Towards Exascale Scientific Metadata Management

Advances in technology and computing hardware are enabling scientists from all areas of science to produce massive amounts of data using large-scale simulations or observational facilities. In this era of data deluge, effective coordination between the data production and the analysis phases hinges on the availability of metadata that describe the scientific datasets. Existing workflow engines have been capturing a limited form of metadata to provide provenance information about the identity and lineage of the data. However, much of the data produced by simulations, experiments, and analyses still need to be annotated manually in an ad hoc manner by domain scientists. Systematic and transparent acquisition of rich metadata becomes a crucial prerequisite to sustain and accelerate the pace of scientific innovation. Yet, ubiquitous and domain-agnostic metadata management infrastructure that can meet the demands of extreme-scale science is notable by its absence. To address this gap in scientific data management research and practice, we present our vision for an integrated approach that (1) automatically captures and manipulates information-rich metadata while the data is being produced or analyzed and (2) stores metadata within each dataset to permeate metadata-oblivious processes and to query metadata through established and standardized data access interfaces. We motivate the need for the proposed integrated approach using applications from plasma physics, climate modeling and neuroscience, and then discuss research challenges and possible solutions

Database recovery

Recovery techniques are an important aspect of database systems. They are essential to ensure that data integrity is maintained after any type of failure occurs. The recovery mechanism must be designed so that the availability and performance of the system are not unacceptably impacted by the recovery algorithms running during normal execution. On the other hand, enough information must be stored so that the database can be restored or transactions backed out in a reasonable amount of time. Concepts, techniques, and problems associated with database recovery will be presented in this thesis. The recovery issues for both centralized and distributed systems will be discussed, along with the tradeoffs of different recovery tools. The database recovery schemes in IMS/VS, DB2 and SDD-1 will be described to show approaches in existing systems

Technical assessment of natural resource management threats and options in the northern agricultural region of Western Australia

Analysis of the risk of soil, land and water degradation within the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia. Natural resource issues discussed include: acid groundwater, acid sulfate soils, climate change, dryland salinity, flooding, herbicide resistance, non-wetting (water repellence), nutrient loss and eutrophication, remnant vegetation decline, soil acidity, soil fertility decline, soil structure decline, subsurface compaction, waterlogging, wind erosion and soil contamination

Proceedings of the NSSDC Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies for Space and Earth Science Applications

The proceedings of the National Space Science Data Center Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies for Space and Earth Science Applications held July 23 through 25, 1991 at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center are presented. The program includes a keynote address, invited technical papers, and selected technical presentations to provide a broad forum for the discussion of a number of important issues in the field of mass storage systems. Topics include magnetic disk and tape technologies, optical disk and tape, software storage and file management systems, and experiences with the use of a large, distributed storage system. The technical presentations describe integrated mass storage systems that are expected to be available commercially. Also included is a series of presentations from Federal Government organizations and research institutions covering their mass storage requirements for the 1990's

Pleasantview Hills Aspen Stand Diversity Project: Environmental Assessment

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pocatello Field Office (PFO) has prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the environmental impacts of implementing treatments on aspen stands in the Pleasantview Hills area. This EA discloses the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects that would result from implementation of this proposal as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. This EA will determine whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) based on environmental impact context and intensity, thereby informing agency decision making. Guidance for EA organization is determined by the BLM NEPA Handbook H- 1790-1 (BLM 2008)

The impacts of vehicle disturbance on NSW saltmarsh: implications for rehabilitation

Coastal saltmarshes are recognised globally as important ecological communities that are increasingly under threat. The use of off-road vehicles in saltmarsh environments has been identified as a very serious and rapidly escalating threat to these ecosystems. Despite this, vehicle disturbance within saltmarsh ecosystems has not been widely studied, particularly in the Australian context. Further understanding of the nature of this threat is required to provide knowledge for potential rehabilitation strategies. This study aimed to assess the impacts of vehicles on saltmarsh, at two locations on the South Coast of NSW, Australia. I adopted a multi-disciplinary approach to assess the impacts of vehicles on a range of biotic and abiotic variables. Biotic variables included abundance and composition of both the standing vegetation and the soil seed bank. The soil seed bank was assessed via a seedling emergence study, whereby soil samples were placed in greenhouses under conditions favourable for germination, and counted and identified as they emerged. Abiotic variables assessed included physical soil properties, chemical soil properties, micro-topography and hydrology. Physical and chemical soil properties were examined using a combination of field and laboratory techniques. The spatial extent of vehicle damage was determined, as well as the impacts of vehicles on micro-topography and hydrology using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This study demonstrated that vehicles adversely impact saltmarsh ecosystems in a number of ways. Vegetation cover was on average 90% lower within vehicle tracks and the average number of plant species was halved. Changes to vegetation species composition were associated with vehicle damage, with impacted areas more likely to comprise species characteristic of the lower saltmarsh zone. The soil seed bank was adversely affected by vehicle disturbance, with an 80% reduction in average seed density within the soil of tracks. As the soil seed bank plays a vital role in vegetation recovery post-disturbance, reduced seed densities within the soil of vehicle tracks were considered major barriers to natural regeneration of damaged areas. Vehicle damage was also associated with changes to the local abiotic environment. Increased soil compaction was identified as a major impact of vehicle disturbance. Overall soil quality was found to be reduced in areas of disturbance, with lower levels of soil organic matter within vehicle damaged areas. Vehicle tracks were also associated with localised depressions in the marsh surface and thus, altered hydrological conditions. These factors were considered to have significant influence on ecological function of the saltmarsh and were identified as major factors limiting regeneration in vehicle damaged areas. Investigation of the impacts of vehicles on South Coast saltmarsh sites revealed that unassisted regeneration may not always be possible, and more active rehabilitation measures may be required in response to vehicle disturbance