Data and Metadata Brokering – Theory and Practice from the BCube Project

Siri Jodha Singh Khalsa

doi:10.5334/dsj-2017-001

Abstract

EarthCube is a U.S. National Science Foundation initiative that aims to create a cyberinfrastructure (CI) for all the geosciences. An initial set of “building blocks” was funded to develop potential components of that CI. The Brokering Building Block (BCube) created a brokering framework to demonstrate cross-disciplinary data access based on a set of use cases developed by scientists from the domains of hydrology, oceanography, polar science and climate/weather. While some successes were achieved, considerable challenges were encountered. We present a synopsis of the processes and outcomes of the BCube experiment.

Highlights

In 2011 the U.S National Science Foundation initiated EarthCube, a joint effort of NSF’s Office of Cyberinfrastructure (OCI), whose interest was in computational and data-rich science and engineering, and the Geosciences Directorate (GEO), whose interest was in understanding and forecasting the behavior of a complex and evolving Earth system
A significant element of NSF’s strategy for building EarthCube was to make it a collective effort of geoscientists and technologists from the start, in hopes of ensuring that what was developed did serve the needs of geoscientists and would find widespread uptake
A series of community events and end-user workshops spanning the geoscience disciplines were undertaken with the dual goals of gathering requirements for EarthCube and building a community of geoscientists willing to engage with and take ownership of the EarthCube process

Summary

Introduction

In 2011 the U.S National Science Foundation initiated EarthCube, a joint effort of NSF’s Office of Cyberinfrastructure (OCI), whose interest was in computational and data-rich science and engineering, and the Geosciences Directorate (GEO), whose interest was in understanding and forecasting the behavior of a complex and evolving Earth system. The goal in creating EarthCube was to create a sustainable, community-based and open cyberinfrastructure for all researchers and educators across the geosciences. Bowker, et al (2010) emphasized that information infrastructures are more than the data, tools and networks comprising the technical elements, and involve the people, practices, and institutions that lead to the creation, adoption and evolution of the underlying technology. A significant element of NSF’s strategy for building EarthCube was to make it a collective effort of geoscientists and technologists from the start, in hopes of ensuring that what was developed did serve the needs of geoscientists and would find widespread uptake. A series of community events and end-user workshops spanning the geoscience disciplines were undertaken with the dual goals of gathering requirements for EarthCube and building a community of geoscientists willing to engage with and take ownership of the EarthCube process

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion