Geoinformatics: Collaborative Research: Neotoma Paleoecology Database, Pliocene-Quaternary

Neotoma是一个多代理关系数据库，包括过去500万年（上新世和第四纪）的化石数据。它是一个社区数据库，为各种学科数据库项目提供基础网络基础设施。Neotoma项目是来自23个机构的个人之间的国际合作努力，包括代表上新世-第四纪化石数据类型的领域科学家以及信息技术（IT）专家。 该项目建立在Neotoma数据库的初步开发基础上，该数据库于2008年由NSF地理信息学计划提供为期两年的资助。Neotoma由代表上新世和第四纪广泛化石群的领域科学家与数据库托管地宾夕法尼亚州立大学环境信息学中心（CEI）的信息技术（IT）专业人员组成。2009年1月31日至2月2日，在华盛顿的国家科学院举办了一次研讨会，以规划Neotoma的未来发展。该项目是DC研讨会的成果，在为期2年的开发项目中，Neotoma的数据库结构是通过从FAUNMAP数据库导入脊椎动物区系数据和从全球花粉数据库导入花粉数据来设计和实现的。北美植物宏化石数据库已更新，数据现已准备好输入。在下一阶段（本项目），来自北美、欧洲、非洲和亚洲的几个新的成员数据库合作社将加入Neotoma，并将吸收几种新的数据类型，包括硅藻、介形虫、昆虫和有遗嘱的变形虫。 Neotoma将通过应用程序编程接口（API）和软件开发工具包（SDK）向外部开发人员开放，桌面和基于网络浏览器的应用程序都可以通过互联网从Neotoma获取数据。将开发数据管理工具，使管理员能够远程上传和更新数据。 该项目为各种数据库活动设立了工作组，包括开发软件工具，开发年龄模型，整合不同数据库中的各种来自packrat贝冢的化石类型，以及组织一个新的泥炭地成分数据库。将举办两个数据库范围的讲习班，以促进协调、规划和概念发展。

Neotoma is a multiproxy relational database that includes fossil data for the past 5 million years (the Pliocene and Quaternary). It is a community database that provides the underlying cyberinfrastructure for a variety of disciplinary database projects. The Neotoma project is an international collaborative effort among individuals from 23 institutions, including domain scientists representing a spectrum of Pliocene-Quaternary fossil data types, as well as experts in information technology (IT). This project builds on the initial development of the Neotoma database, which was funded in 2008 with a 2-year grant from the NSF Geoinformatics program. Neotoma involves domain scientists representing a wide spectrum of fossil groups from the Pliocene and Quaternary teamed with information technology (IT) professionals from the Center for Environmental Informatics (CEI) at Penn State, where the database is hosted. A workshop was held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington DC on 31 January-2 February 2009 to plan for the future development of Neotoma. This project is the outgrowth of the DC workshop.During a 2-year development project, the database structure of Neotoma was designed and implemented with the import of vertebrate faunal data from the FAUNMAP database and pollen data from the Global Pollen Database. The North American Plant Macrofossil Database was updated, and data are now ready for import. The Neotoma website was launched, and the Neotoma explorer provides a map-based interface to the data.During the next phase ( this project) several new constituent database cooperatives from North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia will join with Neotoma, and several new data types will be ingested, including diatoms, ostracodes, insects, and testate amoebae. Neotoma will be exposed to outside developers via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and a Software Development Kit (SDK), whereby both desktop and webbrowser- based applications can acquire data from Neotoma over the Internet. Data-steward tools will be developed that will allow stewards to upload and update data remotely. This project establishes working groups for various database activities, including development of software tools, development of age models, integration of various fossil types from packrat middens held in different databases, and organization of a new peatlands constituent database. Two database-wide workshops will be held for coordination, planning, and conceptual development.