Functional requirements document for the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Scientific Computing Facilities (SCF) of the NASA/MSFC Earth Science and Applications Division, 1992

Five scientists at MSFC/ESAD have EOS SCF investigator status. Each SCF has unique tasks which require the establishment of a computing facility dedicated to accomplishing those tasks. A SCF Working Group was established at ESAD with the charter of defining the computing requirements of the individual SCFs and recommending options for meeting these requirements. The primary goal of the working group was to determine which computing needs can be satisfied using either shared resources or separate but compatible resources, and which needs require unique individual resources. The requirements investigated included CPU-intensive vector and scalar processing, visualization, data storage, connectivity, and I/O peripherals. A review of computer industry directions and a market survey of computing hardware provided information regarding important industry standards and candidate computing platforms. It was determined that the total SCF computing requirements might be most effectively met using a hierarchy consisting of shared and individual resources. This hierarchy is composed of five major system types: (1) a supercomputer class vector processor; (2) a high-end scalar multiprocessor workstation; (3) a file server; (4) a few medium- to high-end visualization workstations; and (5) several low- to medium-range personal graphics workstations. Specific recommendations for meeting the needs of each of these types are presented

Computing and data processing

The applications of computers and data processing to astronomy are discussed. Among the topics covered are the emerging national information infrastructure, workstations and supercomputers, supertelescopes, digital astronomy, astrophysics in a numerical laboratory, community software, archiving of ground-based observations, dynamical simulations of complex systems, plasma astrophysics, and the remote control of fourth dimension supercomputers

Workshop on NASA workstation technology

RIACS hosted a workshop which was designed to foster communication among those people within NASA working on workstation related technology, to share technology, and to learn about new developments and futures in the larger university and industrial workstation communities. Herein, the workshop is documented along with its conclusions. It was learned that there is both a large amount of commonality of requirements and a wide variation in the modernness of in-use technology among the represented NASA centers

MODIS algorithm development and data visualization using ACTS

The study of the Earth as a system will require the merger of scientific and data resources on a much larger scale than has been done in the past. New methods of scientific research, particularly in the development of geographically dispersed, interdisciplinary teams, are necessary if we are to understand the complexity of the Earth system. Even the planned satellite missions themselves, such as the Earth Observing System, will require much more interaction between researchers and engineers if they are to produce scientifically useful data products. A key component in these activities is the development of flexible, high bandwidth data networks that can be used to move large amounts of data as well as allow researchers to communicate in new ways, such as through video. The capabilities of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) will allow the development of such networks. The Pathfinder global AVHRR data set and the upcoming SeaWiFS Earthprobe mission would serve as a testbed in which to develop the tools to share data and information among geographically distributed researchers. Our goal is to develop a 'Distributed Research Environment' that can be used as a model for scientific collaboration in the EOS era. The challenge is to unite the advances in telecommunications with the parallel advances in computing and networking

A survey of current trends in incorporating virtual reality and geographical information systems

The paper describes the results of a comprehensive literature and Internet survey on current trends in virtual Reality GIS (VRGIS). In the first part of the paper, a background of VRGIS is set, followed by the description and classification of the main research areas which focus in VRGIS research with an attempt to clarify the reasons that led the researchers to pursue a VR solution for the specific problems in their research field. Based on the observations from the current practice, the main definitions of VRGIS are discussed in the third section. Finally, future directions and possibilities for development are drawn

A Survey of Current Trends in Incorporating Virtual Reality and GIS

April 1-

Functional requirements document for NASA/MSFC Earth Science and Applications Division: Data and information system (ESAD-DIS). Interoperability, 1992

These Earth Science and Applications Division-Data and Information System (ESAD-DIS) interoperability requirements are designed to quantify the Earth Science and Application Division's hardware and software requirements in terms of communications between personal and visualization workstation, and mainframe computers. The electronic mail requirements and local area network (LAN) requirements are addressed. These interoperability requirements are top-level requirements framed around defining the existing ESAD-DIS interoperability and projecting known near-term requirements for both operational support and for management planning. Detailed requirements will be submitted on a case-by-case basis. This document is also intended as an overview of ESAD-DIs interoperability for new-comers and management not familiar with these activities. It is intended as background documentation to support requests for resources and support requirements

Visualizing characteristics of ocean data collected during the Shuttle Imaging Radar-B experiment

Topographic measurements of sea surface elevation collected by the Surface Contour Radar (SCR) during NASA's Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-B) experiment are plotted as three dimensional surface plots to observe wave height variance along the track of a P-3 aircraft. Ocean wave spectra were computed from rotating altimeter measurements acquired by the Radar Ocean Wave Spectrometer (ROWS). Fourier power spectra computed from SIR-B synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the ocean are compared to ROWS surface wave spectra. Fourier inversion of SAR spectra, after subtraction of spectral noise and modeling of wave height modulation, yields topography similar to direct measurements made by SCR. Visual perspectives on the SCR and SAR ocean data are compared. Threshold distinctions between surface elevation and texture modulations of SAR data are considered within the context of a dynamic statistical model of rough surface scattering. The result of these endeavors is insight as to the physical mechanism governing the imaging of ocean waves with SAR

An Advanced, Three-Dimensional Plotting Library for Astronomy

We present a new, three-dimensional (3D) plotting library with advanced features, and support for standard and enhanced display devices. The library - S2PLOT - is written in C and can be used by C, C++ and FORTRAN programs on GNU/Linux and Apple/OSX systems. S2PLOT draws objects in a 3D (x,y,z) Cartesian space and the user interactively controls how this space is rendered at run time. With a PGPLOT inspired interface, S2PLOT provides astronomers with elegant techniques for displaying and exploring 3D data sets directly from their program code, and the potential to use stereoscopic and dome display devices. The S2PLOT architecture supports dynamic geometry and can be used to plot time-evolving data sets, such as might be produced by simulation codes. In this paper, we introduce S2PLOT to the astronomical community, describe its potential applications, and present some example uses of the library.Comment: 12 pages, 10 eps figures (higher resolution versions available from http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/s2plot/paperfigures). The S2PLOT library is available for download from http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/s2plo