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8. The EOS Data and Information System
Pages 72-82

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From page 72...
... EOSDIS is a pioneenog effort in this regard: the intended scope of the system far exceeds that of any existing civilian data management system. Nonetheless, relevant experience for developing some aspects of EOSDIS exists in pilot data programs in NASA and in the data programs of other disciplines and agencies.
From page 73...
... We agree that investing in the early development of EOSDIS is appropriate and necessary for the long-term success of the EOS data collection, management, and modeling effort. Some previous NASA missions have suffered from depleted budgets before the data processing and scientific analysis phases were done, resulting in a poor scientific payoff.
From page 74...
... In the former case, the Interagency Working Group on Data Management for Global Change has been a forum for discussing data, distribution, format, access, cataloging, and related topics affecting interagency management of data and their accessibility. Agencies participating include NASA, NOAA, USGS, DOD, DOE, and EPIC In addition, the EOS Investigators Working Group has organized a Science Advisory Panel for EOSDIS that is charged to represent the scientific community associated with EOS in advising NASA on matters related to EOS data production and scientific interfaces.
From page 75...
... The objective should be an integrated national system for processing, distributing, archiving, and retrieving data and information about global change. Human Interactions While the needs for data and information by the human interactions component are not yet well defined, the data and information involved with this research will be sufficiently different from those customarily collected and archived in earth remote sensing missions that special attention should be paid to this field.
From page 76...
... While planning documents apparently are still in a state of flux, we strongly endorse the concept of distributed archive centers charged with storing data and data products and making them available to users. We are concerned, however, about two important issues: criteria for selection of the centers and relationships between the DAACs and the Affiliated DAACs.
From page 77...
... Though some centers outside NASA have been identified in EOSDIS planning documents as Affiliated DAACs, their role and status in the EOS program have not been well established. It is also unclear whether they will receive adequate support.
From page 78...
... scientists should have access to relevant data in foreign archives, and it is important that other nations be encouraged to establish similar data policy assessments. Preservation of Historic Datasets Changes in technology and insufficient attention to maintenance of irreplaceable historical damsels currently in various archives threaten to limit their usefulness.
From page 79...
... RESEARCH AND PROlYPING NEEDS Plans for EOSDIS emphasize that the system will maintain continuity with current data systems because the current data centers provide a heritage for the design and prototyping of EOSDIS. If this approach is to succeed, those involved with EOSDIS development and implementation must be committed to an evolutionary approach using system prototyping.
From page 80...
... Such centers, which should have the capability for large temporary data repositories, could well be at research centers but not necessarily at EOSDIS DAACs. The high-performance computing capabilities required to effectively exploit EOS datasets are likely to greatly exceed current expectations.
From page 81...
... ~ challenge the system effectively, such sets should cover a range of sizes typical of those to be produced by EOS instruments, for example, from less than half a terabit to significantly greater than a terabit. INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC ADVICE We strongly believe that cooperative and constructive interaction among scientists in the global change research community, on the one hand, and software design engineers and software implementation programmers, on the other, will be crucial to the success of EOSDIS.
From page 82...
... It should include' some scientists who are not EOS investigators but who are active in fields with the range of scientific disciplines involved in global change research as well as in research on data and information management. We therefore recommend that the Panel EOSDIS Science Advisory Panel continue to perform its function throughout the EOSDIS procurement, design, and development cycle to ensure that all the major scientific requirements are effectively met.


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