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 award funds broad, inclusive community interactions and a follow-on workshop to GeoData 2011 which will address gaps in the funding portfolio and development of EarthCube, a major new NSF initiative. Some of these gaps include unresolved issues related to data accessibility and attribution. Others involve interagency planning for improving interoperability and integration of large Federal data repositories with academic datasets and data management facilities. The funded workshop and associated conversations will be open and available to the public via virtual participation of interested parties not included in the list of invitees. Broader impacts of the work include fostering of close interaction between communities and federal agencies that do not presently effectively interact with one another and to build alignment around a common goal of creating a new, interoperable paradigm in data and knowledge management in the geosciences.
