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Moving forward with a data infrastructure for the Geosciences over the last 30 years

Session: Transforming Earth and Planetary Science Through Data and Data Management: In Honor of MSA Distinguished Public Service Medal Awardee, Kerstin Lehnert

Presenting Author:

J Douglas Walker

Authors:

Walker, J Douglas¹, Tikoff, Basil², Newman, Julie³, Davidson, Drew⁴, Möller, Andreas⁵

(1) University of Kansas, Geology, Lawrence, KS, USA, (2) University of Wisconsin, madison, wi, USA, (3) Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, (4) University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA, (5) The University of Kansas Geology, Lawrence, KS, USA,

Abstract:

The last 30 years have seen a proliferation of the cyberinfrastructure for the Geosciences. The initial efforts used Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to document geologic mapping. Embedded information about maps could be conveyed, and the GIS applications provided an interface for entering data and interacting with maps. A focus on geochemical data followed, with the development of the PetDB worldwide database. This effort developed a relational structure for geochemical data, pioneered by Kerstin Lehnert and collaborators. Other systems, such as NAVDAT, adopted this schema to facilitate database development. In 2005, EarthChem was formed and contained digital geochemical information from several internationally produced data systems.

The success of PetDB and EarthChem inspired other efforts, including StraboSpot. The StraboSpot ecosystem currently consists of: (1) StraboField for observation data collected in the field; (2) StraboMicro for relating micrographs to other data; and (3) StraboExperiment to document rock deformation by combining the experimental data with a developing catalog of instruments and methods. StraboSpot is a fully open-source project. The field-based applications run on mobile devices isolated from connectivity; the lab-based applications run on computers connected to analytical equipment. A key development aspect of the StraboSpot ecosystem is the involvement of the Geoscience community in guiding development.