Abstract
Integrating Science Information Systems and GIS: Bridges or Foundations? Track: Climate, Weather and Atmosphere Author(s): Ted Habermann The challenge of integrating "science" data into geospatial systems has been explored by several groups and partnerships. Many of these efforts have assumed that progress will be maximized through approaches that might be described as "bridges." Format translators (i.e., netCDF to ArcX), gateways, and approaches based on OGC standards are bridges. They connect data across systems while minimizing the impact on the systems themselves. This impact minimization is a principal motivator for this approach. It may be, however, that we can gain more integration from the same effort by building a new "foundation" for science information systems. The geospatial community is in a difficult transition from isolated desktops sharing files to geospatial databases that can be accessed by distributed applications and users. This transition has been difficult, but the benefits are significant. Integrating science data into this foundation would likely provide much more powerful integration than bridges between isolated systems. Ted Habermann NOAA NOAA/NGDC E/GC1 325 Broadway Boulder , CO 80305 US Phone: 303.497.6472 E-mail: ted.habermann@noaa.gov |
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