EarthCube Building Blocks: A Broker Framework for Next Generation Geoscience (BCube)

地球科学的重大挑战要求跨越传统的学科界限。科学家们被要求寻找、访问和使用用语义描述的各种海量数据类型。BCube项目汇集了一支由地球科学家、网络基础设施专家和社会科学家组成的强大团队，通过在发现、访问、语义、网络爬行、工作流和增强用户服务方面使用成熟的中介框架来应对互操作性挑战。前三个已经被探索用于地球科学，并且已经足够成熟，足以在试验台环境中提供地球科学家的短期参与。爬行，工作流程和服务将在该项目期间开发。来自水文、海洋、极地、天气等领域的地球科学家(包括早期职业科学家)将在日益复杂的一系列用户场景中汇编社区需求并评估经纪人能力。为了解决文化障碍，BCube将社会科学和教育纳入项目团队。BCube使用了五个主要的存储库(DataOne、OOI、USGS、NCAR/Ral、NSIDC)来测试和演示与Broker框架的互连，并在第二年扩展到国际存储库。Broker发现和访问模块具有两个重要而独特的特征：构建互操作性的设计，而不会给用户或提供商带来负担；以及接口的Web爬行能力，以发现新的数据、模型和服务。随着经纪商将语义和工作流等领域的网络基础设施研究转化为面向用户的跨学科地学研究能力，新的能力也随之而来。Anagile开发流程将支持快速适应不断变化的用户需求。由于预计不会有更高的需求，该经纪人还将为科学家提供API，以便为他们自己的应用程序编写模块。BCube将研究跨学科研究中的文化问题，以提高对经纪人的接受和使用。技术和文化经纪人属性都将通过从个别地球科学研究问题开始并转移到更复杂的跨学科研究的用户情景进行演练。这将为随着经纪人框架的发展和成熟而制定指标、监测和验证进展情况提供参考案例。为了应对社会面临的重大挑战，地球科学家需要一个可持续和可演变的网络基础设施，以强大的互操作性支持跨学科研究。成功地解决了这个项目吗？S将在六个不同的领域展示这一点，并在更广泛的地球科学中产生进步。Web2.0的经纪人模块将支持众包和公民科学的使用。BCube？S的教育分析和早期职业科学家将考虑接触新一代的最佳方式。将通过与BCube？S国际存储库合作伙伴和国际研究数据联盟的一个特殊兴趣小组的合作，展示向国际数据访问的扩展。

The grand challenges of geoscience require working across traditional disciplinaryboundaries. Scientists are being called upon to find, access, and use diverse and voluminousdata types that are described with semantics. The BCube project has put together a strongteam of geoscientists, cyberinfrastructure experts and social scientists to address theseinteroperability challenges using a maturing Brokering Framework for discovery, access, semantics,web crawling, workflows and enhanced user services. The first three have been explored forgeoscience and are mature enough to provide near term engagement of geoscientists in a testbed environment. Crawling, workflow and services will be developed during the project. Thegeoscientists, (including early career scientists) from the domains of hydrology, oceans, polar, weather, will compile community needs and assess broker capabilities in an increasing complex series of user scenarios.To address the cultural barriers, BCube includes social science and education in the project team. BCube engages five majorrepositories (DataOne, OOI, USGS, NCAR/RAL, NSIDC) to test and demonstrate interconnectionswith the Broker Framework, with extension to international repositories in the second year.The broker discovery and access modules have two important and unique characteristics: a designthat builds interoperability without putting a burden upon either users or providers and aninterfaced web crawling capability to find new data, models and services. New capabilitiesalso come as the Broker translates cyberinfrastructure research in areas such as semanticsand workflow into a user-oriented capability for cross-discipline geoscience research. Anagile development process will support rapid adaptations to changing user needs. Since notall needs can be anticipated, the Broker will also have APIs for scientists to write modulesfor their own applications. BCube will look at the cultural issues in cross-discipline researchto improve acceptance and use of the broker. Both the technical and cultural broker attributeswill be exercised through user scenarios that start with individual geoscience research issuesand move to more complex cross-discipline research studies. This will develop reference casesfor metrics, monitoring and validating progress as the Broker Framework evolves and matures.To address the grand challenges facing society, geoscientists need a sustainable and evolvablecyberinfrastructure supporting cross-discipline research with powerful interoperability. Successin addressing the project?s six diverse domains will demonstrate this and engender advancementsin the broader geosciences. The Broker module for web 2.0 will support use of crowd sourcingand citizen science. BCube?s education analyses and early career scientists will considerthe best way to reach a new generation. Expansion to international data access will be demonstratedthrough collaboration with the BCube?s international repository partners and a special interestgroup of the international Research Data Alliance.