EarthCube is focused on community-driven development of an integrated and interoperable knowledge management system for data in the geo- and environmental sciences. By utilizing a cooperative, as opposed to competitive, process like that which created the Internet and Open Source software, EarthCube will attack the recalcitrant and persistent problems that so far have prevented adequate access to and the analysis, visualization, and interoperability of the vast storehouses of disparate geoscience data and data types residing in distributed and diverse data systems. This awards funds a series of broad, inclusive community interactions to gather adequate information and requirements to create a roadmap for a critical capability (workflow) in the development of EarthCube, a major new NSF initiative. Workflow in the context of EarthCube, and cyberinfrastructure in general, encompasses a broad range of topics including distributed execution management, the coupling of multiple models into composite applications, the integration of a wide range of data sources with processing, and the creation of refined data products from raw data. A key benefit of the funded work in terms of evaluating and creating community consensus on the best way forward for this capability (i.e., workflow) is the ability to document the provenance of data used in modeling and reproduce model and data-enabled scientific results. The funded workshop and information collecting activity will be open to all interested parties and is being led by a diverse and expert team of cyberinfrastructure developers, computer scientists, and geoscientists. Broader impacts of the work include converging on approaches, protocols, and standards that may be applicable across the sciences. They also include the fostering of close interaction between communities that do not commonly interact with one another and focusing them on the common goal of creating a new paradigm in data and knowledge management in the geosciences.
involved the creation of a report discussing the current use of workflows in the scientific community and how workflows can potentially be used by the scientific community in conjunction with EarthCube. General workflow requirements for scientists were assessed through interviews of science staff members. These interviews generally demonstrated the lack of penetration of current workflow technology in our universities and research centers. They also demonstrated that science staff were typically not aware of workflow technology and how such technology could be utilized effectively. At the same time, it was clear that science staff implicity utilize workflows in their research and could benefit from using standardized data processing techniques, standardized data formats and standardized analytics tools and libraries. Our report recommended the formation of an Engagement Task Force that would proceed on developing ways to demonstrate workflow technology and its applicability to scientists and find ways to promote the use of workflows in conjunction with EarthCube. The Engagement Task Force would provide guidance to geoscientists in identifying approaches to address workflow needs. It would also assist scientists in evaluating potential workflow technology solutions. The Engagement Task Force would also identify appropriate standards, develop use cases through its interactions with geoscientists and develop reference implementations through open community processes.
