Ad Hoc Advisory Committee -- Air Quality Data Summit

May 14, 2008, 2:00 – 3:00pm EDT
Conference Room C300A
Call-in 919-541-1590

Conference Call Meeting Notes

COMMITTEE MEMBERS, Attendees 5/14/08 bolded:

Rich Scheffe, Chair
Jeff Arnold
Sig Christensen
Phil Dickerson
Tim Dye / Steve Ludewig
Stefan Falk
Dirk Felton
Neil Frank
Val Garcia
Mike Gilroy / Ken Knowle
Bryan Hubbell
Amy Huff
Rudy Husar / Erin Robinson
Terry Keating
Bill Lamason
Sharon Leduc
Frank Lindsay
Phil Lorang
David McCabe
Shawn McClure
Nick Mangus
David Mintz
Tom Moore
Rich Poirot
Betty Pun
Tesh Rao
Bret Schichtel
Uma Shankar
Doug Solomon
Louis Sweeny
Jim Szykman
Joe Tikvart
Gary Walter
Chet Wayland
Rob Willis
Steve Young

NEXT CONFERENCE CALL and ACTION ITEMS:

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 in Rm. C300A from 2:00 – 3:00pm EDT; call-in number is 919-541-1590. Conference call meetings are scheduled on a bi-weekly basis through August 2008. Topics for the next meeting may be submitted to Joe Tikvart (tikvart.joe@epa.gov) or identified in a new area on the wiki, along with relevant documents, on the Telecon page

There will be no conference call on May 28.

MAJOR DECISIONS / CONCURRENCES:

The systems assessment, as described in the “white paper” should be initiated by Ross Associates with a product for review by August 2008.

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION:

Interoperability Subcommittee Update:

Nick Mangus provided this update; minutes from the prior conference call had previously been circulated. The consensus charge for the subcommittee is to pick a web service standard to implement and then demonstrate it; a decision to pilot the WCS, a flexible standard, has been made. Factors included in pursuing this charge are: payloads to consider; technical details of the pilot; coordination with Geo bodies (e.g., GeoRSS); how to move metadata around; reaching a common lexicon; pushing information downstream; demo of a web service.

Comments from committee members indicated that this was a good first step. Reference was made to information previously posted on the wiki and to the GEOSS User Interface Meeting in Toronto where parallel issues were addressed. AIRNow and VIEWS were thought to provide good bases for case studies. Approaches being taken at CDC (e.g., improving access to data and communications between owners/users) and GEOSS (e.g., support to users) were noted. Also, screening of metadata (e.g. quality assurance) needs to be addressed.

NASA Roses Workshop Update:

A kick-off meeting for the NASA-ROSES VIEWS project has just been held in Fort Collins and was summarized by the co-leads Uma Shankar (UNC) and Bret Schichtel (CSU). The purpose is to enhance the VIEWS TSS by bringing in satellite data (OMI NO2, MODIS, CALIPSO and possibly other sets) and CMAQ results to existing surface-based data sets (mostly aerosols) housed in VIEWS. Goals for the project have been fixed, but components and tasks are subject to discussion. There is a need to learn in a broader community how to use satellite observations and modeling. Also, there is a need to have VIEWS use more open standards and resolve problems getting to the output data in an open format. Metadata needs to be tailored to user needs. Participation and coordination with GEOSS (which is collaborating on users and user needs and how to judge how well the system is meeting needs) was discussed. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2010. Initial discussions involved:

selecting an appropriate modeling year as a test case (2006, 2007) to take advantage of CALIPSO and OMI data;
determining the most efficient means of retrieving satellite data (possibilities include GIOVANNI, DataFed, AIRQUEST, RSIG) and the role of 3D-AQS (and implications regarding where 3D-AQS outputs are housed, e.g., AIRQUEST)
setting up an end-user group steering committee made up of RPOs, OAQPS, NPS, State agencies, etc. to (1) keep the program focused, (2) determine success for performance of the system, and (3) identify priority items for users;
preparing a summary of the meeting to be circulated to a wider group in about a month.

Systems Assessment Update:

A revised version of the white paper that reflects comments has been posed on the wiki and is ready to be sent to Ross Associates. Louis Sweeny provided a preview indicating that the assessment of data systems would be organized around the white paper and the data summit calls. The first step is to develop a set of questions applicable to the selected data sets. Answers will provide useful findings. The construction of systems and their policy uses will be partially addressed through interviews; the list of systems to be considered is stable, but Giovanni and the ROSES effort discussed above will be added. A product is expected before August. Metadata continues to be a concern to committee members as a topic that needs to be addressed; it was noted that NASA has put significant resources into the creation for metadata, e.g., MODIS and NEON.

Action Items / Next call:

In the future, documents associate with this data summit committee will be posted on the wiki. Meeting notices will include web-links to the wiki but individual documents will not be attached. Members should continue to access the the Community Air Quality Data System on a regular basis at http://wiki.esipfed.org/index.php/Community_Air_Quality_Data_System_Workspace .

There will be no conference call on May 28. The next call with be Wednesday, June 11, 2:00 – 3:00pm EDT.

Conference Call Agenda

May 14, 2008, 2:00 – 3:00pm EDT
Conference Room C300A
Call-in 919-541-1590

This agenda is submitted by Joe Tikvart also available as a word doc.

NASA Roses Workshop Update: (5 min)

Interoperability Subcommittee Update: (10 min)

Background from March 12 minutes: To address the diversity of interoperable data standards and to make recommendations, several volunteers agreed to participate, including: David McCabe, Steve Young, Nick Mangus, Tim Dye, and Rudy Husar. More specifically, they will attempt to (1) identify interoperability standards and methods, (2) test, apply and move forward, and (3) build on ESIP and GEO.

Systems Assessment Update: (10 min)

Revised version of white paper is on the wiki
Ross & Associates will conduct the assessment

Wrap up/Action Items/Next call: (5 min)

Wednesday, June 11, 2:00-3:00pm EDT (No meeting May 28)

2008-05-14: Community Air Quality Data Systems Telecon

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