This grant will support an Earth sciences community workshop to identify ground-based digital acquisition, analysis, and visualization needs of the geological science community. A two workshop will be organized under the direction of John Oldow at the University of Idaho and is planned for early Winter, 2006. A current challenge for many geoscientists is access and training in the use of digital field mapping tools as well as the intricacies of merging digital datasets acquired at differing resolutions and using multiple tools. The development of user-friendly, open source software for processing and analysis of digital mapping products is a clear need and a considerable challenge. The workshop will focus on the possible development of a new facility/services to support state-of-the-art digital geologic field mapping using technologies including terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), GPS, digital photogrammetry, and remotely sensed imagery (e.g., satellite or airborne multispectral imagery), as well as more traditional field mapping tools. The facility concept has been termed INTERFACE (INTERdisciplinary Alliance for Digital Field Data ACquisition and Exploration) and would provide equipment, training, data processing, data archiving, and visualization facilities to researchers and students across the United States to support direct digital data acquisition and visualization of surficial landforms. Specific goals of the workshop are to: (1) identify the methods and technologies needed for digital data acquisition, (2) to explore database and analysis tool requirements, (3) outline a vision for the architecture of national system for equipment accessibility, training, analysis, and data archiving, (4) initiate a discussion on data standards, required metadata, and information formats for databases, (5) identify the visualization requirements associated with digital acquisition methods, (6) develop a strategy for community involvement and implementation of the digital acquisition system, and (7) outline the relation of the digital acquisition system to existing or planned cyberinfrastructural initiatives in the earth sciences. Attendance of about 25 earth scientists representing a wide range of expertise is planned. Participants will be drawn from the geomorphology, structure, seismic and geodetic communities, with targeted invitations to those with experience in digital acquisition, database development, information management, and the application of data analysis tools. The findings of the workshop will be presented to the geologic community at the 2006 National Meeting of the Geological Society of America and the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in addition to a report submitted directly to the EAR/IF Program and available to the community via electronic distribution and access on the GEON website (geongrid.org).
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