Geospatial Data, Visualization, and Discovery in Support of a Digital Library for Earth Systems Education

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

0085482 Moore Analysis of spatial data has always been a key component of geoscience research. The relatively recent acquisition of large digital data sets is revolutionizing our understanding of the dynamic Earth system. Use of these data by geoscience educators and students has lagged behind the research community because significant barriers confront inexperienced users of geospatial data. Geospatial data will be an important element in the design and construction of a Digital Library for Earth System Education. In order for all users to fully exploit these resources, well-designed and simple-yet-powerful data visualization and analysis tools must accompany digital data archives. We propose to use the experience acquired in the construction of Cornell University's Solid Earth Information System (SEIS), a digital archive of solid Earth datasets originally compiled for the geophysical research community. These data are web-accessible through the use of data search, query and display tools developed for SEIS that allow universal access to all users regardless of expertise. Cornell University and the Paleontological Research Institution will modify and extend the capabilities of the SEIS system for educational purposes. They will take advantage of the underlying data structures and query and display functions of the current system to develop an improved interface for on-line analysis of geospatial data. They will prototype and test this system with feedback from university and K-12 students. The system will allow students to access, view, combine, and analyze a wide variety of geospatial data in an interactive way. They will develop educational user scenarios that utilize global, regional, and local scale data, and will help educators take better advantage of the same data sets and tools used by the world's leading researchers. Through ready access to comprehensive data and easy-to-use tools, students and the general public can learn about the Earth through hands-on discovery with original data.