ACE Operational Overview
Steve Spehn, ACE Operational Manager
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ACE Operational Overview
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Background
Vision
Objectives
User Requirements
Desired Capabilities
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Background
• Approved as a Joint Capability Technology Demonstration
(JCTD) under the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Research & Engineering ((ASD(R&E))
• Funded largely through DoD, with contributions from:
NASA MSFC, UAHuntsville, VCSI, and DRDC
• Began execution in FY11, but delayed by Continuing
Resolutions in FY11 and FY13
• Conducted Technical Demonstration (TD) and
Operational Demonstration (OD) in March 2013
• Transitioned to University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) in
April 2013
• U.S. National Ice Center (U.S. NIC) will be Federal lead for
operational applications
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Background: Capability Gaps
• No overarching operational architecture or universal
core system for data & tool integration
• No common integrator of varied data sources
• Inadequate environmental visualization to support
development of cooperative Arctic policies
• Inadequate access to models to support planning
• Insufficient integration of operational and
environmental data to support ongoing and future
operations (e.g., SAR, Humanitarian Response,
Recovery Operations, Strategic Movement, Training,
& Research)
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Data Layering and Visualization:
Without ACE
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Data Layering and Visualization:
With ACE
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Vision: What ACE Does
• Provides an open source, web-based, open-access, Arctic-focused,
environmental research and decision-support system that integrates data
from existing remote sensing assets and in situ observations to provide
monitoring, analysis, and visualization based on earth observation data
and modeling.
• Enables local, regional, and international cooperation and coordination on
long-term environmental planning and near-term actions in response to
climatic and environmental changes occurring in the Arctic Region.
• Leverages prior earth science applications work done at NASA MSFC:
RTMM, SPoRT, SERVIR, AMSR-E, etc.
• Capitalizes on the IPY, enabling and promoting the exchange of data and
models for use in the Arctic Region, and providing a collaborative
environment for common areas of interest for the Arctic Nations.
• Identifies and define new data sets, instruments and infrastructure for
situational awareness and missions that will be provide enhanced societal
benefits within the arctic.
• Is directly applicable to other regions and other purposes.
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Vision: Unique Aspects of ACE
• Free to end users and openly accessible by all through the public Internet
• Open source for community development and special purpose replication
– Designed for immediate extension to other regions of the world
• Provides general capabilities that end users can customize for various
purposes
– Users can Share their own data files and share this information to a specific group
of people (researchers, rescuers, educators, etc) or share with the general public
– Users can share uniquely tailored workspaces (maps and data views) within their
own group
– Group collaboration and support for areas/topics of interest
• Rich catalog of data sources, including searchable metadata
– Access to multiple data sources, including complex forecast data such as NetCDF
– (Easily) extensible to include additional data sets – e.g. just integrated database of
Russian Arctic surface air temps and plan to integrate NIMBUS satellite images, sea
ice forecast model, HDF, GRIB2 & ShapeFiles
• Multiple simultaneous 2D Map and 3D Globe map views with persistence,
including differing layers, geographic regions, and zoom levels.
• Sustained through future collaborative research proposals and workshops
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Objectives
• Provide a framework for shared Arctic awareness and
understanding
• Enable international cooperation and collaboration
on activities in the Arctic Region
• Encourage the sharing of Arctic environmental
information and research data
• Identify other opportunities to work with the
international Arctic community on the development
and demonstration of technology to support Arctic
activities
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User Requirements:
Working Group Members
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AMRDEC
Bundeswehr Geoinformation Service
CANEUS International
Cold Regions Research & Engineering Lab
District 17, USCG
MDA Geospatial Services
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Naval Research Laboratory
NOAA
NORAD-USNORTHCOM
University of Alabama in Huntsville
USEUCOM
U.S. Department of Defense
Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation
USCG
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User Requirements:
Prioritized Missions / Functions
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Maritime SAR
On-Ice SAR
Maritime Safety
Humanitarian Response
Environmental Response
In-Situ Mobility
Scientific Research
Infrastructure Design &
Development
– Inter-Agency/International
Cooperation
– Inter-Agency/International
Training
• Medium
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Coastal Zone Mapping
Freedom of Navigation
Strategic Movement
Recovery Operations
Subsistence Fishing
Subsistence Hunting
• Low
– EEZ Management
– Hydrographic Surveys
– Environmental
Management
– Commercial Fishing
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User Requirements:
Prioritized Tasks / Activities / Capabilities
• High
– Plan and Execute Maritime
Navigation
– Data & Voice
Communications
– Avoid Superstructure Icing
– Share Arctic Data
– Locate and Assess Surface
Ships
– Assess Snow & Ice Coverage
– Assess Tides & Currents
– Mitigate Infrastructure Icing
– Develop & Share Constructed
Data
– Assess Permafrost Conditions
– Avoid Airfoil and Structural
Icing
• Medium
– Plan and Execute On-Ice
Navigation
– Locate Coastlines & Territorial
Waters
– Locate, Identify, & Track Food
Fish
– Locate, Identify, & Track
Game Animals
– Chart Ocean Floor &
Obstructions
• Low
– Plan and Execute Air
Navigation
– Plan and Execute Land
Navigation
– Identify Coastal Baselines
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User Requirements:
Prioritized Data Requirements
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Sea Ice
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Medium
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Location: Area, Onset, Growth, Drift, and
Decay
Characterization: % Coverage, Thickness, and
Type
Sea Surface
Temperature
Movement: Sea State, Tides, Currents, and
Swells
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Visibility
Air Temperature
Winds: Speed, Direction, and Gusts
Relative Humidity & Dew Point
Forecast
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Propensity for Superstructure Icing
Propensity for Infrastructure Icing
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Depth
Drift
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Vessel Location
Vessel Characterization
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Buoy data
Integrated active and passive data
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Volcanic activity
Fires
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Surface Weather
Icing
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Snow cover
AIS
Special
Other
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Sea-Ice Characterization
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Concentration
Snow Cover
Fractures, Ridging, & Rafting
Melt Ponds
Leads &Polynyas
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Moisture
Temperature
Vegetation
Surface Roughness
Permafrost Conditions
Water Temperature Profile
Water Salinity Profile
Marine Life Location, Concentration, and
Movement
Game Animal Location, Concentration, and
Movement
Soil
Coastline Identification
Ocean Floor & Obstruction Mapping
Seismic & Volcanic Activity
Ice Scour
Space Weather
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User Requirements:
Functional Requirements (1 of 3)
• Accessibility
– Accessible over the public Internet
– No user system requirements beyond a KML-compliant browser
– No client-side code requirements beyond
• Code to execute the KML browser
• JavaScript (specify version)
– No onerous licensing requirements (for system replication)
– Comply with NIC policies for access and user registration
– Products provided in bandwidth-appropriate resolutions
• Interoperability
– Compliant with appropriate international standards
• KML/KMZ 2.2 or other Google Earth compliant standards for product streams
• GEO Data Standards for data streams
• XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.0 for web pages
– Provide full functionality within Google Earth & the Google Earth plugin
– Ingestible by DoD data systems
– Ingests non-ACE products complying with international standards
• Customization
– Persistence of customized products and User Interface
– User addition of “non-ACE” products for layering
– Users can define and control tailored Communities of Interest
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User Requirements:
Functional Requirements (2 of 3)
• Extensibility
– Access to restricted products available based on user credentials
– Standard interface for new data sources
– Implement standard modeling interface and publish API
• Scalability
– Handle a specified minimum number of simultaneous users
– Provide licensing for minimum number of simultaneous users
• Cultural & Environmental Factors
– Multi-lingual chat
• Spatial
– Provide for selection of any contiguous region of the Earth’s
surface
– Provide for smooth movement between regional selections
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User Requirements:
Functional Requirements (3 of 3)
• Temporal
– Provide user selection of both time scale and range by dataset
– Provide access to products for the past, present, and future
• Usability
– Provide mechanism for user feedback and comments
– Help system: FAQ, Online Help, and Quick-Start Videos
• Data Ingest
– Provide capability for remote users to provide in-situ data
– Support blogs
• Accuracy
– Provide detailed and nominal information on expected accuracy
– Provide access to raw data with pedigree
• Socialization
– Integrate social networking capabilities: Chat, Video, Blog, etc.
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