Atmospheric Sciences PATH (Partnership for Automated Transformation of Heterogenuous Data Sets) to Facilitate Discovery
Kara Nance1, Uma S Bhatt2, Brian Hay3
1Computer Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA, klnance [at] alaska [dot] edu
2Atmospheric Sciences & Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA, usbhatt [at] alaska [dot] edu
3Computer Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA, brian [dot] hay [at] uaf [dot] edu
The ever increasing rate at which we collect and store data greatly overwhelms our current ability to make these valuable data resources easily available to a wide range of data consumers. Researchers, analysts, policy makers, and members of the public are all interested in using data for various purposes, but they often do not have the time nor the technological skills necessary to assemble and integrate data from multiple heterogeneous data sources to form a deeper understanding of the Arctic at a system level.
The objective of this project is to develop an open-source analysis tool for heterogeneous data in order to minimize calculation time and speed up scientific discovery in the area of climate science. This will be accomplished by developing standard climate analysis web-based tools that are built upon a robust data base technology, which can seamlessly accept heterogeneous data formats. Climate research, interpreted in the broadest sense, a field that utilizes vast quantities of multi-disciplinary heterogeneous data and requires a high level of technical skills, is in need of a tool that would minimize the time between asking the scientific question and obtaining the answer. The resulting service-based suite of tools, addresses an important need for data consumers spanning a wide range of specialities interested in Arctic System Science.