8. DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT

Accomplishment of the GCIP major science objectives involves the development of a comprehensive and accessible database for the Mississippi River basin. Volume I of the GCIP Implementation Plan (IGPO,1993) contains information that (1) identifies the sources of observations from existing and planned networks; (2) further enhances those networks where necessary; and (3) assists in developing data sets accumulated from existing observational systems and derived from operational model outputs, such as the NOAA/NCEP Eta regional mesoscale model. The strategic portion of the data management planning (IGPO, 1994b) establishes the implementation strategies needed to achieve the data collection and management objective:

* Provide access to comprehensive in-situ, remote sensing and model output data sets for use in GCIP research and as a benchmark for future studies.

The GCIP Data Management and Service System (DMSS) is shown in Figure 8-1 as a user service configuration based on accessing the GCIP Home Page on the World Wide Web through the URL address: http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/gcip/

The GCIP Data Management and Service System (DMSS) implementation strategy makes maximum use of existing data centers which are made an integral part of the GCIP-DMSS through four data source modules that specialize by data types (i.e., in situ, model output, satellite remote sensing, and GCIP special data). These four data source modules are connected to a GCIP central information source that provides "single-point access" to the GCIP-DMSS. The primary responsibilities for the data source modules along with their major functions and activities were described in Volume III of the GCIP Implementation Plan (IGPO, 1994b).

8.1 Overall Objectives

The goal of the DMSS is to make GCIP data available to GCIP investigators and to the international scientific community interested in GCIP. The data services are provided through a system which will have multiyear data set information that will be of continuing research use after GCIP is completed. These two items led to the following overall objectives for the DMSS:

(1) During the course of GCIP, the GCIP data management system will compile information on the data that are collected in the data centers to produce special data sets for GCIP users and to provide a single-point access to service user requests for GCIP data.
(2) At the completion of GCIP, the GCIP data management system will turn over the composite data set documentation (metadata) to a permanent archiving agency for continuing use in climate-related studies.

The topic of GCIP data management is divided into strategic and tactical planning efforts. The strategic portion of the GCIP data management plan is covered in Volume III of the GCIP Implementation Plan (IGPO, 1994b). A tactical data management plan is prepared for each definable data set produced by the DMSS.

Figure 8-1 GCIP DMSS user services configuration.

8.2 Data Availability and Costs

The GCIP Science Plan (WMO, 1992) recognized that the success of the Project depends on scientists and agency participants sharing their data with each other. The timely archival of data collected or processed by GCIP researchers, along with mechanisms to ensure open and minimal-cost distribution to all researchers, requires a clearly stated and implementable data policy. Such a GCIP data policy concerning access to GCIP data was given in the GCIP Science Plan (WMO, 1992).

Data management will incur costs primarily for the collection of information on the data and the reproduction costs to compile data sets. The costs incurred for the initial compilation of information on the data will be borne by the Project. Costs for data sets that are compiled for general use by researchers involved in the Project will also be borne by the Project. Costs for data sets to individual specifications will, in general, be borne by the user making the request for the data. This topic is described further in Section 10 and was also described in Section 3 of Volume III of the GCIP Implementation Plan (IGPO, 1994b).

8.3 System and Services Approach

To the extent possible GCIP relies upon existing or planned operational, or, at least, systematic observing programs operating over the Mississippi River basin, including space-based observations. The essential task is to assemble information about relevant data sets and implement a data management system to support the scientific program. The DMSS takes advantage of the ongoing data management activities of related projects and programs such as Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM), Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP), and others. Data sets and data management infrastructure under development for these programs are being used by the DMSS to the fullest extent possible. Each of these programs has, or is developing, data management systems with GCIP-relevant data to access through the GCIP-DMSS.

8.4 Compilation Of Data Sets

The intent of GCIP researchers to rely as much as possible on existing data centers as the archive location of GCIP data means that data sets will be geographically distributed among these data centers. The GCIP-DMSS is compiling a centralized set of information on the data sets. In some cases, this set consists of a directory and inventory of the data set, and in other cases it consists of only directory information with the inventory information available from the data center where the data set is stored. A tactical data collection and management plan is prepared for each definable data set compiled by the Project. This plan is converted to a data summary report when the compiled data set is completed.

A number of GCIP initial data sets (GIDS) were prepared to provide the data services support during the build-up period before the Five-year Enhanced Observing Period (EOP). Preparation of the GIDS started in 1993, and the data sets were compiled for on-line access by GCIP investigators to the extent that is technically feasible. They were also published on a CD-ROM for wide distribution, especially to international persons interested in performing initial diagnostic, evaluation, and modeling studies on GCIP-related topics. Further details on the GIDS data sets are available through the GCIP/DMSS In-Situ Module at the URL address:

http://www.joss.ucar.edu/gcip/gcip_in_situ.html

The EOP started on 1 October 1995 and is continuing for five years. The start date of 1 October was in part chosen to correspond to the start of a "water year" as used by the Water Resources groups in organizations such as the U.S Geological Survey. The availability of water data including streamflow data from the USGS National Water Information System is based on the water year. Such data are normally available from this system about six to nine months after the end of the water year. The availability date of these data becomes a primary determining factor in the schedule for the completion of EOP data sets by the GCIP data management system. The data collected during each EOP year are being compiled into a number of standard and custom data sets.

The overall plans for compiling GCIP data sets are depicted in Figure 8-2. A summary of the status of GCIP data sets is given in Table 8-1.

The plans for compiling the LSA-NW EAOP data set are described in a draft document entitled "Tactical Data Collection and Management Plan for the LSA-NW Enhanced Annual Observing Period".

8.5 Projected Schedule for LSA-NW Data Set Compilation

The Enhanced Annual Observing Period for the LSA-NW begins on 1 April 1999 and runs through 31 March 2001. This schedule spreads the observing period across three Water Years. (A Water Year in the USA includes the period from 1 October through 30 September the following year). Some of the GCIP data sets, such as the streamflow data are archived on a Water Year basis. A nominal schedule for completing the streamflow data processing is about nine months after the end of a Water Year. Given this schedule for data availability, the three components of the two-year Enhanced Annual Observing Period for the LSA-NW are projected to be available as follows:

Period GCIP Data Set Available

1 April - 30 September 1999                                                                                July 2000
1 October 1999 - 30 September 2000                                                                  July 2001
1 October 2000 - 31 March 2001                                                                         July 2002

It should be noted that these are the projected dates for the temporal component of the two-year data set to be completed. However, portions of the component data set will become available earlier than the projected completion dates shown above. Information on such data availability can be obtained through the GCIP Home Page (Data Access) at the URL address:
http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/gcip/#data

Figure 8-2 Compiled and Planned Standard Data Sets for GCIP Research.

PROJECT
NAME DATA SET NAME/
TIME PERIOD/DESCRIPTION MEDIA SOURCES

GEWEX
Continental-
Scale
International
Project
GCIP Initial Data Set (GIDS-1)/1 Feb - 30 April 1992/Atmospheric, hydrologic, satellite and radar composites, and surface data for the Central Mississippi Basin.

GCIP Reference Data Set (GREDS)/No time period/Topography, land use and other types of data which are expected to change little, if any, during the next several years.

GIDS-3/1 April -31 August 1994/Consists of data collected during the GCIP Integrated Systems Test (GIST) in the Large Scale Area - SW (Arkansas Red River Basin) and provides an initial data set for the warm season.

GIDS-4/1 April - 30-Sept 1995/ Consists of data collected during the Enhanced Seasonal Observing Period (ESOP-95) as a second GCIP warm season data set in the Large Scale Area-SW (Arkansas-Red River Basin)

ESOP-96/1 April - 30-Sept 1996/ Consists of data collected during the Enhanced Seasonal Observing Period for a third GCIP warm season data set in the Large Scale Area-SW (Arkansas-Red River Basin)

ESOP-97/ 1 Oct 1996 - 31 May 1997/ Consists of data collected during the Enhanced Seasonal Observing Period for a GCIP cold season data set in the Large Scale Area-NC (Upper Mississipi River Basin)

ESOP-98/ 1 Oct 1997 - 31 May 1998/ Consists of data collected during the Enhanced Seasonal Observing Period for a second GCIP cold season data set in the Large Scale Area-NC (Upper Mississippi River Basin)

EAOP-98/ 1 Oct 1997 - 30 Sept 1998/ Consists of data collected during the Enhanced Annual Observing Period for an annual data set in the Large Scale-E (Ohio-Tennessee River Basin)

On-line
Subset on CD-ROM

CD-ROM

On-line Subset on CD-ROM

On-line Subset on CD-ROM

On-line
CD-ROM Subset in preparation

On-line

On-line
(in prep)

On-line
(in prep)

UCAR/JOSS CODIAC System
WWW: http://www.joss.ucar.edu/codiac
or http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/gcip/ (select in situ data
source module)
UCAR/Joint Office for Science Support
P.O. Box 3000
Boulder, CO 80307
Tel: 303-497-8987; Fax: 303-497-8158
Email: sfw@ncar.ucar.edu
WWW: http://www.joss.ucar.edu/gcip/gcip_in_situ.html
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM:
GCIP Project Office, 1100 Wayne Avenue, Rm 1225,
Silver Spring, MD 20910; Tel: 301-427-2089 ext 511;
Fax: 301-427-2222; E-mail: gcip@ogp.noaa.gov

UCAR/JOSS CODIAC System

UCAR/JOSS CODIAC System

UCAR/JOSS CODIAC System

UCAR/JOSS CODIAC System

UCAR/JOSS CODIAC System

UCAR/JOSS CODIAC System

Table 8-1 A summary of the status of GCIP data sets.