Contemporary Geospatial Data Challenges and the Way Ahead

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Contemporary Geospatial Data Challenges and the
Way Ahead

• or
• How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the
  Matrix

Burgess Howell National Space Science and
Technology Center
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The Matrix

• Geospatial data are critical for timely and
  efficient decision making
• Geospatial data are expensive
• Geospatial data are not efficiently shared
• Lack of access to geospatial data can cause
  project delay, project abandonment, unnecessary
  data reacquisition, and increased cost
• Habit and custom impede change in the status quo

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Client / Server Problems

• Access (I need data.)
• Does the data set exist?
• Where is it?
• Is what I found really what I want?
• How can I get the data?
• Service (I have data.)
• I dont know how to tell you about my data
• Well, I think I have the data
• I dont know where the data are
• I cant move my data to you
• I shouldnt freely share the data

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Administrative Problems

• Description (What is this data set?)
• What do the data describe?
• How were the data collected?
• When were the data collected ?
• How are the data formatted?
• Archive Management (I am DataMan!)
• How can I store these data?
• How can I network my data assets?
• How do I keep records of these data?
• What software can I use to facilitate access,
  description, publication, storage?

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The Problem Summary

• Archive
• Describe
• Publish
• Share
• Discover
• Access
• Manage

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The NSDI Benefits

• Increased access
• Decreased cost
• Improved awareness
• Improved assessment
• Improved planning
• More efficient development
• More efficient utilization of assets
• Increased collaboration
• Better education and research
• Serendipity

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The Decision

• Continue business as usual
• Craft a solution to the problem

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