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LTER Site Byte
LTER Site: Andrews LTER
Contributor: Suzanne Remillard and Don Henshaw (Sep 14, 2006)
Site Byte:
The Andrews Information Management (IM) Team includes Don Henshaw (USFS), Suzanne Remillard (Oregon State University), Theresa Valentine (USFS), and Fred Bierlmaier (OSU). Zhiqiang Yang, a remote sensing post-doc at OSU and a former Information Manager for KNZ, is helping us review and edit our EML with respect to best practices and provides expertise for dynamic EML generation and other technical issues.
This past year has been a year of transition for the Andrews Forest. Gody Spycher, the long-time LTER-funded Information Manager for the Andrews, retired in April and Suzanne has officially taken the reins. Gody has been terrifically productive working behind-the-scenes since 1985 in building information systems for the Andrews and will be greatly missed. Fortunately, Gody will still be available to assist our team on a temporary appointment. Additionally, Mark Harmon has stepped down as the lead site PI and Barbara Bond is now the lead.
In light of this transition and the loss of an IM position (Suzanne’s previous soft-funded position is eliminated), the Andrews has initiated a planning effort to discuss the scope of Information Management (IM) activities, priorities with respect to database and metadata development, and the roles of investigators with respect to IM. The Andrews also received an NSF-funded field station planning grant. This funding will be used in part to improve efficiency in data processing and quality assurance checking of data from our sensor networks and to streamline the flow of data from the field to the lab.
Study database and metadata development for online access continues to be the highest priority with continual updates to long-term data sets, the migration of legacy data sets, and the development of newly submitted data sets from Andrews researchers. In the last year, we have added or updated 40 data sets. Currently, 140 data sets are now online including 24 spatial (ArcGIS) data sets. A web demo and poster at this year’s ASM will feature our metadata-driven information system and interactive data retrieval programs that deliver value-added climate and streamflow data. Gody completed development of an interactive management system before retiring, which will facilitate entry, editing, and quality assurance checks of data.
Suzanne continues as the database administrator for the combined ClimDB/HydroDB effort. The ClimDB/HydroDB warehouse now includes over 7 million daily measurement values from 39 sites (280 stations) and hosts 30 visitor sessions per day. Don and Suzanne are collaborating with Wade Sheldon (GCE) on a ClimDB/HydroDB paper which Don presented at the International Conference on Hydrological Science and Engineering in Philadelphia on September 12, 2006.
Don chairs the LTER Network Information System Advisory Committee (NISAC) and serves on the LTER Executive Board representing the IM Committee. As NISAC chair Don also participates with the Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Team and as a technical representative on the Trends Editorial Board. Don attended an East Asian Pacific (EAP) ILTER Information Management Workshop hosted by the Taiwan Ecological Research Network (TERN) in February. John Porter (VCR) and Peter McCartney (NSF) also participated as instructors and in attendance were representatives from 7 other nations. This visit has enhanced collaboration with TERN and Taiwan sites are now participating in ClimDB/HydroDB. ILTER workshop participants from Taiwan, Japan, and Malaysia will be attending this year’s ASM. Don also participated as a panelist in the Central America Workshop for Information Technology and Biodiversity in Panama to better link information technology efforts with the community of biologists and to consider cyberinfrastructure improvements in Central America.
Theresa remains involved with the LTER GIS working group and will lead a GIS workshop at the ASM 2006. Theresa has led a pilot project to develop WatershedDB, an interactive web application and database intended to provide spatial data layers in conjunction with ClimDB/HydroDB sites. (Look for the demo and poster at this year’s ASM.) The project is complete and we are looking for additional funding or collaboration to continue this effort. A website is available: http://wwwgis.forestry.oregonstate.edu/website/wsheddb1/wsheddb.htm. Theresa also co-leads the annual GIS Day in coordination with OSU departments and hosted over 400 Corvallis middle school students this past year. Students interacted in the use of GPS and the Andrews Interactive Mapping Site, and volunteer lectures highlighted the use of GIS in natural resources.
Fred Bierlmaier (OSU) is the on-site Andrews system administrator and maintains the site Local Area Network (LAN), wireless LAN, and digital radio and spread spectrum telemetry networks. The newly installed wireless access has been incredibly useful for researchers and conference attendees at the Andrews. The site has also received OSU matching funds from student fees that will buy two new computers and a Polycom video-conferencing system for the Andrews site.
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