Convener:
Roger Smith (roger.smith@gi.alaska.edu)
2005 Tuesday 28 June 0130-0330 PM
The workshop took place on Tuesday June 28 from 1330 to 1530 and was attended by an estimated 40 participants. The meeting was intended to provide a place for discussion on involvement in the International Polar and International Heliophysical Years, and also the Electronic Geophysical Year. The agenda provided for a mix of short presentations on programs and funding together with time for workshop discussion. The outcome of the meeting was a better appreciation for the opportunities presented by the target years of 2007 and 2008 and the parts to be played by IPY, IHY, eGY and their relationship to major longer term programs such as CAWSES and virtual observatories.
Participants learned that IPY ( http://www.ipy.org) expressions of intent had been processed and gathered into clusters for more formal proposals to the international secretariat. One leading cluster is the Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research (ICESTAR) project was presented by Aaron Ridley. This international program is an excellent example of a coordinated effort encluding many countries. It arises through the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) working groups and focuses on the opportunity to coordinate measurements and studies of conjugacy during the IPY years. The outcome will be a better understanding of concerted responses of both polar regions to electromagnetic variations and plasma dynamics in interplanetary space that specify near-earth space climate and weather.
Bill Petersen explained the Electronic Geophysical Year ( http://www.egy.org) and how it will benefit entire communities through improved interoperability and exchange of data. In the geosciences, as elsewhere, providing ready and open access to the vast and growing collections of cross-disciplinary digital information is the key to understanding and responding to complex Earth system phenomena that influence human survival. EGY will support improvements in data access, data release, data description, data persistence, data rescue, common standards and cooperation, capability building, education and public outreach. The eGY recognizes that scientific information comprises content, context and structure held together like Borromean Rings such that the removal of one element causes the remainder to fall apart.
Nikki Fox presented the primary goals of IHY ( http://www.ihy2007.org) as advancing our understanding of the heliophysical processes that govern the Sun, Earth and heliosphere , continuing the tradition of international research and advancing the legacy on the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year , and demonstrating the beauty, relevance and significance of space and earth science to the world. Internationally, IHY has made progress at the United Nations with their Basic Space Science Initiative. A program establishing TEC instrumentation in Africa is under way.
A National Science Foundation view was provided by Bob Kerr, emphasizing that the Upper Atmosphere Section would encourage the use of key facilities such as SuperDARN, AMISR and the ISR network as tools. It was emphasized that Solar Terrestrial Physics links both poles in a natural way and that international cooperation has been the historical hallmark of previous major STP programs. NSF can act as a catalyst for interagency, international and community development. It will also support and spotlight basic polar research underpinnings such as magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, noctilucent clouds and convection.
CAWSES ( http://www.bu.edu/cawses) is a major longer term program running successfully in the international arena and sponsored by COSPAR. Duggirala Pallamraju described the current campaign activities and recent successes. It is clear that both IHY and IPY anticipate activities that could and should be coordinated with CAWSES. Both the US and international IHY and IPY coordinating committees should be consulting with the organizers of CAWSES to find ways in which these programs could draw strength from each other.
Virtual Observatories are on the horizon for many of our activities in GEM and CEDAR. Some are closer to operation than others, indeed some are working today in the sense that observations are being reported in near real time. Eric Kihn reported on VO possibilities, mentioning that some prototypes are coming online despite shortage of funding. It is clear that there is a need for defined standards of metadata. He further discussed pertinent considerations of basic navigation, data catalog and search, visualizations, data ingestion, and data mirroring. His recommendations for the I*Y is to avoid reinventing the wheel, consider open archival information systems, use structured storage, have a portal site and get greater buy-in through use of commonly adopted standards.
Ensuing discussion reviewed the prospect for special funding for IHY and IPY. It was recognized that there would be more opportunity for funding of projects in such programs through leveraging resources at federal agencies rather than waiting for special announcements of opportunity. Despite the anticipated lack designated funds, IPY and IHY can succeed through PI enthusiasm to leverage where possible and thereby benefit from participation in coordinated research that integrates a broader range of investigations.