Water Cluster Discussion Meeting Notes
ESIP Winter Meeting Water Cluster Edited Notes January 2010
- Participants
| Sandy Williamson USGS akwill@usgs.gov |
| Bruce Bargmeyer Lawrence Berkeley Lab bebargmeyer@lbl.gov |
| Luis Bermudez SURA Bermudez@sura.org |
| Brian Rogan Foundation for Earth Science brogan@esipfed.org |
| Carol Meyer Foundation for Earth Science cmeyer@esipfed.org |
| Christine Eggers ESRI ceggers@esri.com |
| Phil Yang George Mason University cyang3@gmu.edu |
| David Carson iSciences dcarson@isciences.com |
| Naomi Detenbeck EPA detenbeck.naomi@epa.gov |
| Gary Foley EPA foley.gary@epa.gov |
| George Percival Open Geospatial gpercival@opengeospatial.org |
| Jamie Montgomery AAS Fellow – EPA Montgomery.Jami@epa.gov |
| Paul Houser George Mason University phouser@gmu.edu |
| Rick Hooper CUAHSI rhooper@cuashi.org |
| Ron Lowther Northrup-Grumman ronald.lowther@ngc.com |
| Bill Sonntag EPA sonntag.william@epa.gov |
| Chuck Spooner EPA spooner.charles@epa.gov |
| Stephanie Grainger NASA Stephanie.l.grainger@nasa.gov |
| Suzanne Lawrence Private Consultant Suzanne@suzannelawrence.net |
| Will Pozzi IGES wpozzi@iges.org |
| Wenwen Li George Mason University wli6@gmu.edu |
- Meeting Summary
This meeting was designed to examine the nominal components of an organized approach to water information domain data architecture including advanced semantic and linked data operability components. Continuing the deliberations of the Water Cluster from the ESIP summer meeting and a series of teleconferences, the component categories discussed during this meeting included:
- Use cases for water information domain based on current perceived need for decision support or science research;
- Data integration and display tools currently available;
- Semantic architecture including components or instances of registers, repositories and other tools need to support semantic data management;
- Ontology management examining current practice and interoperable potential of current leading water domain related ontologies.
- Use Case Discussion
This topic garnered a great deal of comment after a presentation from the representative of the EPA Office of Water. The presentation focused on the comparability of water sensor data and the need to create data streams that are compatible with standards especially for time-series data. Including the following focus points:
- Continuous data, not discrete samples
- Current practices influenced by non-standard vendor software
- Applied in research settings
- Being driven by a search for a language that can promote data transmission
- Water ML
- Sensor ML
The group continued discussion applying these points to specific geographical features, water bodies including Chesapeake Bay, California and Puget Sound. After debate on both days the participants agreed that a self-selected small group would deliberate using the use case templates found on the ESIP Wiki. This small group will brainstorm more specifics and begin to fill out the template.
- Data Integration and Display Tools
The ESIP Water Cluster would like to thank the presenters for their efforts from ESRI, George Mason University; Microsoft and CAUHSI. Please see the presentations on the Water Cluster Wiki pages.
- Semantic Architecture Discussion
Luis Bermudez led this discussion, his presentation discussed experience with the MMI project on this matter and provided information on component parts of a semantic architecture based on the following outline:
- Registry and Repository – Manages and stores resources, triples, rule,s mappings etc Enables collaboration for maintaining ontologies,
- Harvester – reads metadata and data and converts to RDF.
- Semantic Graph Builder – builds RDF triples incluidn ginstances from the harvester, rules, domain ontologies, ontology mappings etc.
- Faceted Browser – Displays results organized by categories.
- Ontology Management Discussion
Peter Fox led this discussion. There had been efforts organized through the Water Cluster by Will Pozzi at the December AGU meeting where those responsible for the ontologies in use in the Microsoft SciScope tool and the CUAHSI Hydroseek tool had convened for discussion of how to move forward with coordinated development an curation of these domain ontologies. In addition, it was noted that the Asian Water Cycle initiative, University of Tokyo have also progressed on water domain ontologies. The Peter Fox presentation ended with the following points on ontology governance:
- Due to curation needs:
- Models and formalisms will evolve as people and their communities ‘come up to speed’
- Modes of use will expand, i.e. application levels will use combinations of inference, rules, query
- Governance framework is / will be needed:
- ESIP?
- Problem: domain/ application practitioners separated from ‘technology’ practitioners
- Use cases are the implementation test(s)
- Global Earth Observations Architectural Implementation Pilot – 3 (GEO AIP-3) Discussion
This discussion was led by George Percival of the Open Geospatial Consortium. GEO/GEOSS has an emphasis on ESIP in GEOSS for the AIP-3. GEO is currently charged with developing informatics, interoperability arrangements service oriented architecture to support societal benefit areas. The AIP-3 projects are pilot experiment that can make it through recommended to ADC and other parts of GEO that focus on societal benefit areas with scenarios and use cases. There is a focus in AIP3 on wateruse case and interests determine by UIC developing scenarios and a set of use cases. Will Pozzi helping to pull together on these topics: drought; water quality, precipitation events and water in agricultural production context. This will result in demonstrations and a document that will describe scenarios and use cases with the use of semantic mediation use case might be the intersection with Water Cluster. A key AIP aspect is coordinate with other GEO Tasks – SBA’s Asian Water cycle global agricultural – ecosystem services perhaps. The time line includes GCI coordinating activities underway on the GCI with a near term schedule getting out call for participation – European meeting in March. There may be opportunities to work with Alan Edwards in DGR for FP7 integration.
(Supply a link??)
- Wrap-up and Next Steps
As noted the small group will meet to discuss and then populate the ESIP use case template for this activity. The goal is still a proof of concept project that may reside in the AIP-3 process or independently that will use semantic data management techniques demonstrating improved data access, use for decision making and interoperability. Members of the Water Cluster will continued efforts in the GEO AIP-3 process to identify the best water use case for demonstration and implementation.
The Water Cluster will agree to a monthly call schedule.
Initial Draft Prepared by William Sonntag, USEPA Office of Environmental Information (OEI)
