2011 - Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences ...

workflows that make use of SPIDR’s Simple Object Access
Protocol (SOAP) web services and workflows that combine
data from different datasets within SPIDR and manipulate
them, such as filtering. In addition to this front-end,
user-centric system, the beginnings of a back-end workflow
system were completed as well. http://spidr.ngdc.noaa.
gov/worfklow
A RESTful (REpresentational State Transfer) web service
interface was added to SPIDR allowing easier access to the
web service middle ware for those less versed in web service
development, including sample clients in Perl, Python,
IDL and Matlab/Octave, bringing SPIDR’s web services
to a much larger community of science data customers.
As a result of these new services, the SPIDR team received
an NGDC customer service award and a NASA software
award.
• http://spidr.ngdc.noaa.gov/spidr/servletGetData?describe
• http://spidr.ngdc.noaa.gov/spidr/tools.do
The data dashboard was completed for three widely used
datasets, ionospheric, geomagnetic and cosmic ray data,
and allows a data customer or scientist to see latency of
receipt of SPIDR’s holdings within those domains. This information
better supports the use of these data so it is clear
when they were received and from where.
• http://spidr.ngdc.noaa.gov/spidr/data_dashboard.do
Product: Poster presentation, ‘Auroral Resources Toolkit
(ART),’ at the Space Weather Workshop, April 27, 2011.
Milestone 2. Develop an operational version of the D-
Region Absorption Prediction (D-RAP) Modeling System
on the NGDC website, which will generate model outputs
that are available from, and archived at, NGDC.
This task is complete, and the data, model outputs and
visualization are all available on the NGDC’s Solar and
Terrestrial Physics Division (STPD) website. There is an
opportunity for continued development as well, to make
or collaborate with another group to create an on-demand
model run capability. This would be similar to what the
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Community Coordinated
Modeling Center (CCMC) does, and as such, they
would make a good partner for doing so. Discussions on
this topic have been held, and the desire for a broader
NGDC on-demand model run capability exists and was
brought to light by said discussions.
This dynamic/on-demand aspect of D-RAP would
be a subset of the wider NGDC effort, so it will not be
pursued as part of this milestone, but will be considered
for the wider NGDC on-demand capability as a follow-up
effort, whether that is an in-house project or collaboration
with an outside organization. D-RAP Modeling System
outputs are available from the NGDC/STP website, and
are being archived at NGDC as well.
• http://ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/iono/drap/index.html.
Milestone 3. Develop a ‘Geomag Tracking Database’ to
track geomagnetic data holdings at NGDC in order to
modernize the geomagnetic data stewardship program
and provide a tool that will help correct past difficulties in
data stewardship and dissemination.
The Geomag Tracking Database was developed and
operates according to specification. This database ingests
inventory data in XML format and handles a dynamic
100 CIRES Annual Report 2011
range of metadata fields. The database allows sorting of
geomatic data and metadata in ways that were not before
possible, providing a powerful new tool to the community
and NGDC data managers.
Product: Database was presented at the meeting ‘Artifical
Intelligence in the Earth’s Magnetic Field Study,’ in
Uglich, Russia, January 2011.
Milestone 4. Develop a ‘MIRror of online MAGnetic data
(MIRRMAG)’ data ingest system that will ingest available,
online geomagnetic data into NGDC databases. Once
ingested, the system will perform any needed format processing,
load the data into the SPIDR database, port the
data to the NGDC FTP site, and port the data to the tape
library ingest staging area.
MIRRMAG ingest system is fully functional. The system
ingests, processes and disseminates data as designed.
This system streamlines ingest and dissemination of
geomagnetic observatory data, allowing for more efficient
use of data manager time and limiting the potential
problems that arise from more hands-on data management
techniques. As an unforeseen benefit, this system
has allowed for the geomagnetic data manager to take on
an increased workload in a time when resources are limited.
As a result, our customer service and data-handling
practices are performing better in a more challenging
environment.
SWPC-01SolarDisturbancesinthe
GeospaceEnvironment
FEDERAL LEAD: VIC PIZZO
CIRES LEAD: ALYSHA REINARD
NOAA Goal 3: Weather and Water
Project Goal: Improve the prediction of traveling solar disturbances
that impact the geospace environment. Such disturbances,
which are associated with both coronal holes and coronal
mass ejections from the sun, can cause substantial geomagnetic
effects leading to the crippling of satellites, disruption of radio
communications and damage to electric power grids.
Milestone 1. In collaboration, SWPC will modify and test the
empirical relationship linking helicity and future flaring potential
of a given active region, and will evaluate its potential
as a forecasting tool for solar flares.
This project is just beginning. We have hired a postdoc,
who began work in April. She has just started this effort,
and we expect to have results to report on next year.
SWPC-02ModelingtheUpperAtmosphere
FEDERAL LEAD: MICHAEL CRUMLY
CIRES LEAD: TIMOTHY FULLER-ROWELL
NOAA Goal 3: Weather and Water
Project Goal: Quantify the impact of sudden stratospheric
warmings (SSW) on the upper atmosphere. Recent observations
suggest that SSW impact the dynamics and electrodynamics
of the lower thermosphere, and change the diurnal
variation of total electron, which is an important component
of space weather. The recently developed Whole Atmosphere
Model (WAM) simulates SSW naturally so will be used to quantify
their impact on the thermosphere and ionosphere.