Solta 2011 Agenda

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Monday Evening: Registration and Social

Tue 8.00-10.00: Self-Introduction, 5 mins/participant

In order to make efficient use of our time in Croatia, we ask you all to prepare for the workshop in the following ways (aside from arranging your travel etc.): Slides 1-2: Name, Institution, Relevant research, development or organizational work on AQ data system interoperability and networking Slide(s) 3-(4): Involvement and participation in projects, programs, i.e. list of Integrating Initiatives. Potential contributions.

Tue 10.30-12.30: Hubs, servers, ADN, CoP

Standards-based data servers. Other data portals, file servers. Standards and conventions (netCDF, CF, OGC W*S, ISO).

State of AQ Data Networking GEO AQ CoP role

Tue 16.00-18.00: IT: Community server software

• General guide for encoding data into WMS, WFS, WCS, other services
• WMS for display. Issues? Atm. Composition Portal contribution
• WFS .. for station description
• WCS data encoding
  • Data structure hierarchy: DataHub; Service; Coverage: Field; Flag
  • WCS 1.1: Service->Group of similar datasets; Coverage->>Dataset; Filed->Parameter; Flag->Flag
  • Combination of W*S services: WCS->Access data; WFS->Access spatial metadata; WMS->Display spatial data
• Grid data server
• . Issues?
• Point data server
• Issues?

Data Servers: Technical Realization (IT) Issues and Solutions
netCDF, CF, WCS standards and conventions | Implementation for gridded and station data | Development tools | Server performance
Issues re. the use of netCDF and other data formats
netCDF is standard format for multi-dimensional data. Cf-netCDF is used both as an archival format of grid data as well as a payload format for WCS queries.

• Issue: ambiguity of CF
• Issue: We should define a standard python interface (PyNIO, python-netcdf4, scipy.io.netcdf?)
• Issue: Delivery of (small) data sets in ASCII/csv format
• Issue: Reading of grib data (?)

Use of WMS, WCS, WFS .. in combination?
Data display/preview is through WMS. AQ data can be delivered through WCS, WFS. In AComServ, WCS for transferring ndim grid and point-station data; WFS for deliver monitoring station descriptions.

• Issue: WMS interface for preview; "latest" token for dynamic links?

WCS versions
WCS is implemented in multiple versions: 1.0, 1.12, 2.0. The AQ Community Server (AComServ) is now implemented using WCS 1.1.2. Define here the WCS version (WCS 2.0) issue in about one sentence
Gridded data service through WCS
This generally works well.

• Issue: Extraction of vertical levels?
• Issue: Ambiguity of WCS; core plus extended (do we know what is valid?)

Delivery of station-point data

• Issue: use WCS or WFS, Combination of both?
• Access rights?

Data server performance issues/solutions?
Define performance issues, measurements
Server co-development tools, methods
Server code is maintained through SourceForge, Darcs code repositories are available at WUSTL and in Juelich.

• Issues: Version control, Platform independence, Documentation

Relationship to non-AComServ WCS servers

• Issue: protocol compatibility, standard compliance, data format(s)

Linkages to non-WCS servers

• Issue: is there a need?
• Issue: which protocols? (OpenDAP?, GIS servers?)

Tue 16.00-18.00: NoIT: ADN scope, providers, users..

What is the purpose of ADN? === Who are the participating users of the network? What are their roles? What organizations are stakeholders in the network? How do they relate to ADN?

Wed 8.00-10.00: Servers & network issues

What are the common technical hurdles? What few things must be the same, so that everything else can be different?

• standard definitions (clarity, ambiguity, completeness, ...)
• standard development and documentation
• open-source server software development
• platform issues, portability
• coding language(s), code interchangeability
• coding style and software development approaches
• Data Content
• organisation of data
• data formats, standard compliance
• data access
• performance
• flexibility
• user friendliness
• meeting user demands (fitness for purpose)
• governance, responsibilities, etc.
• Open Source collaborative approach. Issues?
• General software design: Multi-layer, Multi-protocol. Standard-Convention driven
• Porting, Installation. Issues?
• Maintenance, governance. Issues?

Wed 10.30-12.30: Servers & network issues

Metadata for finding and understanding, CF, ISO) Data access/use constrains, quality control, data versioning, etc.

Wed 16.00-18.00: IT: Other servers & catalog

• Server Software Design (uFIND). Issues?
• AQ Discovery Metadata Convention (for use in ISO, Data Catalogs...)
• Extend CF Naming conventions for Point Data
• Devise human-readable CF naming equivalents?

Functionality of an Air Quality Data Network Catalog (ADNC)?
Content and structure (granularity) of ADNC?
Interoperability of ADNC
Interoperability with whom? what standards are needed? CF Naming extensions?
Access rights and access management
What are the generic (ISO, GEOSS, INSPIRE) and the AQ-specific discovery metadata?
Minimal metadata for data provenance, quality, access constrains?
Single AQ Catalog? Distributed? Service-oriented?

Wed 16.00-18.00: NoIT: Links, coop., governance..

Relationships, cross-thematic links (EGIDA, ESIP) How can we collaborate?

Group dinner

Thu 8.00-10.00: Servers and network issues

• how to structure issues
• how to improve the situation
• identification of manageable work packages where possible
• clear statements about obstacles..no organizational structure, no funding or no clear idea yet how to do it.
• Target User communities
• Use cases for different applications... from scientists to managers, media people and the general public)?
• How can users find out about (each) system? Big future issues: data quality, traceability, metadata..

Thu 10.30-12.30: ADN user relations/help..whom, what?

• Criteria for single (trusted ?) 'primary' data source
• Designations for secondary, derived, augmented data sources

Thu 16.00-18.00: Outputs, outcomes, plans ?

What are the short-term opportunities? Do we have Common long-term goals and visions?

Friday: Boat trip