Wrapping science tools and applications
• As Web services
• Invoked using scientific workflow software, e.g.
  Kepler, and
• Executed on Grid computing platforms, via portals
• Visualization
• 2D, 2.5D, 3D, 4D
• Common data models, frameworks (e.g. between
  geophysics and geology)

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GEONgrid Software Layers
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Data Search and Integration
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GEON LiDAR Workflow (GLW) Portlet
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Synthetic Seismogram (SYNSEIS) Portlet
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Paleo Integration Project (PIP) Portlet
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Gravity Portlet
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Kenya vs Rio Grande rifts
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Isostatic residual gravityanomaly map
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3-D view of base of rift fill (maximum depth 5
km)
Albuquerque basin
V. J. S. Grauch - USGS
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International GEON Activities

• PRAGMA Pacific Rim Assembly for Grid Middleware
  Applications
• GEON is a project supported by PRAGMA
• GEON co-chairs the PRAGMA Geosciences Working
  Group
• Japan
• Collaboration with AISTs GEO Grid project
• Sharing of technology and data. Use of GEON LiDAR
  data to validate GEO Grid ASTER-based DEMs
• China
• GEON Workshop, October 2006, Beijing.
  Co-sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences.
• Russia
• GEON Workshop, July 2007, Moscow. Co-sponsored by
  Russian Academy of Sciences
• India
• Joint project with University of Hyderabad,
  funded by the Indo-US Science and Technology
  Forum (100K/2 years)
• GEON workshops in October 2005 and August 2007
• iGEON-India network in India
• Australia
• Discussions with AuScope staff
• New Zealand
• Planning a GEON Workshop in November 2007 at
  University of Auckland.

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Resources

• GEON (http//geongrid.org)
• Summer workshops for scientists and educators
• Data and tools for geosciences
• Cyber-ShARE (http//trust.utep.edu/cybershare)
• Visiting Researcher Program
• Workshops
• Research opportunities for graduates and UG
• High Performance Wireless Research and Education
  Network (HPWREN) (http//hpwren.ucsd.edu/)
• MSI-CI Empowerment Coalition (MSI-CIEC)