Prepared
by IMEXEC
15
April 2002
1.
NIS (Network Information System). Since its
formation in 1988, the LTER IM (Information Mangers) Committee has worked to
facilitate intersite research through the application of new techniques in
computer science and the emerging field of ecoinformatics. Over the last 10 years, improved Internet
connectivity at LTER sites and the advent of the World Wide Web have revolutionized
the way in which LTER data and metadata are made available to other scientists
and the general public. Though most
LTER data sets were available on individual site web pages by the late 1990s,
it was still difficult to analyze and synthesize data from different sites
because most site servers return data in different formats. An integrated Network Information System was
proposed by the LTER Information Managers in 1996 as a solution that would
provide centralized access to important datasets from across the LTER
Network. Since 1996 the NIS has
gradually evolved from the planning stage, to a series of prototypes developed
at various LTER sites, to near-production-level implementation of some of its
modules. At present, administrative
modules include personnel, site information (SiteDB), publications, and data
table of contents (DTOC); while scientific modules include climate (ClimDB) and
net primary productivity. The current
plan is to add scientific modules to the NIS from each of the LTER CC
scientific theme meetings. Note the important
distinction in terms of maintenance between modules that provide one-time
“snapshots” of scientific data and modules that are regularly updated.
While the successes of modules like ClimDB (see
below) and DTOC show progress toward NIS goals, the LTER IM community continues
to grapple with the challenge of how to balance priorities between (1)
providing and supporting data products using current technologies, and (2)
researching and developing new technologies that offer more advanced solutions
for dynamically integrating data. The
IM Committee recognizes a commitment to both approaches. On the one hand, there has been steady
progress toward making parts of the NIS available as a production service,
though progress has been limited by lack of long-term funding. On the other hand, the IM Committee
continues to work closely with partnering institutions such as NCEAS (National
Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis) and SDSC (San Diego Supercomputer
Center) to introduce new technologies to the LTER Network. Two long-term goals
that will affect the NIS are (1) the application of ontologies for guiding
semantic integration of data and (2) the adoption of web services technologies
that simplify the publishing of data and applications on the network. Both of
these figure prominently in recent funding proposals by LTER or partnering
institutions.
5. SCI2002 Meeting. In an effort to promote cross-domain exchange as
well as to identify a venue for publications, the next annual LTER Information
Managers meeting will precede the SCI2002 6th World Multi-Conference on
Systematics, Cybernetics and Informatics, scheduled for July 14-18, 2002, in
Orlando, Florida. Two LTER sessions
entitled The Ecoinformatics Challenge: Meeting Ecological Information Needs
for the Site, Network, and Community, co-chaired by John Porter, Karen
Baker and Susan Stafford, will result in twelve reviewed manuscripts in the
conference proceedings. For more
information on SCI2002, please see http://www.iis.org/sci2002.