Funded by:
NSF/ITR ACI-0081487
The East Pacific Rise (EPR) from 9-10°N is currently our best-studied section of fast-spreading mid-ocean ridge, and has recently
been chosen as a RIDGE 2000 Integrated Study Site. During several decades of investigation, it has been explored by the full spectrum
of ridge investigators, including chemists, biologists, geologists and geophysicists. These studies, and those that are ongoing, provide a
wealth of observational data, results and data-driven theoretical studies that have not yet been fully utilized, either by research scientists
or by professional educators. While the situation is improving, a large amount of data, results, and related theoretical models still exist
either in an inert, non-interactive form (e.g., journal publications), or as unlinked and currently incompatible computer data or
algorithms. Infrastructure is needed not just for ready access to data, but for linkage of disparate data sets (data to data) as well as data to
models, in order to quantitatively evaluate hypotheses, refine numerical simulations, and explore new relations between observables. In
an attempt to provide this infrastructure, the Virtual Research Vessel (VRV) is being developed as a prototype of a computational
environment and toolset for the East Pacific Rise.
Faculty: Judy Cushing (TESC), Rahul Tikekar (SOU); Students: James Gutholm,
Peter Boonekamp (TESC); Aparna Kulkarni, Seth Joslin (SOU); Kristel Lyn Hackett (U of O)
Janice E. Cuny, Ph.D., Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Oregon
cuny@cs.uoregon.edu
Judith B. Cushing, Ph.D., Department of Computer Science, The Evergreen State College
judyc@evergreen.edu
Douglas R. Toomey, Ph.D., Department of Geological Sciences, University of Oregon
drt@newberry.uoregon.edu
Dawn J. Wright, Ph.D., Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University
dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu
Research in the earth sciences routinely yields a wealth of observational data and results spanning a range of disciplines, including
geophysics, chemistry, theoretical fluid mechanics and biology. As yet though, this complementary information has not been fully utilized.
Most of it exists either in inert, noninteractive form (e.g. journal publications) or as unlinked and incompatible data sets and models.
Scientists studying mid-ocean ridges have taken the first steps in data archiving, but mere collections of publicly available data will not be
sufficient. Scientists will need a wide range of sophisticated programming support to coordinate the use of data, computational tools, and
numerical models across distributed networks of computers.
Faculty: Dawn Wright; Graduate Student: Liz O’Dea
LineData
PointFeature
Adventure
Data
Metadata
Wrapper
Observation
Argus
Data
Marker
TrackPoint
Track
Seismic
Data
Modeler
Metadata
PolygonFeature
Geodynamic
Modeler
Metadata
Model
Data
Model
LeSelect
Client
Figure A2: Metadata Viewer, and Infrastructure for Integrating
Marine Geology Data and Applications
Automatically Generated
Intermediate Form
(The program's control flow
graph is automatically compressed
with respect to the annotations.)
Database
Representation
Many computational models of isolated phenomena are now well
understood and captured in robust programs. The challenge now — for the
ridge community as well as many other communities — is to couple these
models into self-consistent representations of more complex processes.
Coupling is more complex than program composition. Scientists are faced
with the poorly understood task of establishing sophisticated time-varying
relationships between models and large, multi-dimensional data that are
heterogeneous in quantity, quality, scale, type, and ultimately importance.
To accomplish this, they will need more than standard coupling
mechanisms; they will need support for dynamically exploring model
correlations and relationships at a very high, domain-specific level.
Predict
Physical
Properties
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide an invaluable way to
simultaneously view spatial data in the form of a map and access the data that
is related to the features displayed. ArcInternetMapServer (ArcIMS) takes
GIS a step further by bringing general GIS functions to the Internet. With
ArcIMS, users can perform GIS functions such as spatial query, buffering,
clipping data and routing over the Internet. ArcIMS has the potential to allow
simultaneous access to both web data from the server and local data from the
client’s desktop, and the ability to dynamically edit and annotate maps. Users
can also potentially contribute their own spatial data layers.
Wrapper
Wrapper
A final code
description created
with minimal user
assistance and
deposited in the
common database.
PolygonData
LineFeature
Image
Physical
Properties
Computational
Model
(Source code is
annotated with
coupling potentials.)
Current Work
Faculty: Jan Cuny, Doug Toomey; Graduate Students: Tom Bulatewicz,
Maureen Ford, Matt Sottile (U of O)
We are building infrastructure to support the fast prototyping of
model couplings. Robust, abstract descriptions of existing computational
models (existing code) will be made available in a common database, a
graphical interface will allow scientists to easily specify couplings between
models, and the required interfaces and runtime monitor will be
automatically generated.
Figure B1: ArcIMS offers a method of dynamically viewing
spatial data on-line.
Sample
while (c->num_v_in >0) {
If (c->num_v_in == 1) {
exit_cell(c,0,c->vEnter->v);
c->vEnter = remove_particle(c->vEnter);
c->num_v_in = 0;
annotate.available ( c );
} else {
cur_v = c->vEnter->v;
opposite = find_particle(c->vEnter,0-cur_v
if (opposite == NULL) { /* no opposing p
while (c->num_v_in > 0) {
exit_cell(c,0,c->vEnter->v);
c->vEnter = remove_particle(c->vEnte
c->num_v_in = c->num_v_in - 1; }
Faculty: Jan Cuny, Doug Toomey; System designer: Joshua Rogers (U of O)
MapData
PointData
Figure C1: Model Coupling Process
In conjunction with our VRV-1 research, we are building a prototype set of tools that support webbased collaboration. These tools, which will eventually form the interface for the VRV-1 environment,
are being used, tested, and evaluated in building an exhibit entitled, the Volcanic Galápagos. An early
prototype of the tools can be seen at http://pyros.cs.uoregon.edu:8080. The tools are designed to allow
scientists/educators at remote locations to participate collaboratively in the design and evolution of our
exhibit. This will allow us to keep the web-based content current with the diverse scientific efforts of a
team of researchers and it will enable other researchers to add material.
Physical access to other scientists’ data sets or artifacts derived from those data such as a recently generated
map is a good first step, but not sufficient for effectively using those data for computational analyses. This part of
the project focuses on common data models that can provide data, programs and metadata in a uniform manner,
and has three focii: 1) a data model for marine geology data that abstracts across cruise formats (Figure A1), 2) an
infrastructure so that metadata for data sets published with different formats, or buried within data files, can be
viewed as if they were all of the same format, and 3) a distributed infrastructure so that data files and application
output could be viewed as database queries (Figure A2). The metadata viewer (2) and the infrastructure for
integrating marine geology data and applications (3) use LeSelect, a framework for accessing heterogeneous data
and programs over internet environments. LeSelect, developed by Eric Simon and colleagues at the Institut
Nationale pour Recherche en Informatique (INRIA), France, provides an underlying mechanism for distributed
access to files, databases and programs. We extend LeSelect by providing wrappers that map marine geology data
files, metadata and programs onto commonly recognized names and formats, and clients that provide a uniform
application interface for marine geology.
Figure A1: Marine Geology Data Model
Initial Data Contributors:
University of Oregon Department of
Geological Sciences
Oregon State University Department
of Geosciences
UCSB Department of Geological Sciences
University of Washington Mid-Ocean
Ridge Processes Group
Hawaii Mapping Research Group
Wrapper
EPR data is being compiled from several resources to create the
Virtual Research Vessel prototype atlas. Data consist of vector layers such as
observations, samples, and fissures, as well as grid layers such as bathymetry.
Users can utilize the atlas to view the data and perform spatial analysis. The
dynamic nature of ArcIMS will create a simple way for finding and viewing
spatial data, translating between formats, and encouraging future data
submission to archives.
Figure B2: Example of pages from the Virtual Research Vessel - Educational Tool.
The prototype of a computational environment and toolset, called the Virtual Research Vessel (VRV), is being developed to
provide scientists and educators with ready access to data, results, and numerical models. While this effort is focused on the EPR 9N
region, the resulting software tools and infrastructure should be helpful in establishing similar systems for other sections of the global
mid-ocean ridge. Work in progress includes efforts to develop: 1) a virtual database to incorporate diverse data types (along with
domain-specific metadata) into a global schema, allowing for web-query across different marine geology data sets, and an analogous,
declarative (database-available) description of tools and models; 2) the ability to move data between GIS and the above DBMS, along
with the tools to encourage data submission to archives; 3) tools for finding and viewing archives, and translating between formats;
4) support for "computational steering" (tool composition) and model coupling (e.g., the ability to run tool composition locally, but
access input data from the web, application programming interfaces (APIs) to support coupling, especially of programs that are running,
and help in writing data wrappers to publish programs); 5) support of migration paths for prototyped model coupling; and 6) export of
marine geological data and data analysis to the undergraduate classroom (VRV-ET, "Educational Tool").
For more information, please visit oregonstate.edu/dept/vrv and www.cs.uoregon.edu/research/vrv-et.
Poster designed by Liz O’Dea