National Collaboratories Applying Information Technology for Scientific Research (1993) / Chapter Skim
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2 BUILDING COLLABORATORIES FOR OCEANOGRAPHY
2 BUILDING COLLABORATORIES FOR OCEANOGRAPHY
Pages 12-30
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From page 12... ...
OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH The U.S. oceanographic community includes physical oceanographers who study the dynamics and kinematics of fluid flows, including ocean currents and waves, and the forces that drive them; chemical oceanographers who focus on the distribution and variability of the ocean's chemical constituents; biological oceanographers who study the plants and animals, as individuals and as communities, found in the ocean; geological oceanographers who study sediments and rocks beneath the 12
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Field Experimentation in support of field work, the Universities National Oceanographic Laboratories (UNOLS) oversees the operation by academic institutions of research ships owned by the U.S.
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Weller, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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From page 15... ...
Time series measurements of surface meteorology and oceanic parameters such as velocity, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen content, and others are obtained by instruments left in place on oceanographic moorings. Sensors on the buoy being deployed from the research vessel measure wind velocity, incoming solar radiation, incoming long-wave radiation, barometric pressure, air temperature, sea surface temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity.
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From page 16... ...
In part because of the cost of maintaining and staff~ng research ships and moorings and the diff~culty of achieving access to near-real-time data, no worIdwide, comprehensive, operational oceanographic observing system, such as exists in the atmosphere to support weather prediction, is in place to monitor the variability of the oceans. Oceanographic f~eld work to date has focused on specific hypotheses and deployed its limited resources for short periods to investigate specific processes.
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From page 17... ...
Important objectives are quantifying the oceanic transport of heat and the pathways of downward movement of water by which atmospheric gases are transported into the deep ocean, and to correctly model observed circulation patterns. An upper ocean program will focus on the atmosphere-ocean fluxes that drive the ocean and feedback to Me atmosphere and on variations of the upper ocean temperature and heat storage.
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From page 18... ...
Increasing amounts of in situ data are also being disseminated on the Global Telecommunications System to national meteorological centers for use in operational weather prediction. One measure of progress during the first half of TOGA is the development of statistical, statistical-dynamical, and purely dynamical models that exhibit limited though significant skill for predicting ENSO events several months to a year in advance.
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, a major process study that reflects the complexity of modern processoriented oceanographic research efforts. Shown is the structure of the intensive observation period of TOGA COARE.
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In TOGA, on the other hand, real-time and near-real-time oceanographic data streams are voluminous and continue to grow In parallel with the evolution of the TOGA ocean-observing array, numerical models and ocean data assimilation techniques suitable for climate studies have also undergone rapid development. It is now generally recognized that long-term maintenance of the TOGA ocean-observing array should become the responsibility of operational agencies, since the justifications for large-scale measurements are cast increasingly in terms of initializing and verifying operational ocean models for climate prediction.
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\ Mesoscale Phenomena ~ \~J FIGURE 2.4 Schematic diagram showing He relevant time and space scales of several physical and biological processes that need to be considered in studies of the physics, biogeochemistry, and ecosystems of the upper ocean. SOURCE: Reprinted, with permission, from Dickey (1991~.
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e r i ~ i l~c~i the develoPme of io f 1 : ::: of the netw rk are being expa deaf to pr ide f r l iple-a hor o : e :re ara i i e :: ....... ',:~.o''2fe i gs e, e ie r "s r IG ,: j ve a as c i .:" EZectronic Communication Electronic communication through SCIENCEnet is one example of how the oceanographic community has attempted to establish links and infrastructure that permit colIaboration (Box 2.2~.
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From page 23... ...
Although it is still in the earliest stages of development, this project, should it succeed, promises to have a significant positive impact on the oceanographic community. Collaboration tools that initially help modelers to work together, such as electronic mail, video links, and methods for exchange and common display of data, would be valuable, as would tools that build intuition about a process being modeled.
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Other systems such as Inmarsat are prohibitively expensive for researchers. A collaboratory facilitated by improved data communication capabilities and enabling the rapid exchange of in situ and satellite data at modest cost would help to meet one of the basic needs of oceanographic researchers.
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and international TOGA project offices and represents the collective effort of individuals involved in field programs, specialized TOGA data centers, and national oceanographic data centers. Although current means of data distribution are adequate for many purposes, a centralized system for interactive, on-line access to information on essential TOGA data sets would greatly enhance collaborative work in short-term climate studies.
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Gtobe Data Catalog Data collected in oceanographic research are often difficult to find and/or to access. Several oceanographic data catalogs exist now, but each is based on its own paradigm.
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accessing an oceanographic database service such as the Ocean Network Information Center (OCEANIC) maintained by the University of Delaware, (3)
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From page 28... ...
might have to include videos and face-to-face experiences that would convey visual effects and other subtleties. ATTRIBUTES OF A USEFUL COLLABOR\TORY FOR OCEANOGRAPHY A colIaboratory for oceanographic research will require a variety of information resources and services that support a broad spectrum of interactions ranging from informal communication to active collaboration, possibly on interdisciplinary research, and including "passive" collaboration via controlled databases.
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From page 29... ...
For example, unless they are confirmed by ground truth data, sea surface temperatures sensed by Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers (AVHRRs) on NOAA polarorbiting satellites may be in error in excess of 1°C due to contamination of the atmosphere by erupting volcanoes such as Mt.
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From page 30... ...
have reported success with high-frequency radio transmission also. A possible solution to the satellite data transmission problem is the use of excess capacity on a communications satellite that is part of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)
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