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The Virtual (Solar-Terrestrial) Observatory Workshop

The Virtual (Solar-Terrestrial) Observatory Workshop. Peter Fox (pfox@ucar.edu) HAO/ESSL/NCAR. Why are you here?. For a free lunch (alas: TANSTAAFL) To learn more about virtual observatories To see some VSTO capabilities Contribute a use case Learn more about the Wiki Forum for workshops

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The Virtual (Solar-Terrestrial) Observatory Workshop

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  1. The Virtual (Solar-Terrestrial) Observatory Workshop Peter Fox (pfox@ucar.edu) HAO/ESSL/NCAR

  2. Why are you here? • For a free lunch (alas: TANSTAAFL) • To learn more about virtual observatories • To see some VSTO capabilities • Contribute a use case • Learn more about the Wiki Forum for workshops • Discuss migration of CEDARWEB to Wiki/VSTO combination • Discuss other VxOs, etc. querying and accessing CEDAR • See and comment on near-future options for interfaces, tools, workflow, capabilities, etc. • Discuss when/how to start coordination on networks, VOs • Learn about the long-term repository pilot with Madrigal

  3. Virtual Observatories Make data and tools quickly and easily accessible to a wide audience. Operationally, virtual observatories need to find the right balance of data/model holdings, portals and client software that researchers can use without effort or interference as if all the materials were available on his/her local computer using the user’s preferred ‘language’: i.e. appear to be local and integrated Normally, a VO does not ‘contain’ data - prompts for a discussion of networks, etc.

  4. Limited interoperability Lightweight semantics Limited meaning, hard coded Limited extensibility Under review Data-types as a service • VOTable • Simple Image Access Protocol • Simple Spectrum Access Protocol • Simple Time Access Protocol • Web Feature Service • Web Map Service • Web Coverage Service VO App2 VO App3 VO App1 VO layer DBn DB2 DB3 … … … … DB1

  5. Semantic interoperability Semantic query, hypothesis and inference Education, clearinghouses, other services, disciplines, etc. Semantic mediation layer - mid-upper-level VO API Web Serv. VO Portal Query, access and use of data Mediation Layer • Ontology - capturing concepts of Parameters, Instruments, Date/Time, Data Product (and associated classes, properties) and Service Classes • Maps queries to underlying data • Generates access requests for metadata, data • Allows queries, reasoning, analysis, new hypothesis generation, testing, explanation, etc. Semantic mediation layer - VSTO - low level Standard, or not, vocabularies and schema Metadata, schema, data DBn DB2 DB3 … … … … DB1

  6. Integrative use-case: Find data which represents the state of the neutral atmosphere anywhere above 100km and toward the arctic circle (above 45N) at any time of high geomagnetic activity. Translate this into a complete query for data. Information needs to be inferred (and integrated) from the use-case What is returned: Data from instruments, indices and models.

  7. Semantic filtering by domain or instrument hierarchy

  8. Inferred plot type and return formats for data products

  9. Technical use cases Provide semantically-enabled, smart data query services via a SOAP web for the Virtual Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere Observatory that query for and retrieve data, filtered by constraints on Instrument, Date-Time, and Parameter in any order and with constraints included in any combination.

  10. Semantic Web Services

  11. Semantic Web Services OWL document returned using VSTO ontology - can be used both syntactically or semantically

  12. Your use case here? • Use case: Ionosphere response to solar storms. • Find all data required to investigate the terrestrial ionospheric impacts of geo-effective solar storms. • Use case: Magnetospheric Oscillations. • Find data to examine magnetospheric oscillations as a part of an investigation of global magnetospheric response to solar wind pressure impulses.

  13. Use case: Substorm identification • Magnetospheric substorms are among the most significant disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere. Identify sub-storms using magnetic field variations around the auroral zone and compare to the usual identification from auroral electrojet indices (AL, AE). Substorms lead to >~ 1 micro Tesla variations in the magnetic field at high latitudes, strong (>~ 106 Amperes) ionospheric currents, particle acceleration and intensive auroras around the auroral zone.

  14. Use case: Identifying the Polar Cap Boundary • The polar cap boundary is an important parameter that determines how much energy is stored in the magnetotail which upon release lead to the formation of substorms (strong ionospheric currents in high-latitude ionosphere and auroras). Find data of auroral images to derive the polar cap boundary using advanced image analysis and feature recognition techniques. • Use case: Aurora identification • Identify the different types of auroras (diffusive and discrete, arcs, westward traveling surges, pulsating auroras, polar cap auroras and many others). Different types of auroras display different features; and they are associated with differing geomagnetic disturbances and in turn are caused by a variety of mechanisms for acceleration of particles (e.g. electrons).

  15. Mspace, etc.

  16. Coordination with networks, other VOs • Arctic Observing Network (AON) • AMISR • Other IPY/ IHY efforts • Models - how to integrate into VO • DASI

  17. Long-Term Repository • Madrigal ISR as a pilot • Others? • Establish a series of well-documented ‘climatologies’

  18. Extras

  19. Issues for Virtual ObservatoriesMany are being addressed with new use cases • Scaling to large numbers of data providers • Crossing disciplines • Security, access to resources, policies • Interoperability at a variety of levels (~3) • Branding and attribution (where did this data come from and who gets the credit, is it the correct version, is this an authoritative source?) and differentiation (competition) • Provenance/derivation (propagating key information as it passes through a variety of services, copies of processing algorithms, …) • Data quality, preservation, stewardship

  20. Web Service Existing OPeNDAP Service VSTO - semantics and ontologies in an operational environment: vsto.hao.ucar.edu, www.vsto.org

  21. What do you like about the new searching interface? • Are you finding the data you need? • What is the single biggest difference? • How do you like to search for data? Browse, type a query, visual? • What other concepts are you interested in using for search, e.g. time of high solar activity, campaign, feature, phenomenon, others? • Does the interface and services deliver the functionality, speed, flexibility you require? • How often do you use the interface in your normal work? • Are there places where the interface/ services fail to perform as desired?

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