Earth Observing System, Volume Iia: Data and Information System, Report of the EOS Data Panel
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Publications 1986 Earth Observing System, volume IIa: Data and Information System, Report of the EOS Data Panel Raymond Arvidson Washington University Frederick Billingsley Jet Propulsion Labortory Robert Chase Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Pat Chavez Jr. United States Geological Service Michael Devirian NASA Headquarters See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.erau.edu/publication Part of the Atmospheric Sciences Commons, and the Meteorology Commons Scholarly Commons Citation Arvidson, R., Billingsley, F., Chase, R., Chavez, P., Devirian, M., Mosher, F., & et al. (1986). Earth Observing System, volume IIa: Data and Information System, Report of the EOS Data Panel. , (). Retrieved from https://commons.erau.edu/publication/551 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Raymond Arvidson, Frederick Billingsley, Robert Chase, Pat Chavez Jr., Michael Devirian, Frederick Mosher, and et al. This report is available at Scholarly Commons: https://commons.erau.edu/publication/551 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19860021622 2017-10-09T16:01:38+00:00Z NASA-TM-87777 19860021622 Volumella EliATH []BSEAU~~IJ SYSTEr:1 LIBRARY COpy LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER LIBRARY, NASA HAMPTON. VIRGINIA REP[]RT []F THE E[]S lJfiTfi Pfi~El NAS/\ National Aeronautics and Space Administration 1986 Technical Memorandum 87777 EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM REPORTS Volume I Science and Mission Requirements Working Group Report Volume II From Pattern to Process: The Strategy of the Earth Observing System Science Steering Committee Report Volume IIa Data and Information System Data Panel Report Volume lIb MODIS Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer Instrument Panel Report Volume lIe HIRIS & SISEX High-Resolution Imaging Spectrometry: Science Opportunities for the 19905 Instrument Panel Report Volume lId LASA Lidar Atmospheric Sounder and Altimeter Instrument Panel Report Volume lIe HMMR High-Resolution MuItifrequency Microwave Radiometer Instrument Panel Report Volume IIf SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar Instrument Panel Report Volume IIg LAWS Laser Atmos·pheric Wind Sounder Instrument Panel Report Volume IIh AItimetric System Panel Report ii DATA PANEL FOR THE EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM Raymond Arvidson, Washington University Frederick Billingsley, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Robert Chase, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Pat Chavez, Jr., USGS Flagstaff Michael Devirian, NASA Headquarters John Estes, University of California at Santa Barbara Gregory Hunolt, NOAA Satellite Data Services Division J. Charles Klose, Jet Propulsion Laboratory George Ludwig, Consultant Frederick Mosher, NOAA National Severe Storms Forecast Center William Rossow, Goddard Institute for Space Studies iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to provide NASA their research. We envision many Eos researchers be with a rationale and recommendations for planning, ing supported under ongoing NASA Earth science implementing, and operating an Earth Observing programs associated both with Eos and with other System data and information system that can evolve global Earth science programs. to meet the Earth Observing System's needs in the We therefore recommend that the Eos data and 1990s. The Earth Observing System (Eos), defined information system serve both the Eos project and by the Eos Science and Mission Requirements Work the more general NASA Earth Science and Applica ing Group', consists of a suite of instruments in low tions program needs, providing needed continuity to Earth orbit acquiring measurements of the Earth's receive data from other sources (e.g., the Upper At atmosphere, surface, and interior; an information mospheric Research Satellite, the Ocean Topog system to support scientific research; and a vigorous raphy Experiment spacecraft) and from the Eos program of scientific research, stressing study of spacecraft, to deliver these data to temporary reposi global-scale processes that shape and influence the tories for conversion to physical units, and to sup Earth as a system. The Eos data and information sys port long-term archives where the data will be ac tem is conceived as a complete research information cessible by and available to the greater scientific system that would transcend the traditional mission community. data system, and include additional capabilities such Mission operations and standard data processing as maintaining long-term, time-series data bases and tasks should be tailored to acquire and produce providing access by Eos researchers to relevant non viable scientific data for a given instrument. The in Eos data. The Working Group recommends that the itial data should be housed in temporary mission or Eos data and information system be initiated now, instrument repositories for primary analyses. These with existing data, and that the system evolve into data should then be provided to data centers for one that can meet the intensive research and data long-term maintenance and access by scientific re needs that will exist when Eos spacecraft are return searchers. In a number of cases, subsets of Eos and ing data in the 1990s. relevant non-Eos data should be maintained at active data base sites to support specific research tasks (ac tive data bases are subsets of data that are being Eos SCIENTIFIC AND OPERATIONAL routinely used in research and are under direct con ENVIRONMENT trol of a given research group). The resultant, highly processed data sets and associated documentation Meeting the Earth science objectives of the should migrate back to the data centers once the 1990s, delineated by the Eos Science and Mission Re specific, chartered research tasks of an active data quirements Working Group, requires in many cases base have been completed. The core of the Eos data access to data from a number of instruments, from and information system should be an electronic in in situ observations, and to data that have been formation network, alIowing access to the fulI suite placed in time-series data bases that extend over a of Eos system capabilities. This network should be decade or more. In that sense, Eos as a program will flexible, providing access to mission operations, ar clearly transcend the traditional NASA flight chives, selected active data bases, and to, for exam project model, which stresses spacecraft observa ple, large mainframe computers for certain, very in tions over a selected, and usualIy relatively short, tensive, computational activities (e.g., modeling) period of time, and includes initial analyses ofthe ac needed to support Eos data analyses. quired data. Thus, major issues for Eos and its data There will be at least four major types of Eos data and information system include how Eos will oper and information system users: ate both as a flight project and as a long-term scien tific research program. 1. The first type includes instrument team We envision Eos instrument teams that will guide members and support personnel, associated instrument and algorithm development and will be with Eos instrument or mission operations involved in mission operations and scientific analy centers. They will need to monitor continualIy ses of the data. We also envision that consortia of a sampling of data in near-real time for quality researchers, many stressing multidisciplinary analy assurance, error detection, and instrument ses, will form and intensely work with Eos data for malfunction assessment. They should have the extended, although not indefinite, periods of time. capability to reconfigure observational se In some cases, these research groups will request that quences when malfunctions or special events special sets of observations from a variety of sources occur. We do not expect that alI personnel will be acquired to meet their research needs. Many Eos need to be resident at the centers, since the Eos researchers will need efficient access to relevant non information network is envisioned to provide re Eos data bases and to a variety of models to conduct mote, electronic access to the centers' functions. v 2. A second group of users will consist of re remote electronic access to the variety of capabilities searchers, instrument team members or and services that Eos will provide. operations-oriented personnel who need We recommend that the Eos data and informa instrument-specific, near-real time, or even tion system of the 1990s be designed to accom real-time data processing, delivery, and modate a suite of required functions, including: display capabilities. In some cases (e.g., NOAA or DoD) large data volumes will likely I. Eos flight system functions, including the be required. recommended functions and characteristics of both remote sensing instrumentation and on 3. The third user group will consist ofresearchers board data systems. who will need to interrogate directories and Flight systems functions are presumably more catalogs of Eos and other relevant data on an instrument, geographic location, and time of closely akin to those dealt with in previous missions. There are, however, new requirements being placed acquisition basis. They will also need to order into this category, requirements consistent with both data, and in some cases they will request that evolving research methodologies and developing particular observational sequences be ac technologies.