Networked Data and Tools for
Environmental Management
New IT Research to Advance Environmental
Research, Policy and Management
dg.o 2003 Panel
Stefan Falke
Center for Air Pollution Impact and Trend Analysis
Washington University in St. Louis
NEISGEI
•
Networked Environmental Information System
for Global Emissions Inventories
A conceptual framework for the development of a fully integrated
distributed emissions inventory
-- Spatial (and temporal) scales
– Air pollutants for assessing human, ecosystem and climate health
– To support scientists, regulators, policy analysts and public education
•
A tool for strategic planning of air quality environmental management
capacity building projects
-- A fully populated network will be a resource for identifying important
missing datasets in regional, hemispheric and global scale studies
NEISGEI
Networked Environmental Information System
for Global Emissions Inventories
• dg.o 2002 birds-of-a-feather session
• NSF and EPA Workshop
Issues identified:
Finding data
Integrating data
Quantifying data uncertainty
Project types:
Data wrapping and integration of same type data
Data wrapping and integration of heterogeneous data
Tools to support environmental management
Fire, Smoke and Air Quality Network
Co-investigator: Rudolf Husar, Washington U.
The management of fire, smoke, and air quality is tasked to multiple
agencies at federal, state, and local levels.
The diversity in data collection methods, data reporting requirements, data
formatting schemes, data analysis methods, and data presentation create
a daunting challenge for the integration of these data.
However, integration of these heterogeneous datasets is precisely what is
called for by federal and regional organizations in order to derive a more
comprehensive understanding of fire, smoke, and air quality.
The US Environmental Protection Agency and USDA-Forest Service are
partnering agencies
Fire, Smoke and Air Quality Network
The network will provide:
• uniform access to and cataloging of distributed fire related data and tools
• easy-to-use interfaces for exploring fire related resources
• powerful tools that contribute to fire related data analysis and modeling
• a framework that encourages community-wide contributions
The fire, smoke, and air quality network will consist of web-based
data access and analysis facilities that are flexible and adaptive in
meeting the diverse end use requirements of wildland and prescribed
fire managers and air quality planners.
Fire, Smoke, and Air Quality Network
Map View
Integration of
multiple sources
of fire related
data aids in
planning,
management,
and post-fire
analysis.
Time View
Control Panel
CIRA ColoState-VIEWS
European Space Agency
Generic Map Server
NASA SeaWiFS Project
The map and time views are linked so that changing the
focus in one automatically updates the other. For
example, clicking on a PM2.5 monitor in the map displays
the time series at that monitor.
Spatio-Temporal Data Browser
Queries yield slices along the spatial, temporal and parameter
dimensions of multidimensional data cubes.
Data Sources
Homogenizer
Catalog
XDim Data
Wrapper
SQL Table
Mediator
OGC-Compliant GIS Services
Spatial Portrayal
Spatial Overlay
Client Browser
OLAP
GIS Data
Vector
Data Cube
Spatial Slice
Time-Series Services
Time Portrayal
Satellite
Time Overlay
Time Slice
Images
Cursor/Controller
Maintain Data
Find/Bind Data
Portray
Overlay
Render
Integrated N. American Emission Inventory
Co-investigator: Greg Stella, Alpine Geophysics
Air pollutant emission inventories for the US, Canada, and Mexico are
compiled and stored using different methods
The Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and the US EPA
are supporting a project to develop a prototype web tool for enabling
uniform access to distributed emissions data from North American
electricity generating power plants.
The prototype tool will help:
• Assess data gaps
• Identify future IT tools that can aid collaborative
emissions inventory project
Chemical and Aerosol Trajectory Tool
Where did polluted air come from?
Where did clean air come from?
Networked Assessment Evolution
Multi-researcher environmental assessments
Each researcher with contributes their expertise
Rarely is an environmental management project conducted
start to finish by a single researcher
1) Begin with data access and browsing viewing data inputs
and results separately
2) Ask questions related to what parts of analysis/modeling can
be generalized, automated, distributed
3) Add data processing/manipulation tools to the network
EPA Office of Environmental Information
National Environmental Information Exchange Network
Promote access and exchange of quality environmental data while
reducing reporting burden and increasing the efficiency of data exchanges
between networks.
Build locally and nationally accessible, cohesive and coherent
environmental information systems that will ensure that both the public and
regulators have access to the information needed to document
environmental performance, understand environmental conditions, and
make sound decisions that ensure environmental protection.
Grant program to States, Territories, and Tribes for building
capabilities for network participation
NASA Earth System Enterprise
Improve the application of NASA Earth Observing System products
(satellite imagery) to non-NASA activities
The products consist of a heterogeneous mix of interdependent
components derived from the contributions of many individuals and
institutions.
Provide network components for harmonizing and aggregating NASA’s
various, disparate, numerous data systems and services.
The network is to be simple, flexible and adaptable.
Sensor Networks
Wireless and embedded sensor networks have become an area of
intensive research over the past three years. The focus of the research
has been in the areas of instrumentation and
information/communication technology.
A report by the National Research Council outlines a research agenda
for realizing sensor networks and notes that one of the best approaches
to understanding and addressing research challenges is to begin
experimentation with embedded networks in environmental monitoring
applications.
Current focus is on getting sensors and sensor networks to communicate
Future need is how to work with all that data!