EarthCube design is a complex socio-technical systemof systems, in which communication between various domain subsystems and previously disconnected CI components,people and organizations enables more comprehensive, data-intensive research designs and knowledge sharing. The main features of project include an approach that:(1) follows and enhances existing patterns of data, information and knowledge exchange within and between geoscience domains, (2) integrates ?traditional? layered cyberinfrastructure components (e.g.information sources, catalogs, vocabularies, services, analysis and modeling tools) with CI components supporting scholarly communication, self-organization and social networking (e.g.research profiles, Q&A systems, annotations) and (3) supports continuous EarthCube architectural evolution. The proposed work will be done in close collaboration with other EarthCube activities,taking input from a wide group of geoscientists and CI experts engaged in EarthCube, as well as information system architects from a range of academic and commercial projects.Design parameters include system abilities to: a) evolve by factoring in the impact of maturing movements like linked data, ?big data?, and social collaborations; b) handle the volume, complexity and diversity of geoscience information; (b) incorporate new informational and analytical requirements, tools, and techniques,(c)accommodate different ideas and approaches to research and data stewardship;(d)make best use of NSFs current investment in the geoscience CI.
The innovative aspect of this architecture planning will include three component. It will be designed as a system of systems,i.e., the basic information objects and infrastructure of any community will be re-used, but will be modeled in a manner that higher-level operations(e.g., vocabulary mashup) can be performed on them. It will be based on emerging interchange practices and protocols for scholarly objects, a paradigm that will be designed to foster inter-community research collaboration and exchange. It will be centered on a social network of communicating scientists who will use the interchange protocols. The social network will consist of both people and the information objects they choose to share as they conduct research.
