EarthCube RCN IS-GEO: Intelligent Systems Research to Support Geosciences

该项目将促进计算机科学家和地球科学家之间的合作，从而促进这两个领域的研究。地球科学问题很复杂，通常涉及跨越空间和时间变化的数据。地球科学知识和理解常常为能源、水、气候、农业、矿产资源等问题提供有价值的信息和洞察力，以及我们对地球如何随时间演变的理解。与此同时，如果没有计算支持和创新的帮助，地球科学中的许多重大挑战都无法解决。计算机科学中的智能和信息系统(IS)研究包括广泛的主题和计算方法，如知识表示、信息集成、机器学习、机器人学、自适应传感器和智能接口。在加快地球科学科学发现的速度，从而解决无法通过其他手段解决的挑战方面，研究可以发挥重要作用。同样，地球科学(GEO)研究的许多方面也给IS研究人员提出了新的大规模问题，以改进和验证他们的方法。地球科学智能系统(IS-GEO)代表了一个新兴的跨学科研究社区，为理解地球系统以及IS技术的应用如何培育这两个领域的关键新发展提供了基本的新能力。地球立方体地球科学智能系统研究协调网络(IS-GEO RCN)将促进合作，通过智能和信息系统在基础地球科学问题上的创新应用，促进我们对地球系统的理解。IS-GEO RCN的目标是利用专门知识，并在地球科学界和计算科学界之间产生互动，以提供先进的科学能力。为了建立该网络，全球地球观测组织区域信息网将主办下列会议和其他活动：(1)在地球观测组织和国际地球科学信息系统领域建立一个活跃和基础广泛的社区；(2)找出研究方面的障碍，如所涉学科之间的术语差异，并突出阻碍跨学科合作的知识差距；(3)建立和加强地球观测组织和地球科学信息系统研究人员之间的沟通渠道；(4)确定地球科学中非常适合信息系统技术的重大挑战；以及(5)鼓励强有力的长期合作。此外，教育部分旨在确定在这一新的跨学科领域教授学生的新方法，努力培养能够更好地应用信息系统方法和工具应对未来地球科学挑战的新一代科学家。通过为信息系统和地球观测组织的研究人员提供合作的渠道，信息系统-地球观测组织区域网络将既是一个联络点，也是为新生的研究和实践社区提供跨学科教育推广的一个渠道。最初的工作重点是以帮助研究人员了解可以从IS-GEO合作中受益的机会和挑战的方式将社区联系起来。地球科学数据的不确定性、异质性和不同性质，加上最近的IS进展和观测数据的增加，为通过共同努力采取新的方法和发现提供了独特的机会。IS-GEO RCN将启动这一新兴领域的跨学科研究合作，从而加快这两个学科的进展。

This project will foster collaborations between computer scientists and geoscientists that will advance research in both areas. Geoscience problems are complex and often involve data that changes across space and time. Frequently geoscience knowledge and understanding provides valuable information and insight for problems related to energy, water, climate, agriculture, mineral resources, and our understanding of how the Earth evolves through time. Simultaneously, many grand challenges in the geosciences cannot be addressed without the aid of computational support and innovations. Intelligent and Information Systems (IS) research in computer science includes a broad range of topics and computational methods such as knowledge representation, information integration, machine learning, robotics, adaptive sensors, and intelligent interfaces. IS research has an important role to play in accelerating the speed of scientific discovery in geosciences and thus in solving challenges that cannot be addressed by other means. Similarly, many aspects of Geosciences (GEO) research pose novel large-scale problems for IS researchers to improve and validate their methods. Intelligent Systems for Geosciences (IS-GEO) represent an emerging community of interdisciplinary researchers producing fundamental new capabilities for understanding Earth systems and how the application of IS technologies can cultivate key new developments in both fields.The EarthCube Research Coordination Network for Intelligent Systems for Geosciences (IS-GEO RCN) will catalyze collaborations to enable advances in our understanding of Earth systems through innovative applications of intelligent and information systems to fundamental geosciences problems. The goal of the IS-GEO RCN is to leverage expertise and generate interactions between both the geosciences and computing sciences communities to provide advanced scientific capabilities. To enable the network, the IS-GEO RCN will host meetings and other activities that: (1) foster an active and broad-based community across GEO and IIS areas; (2) identify barriers to research, such as terminology differences among the disciplines involved and highlight knowledge gaps that hinder collaboration across the disciplines; (3) establish and enhance communication channels between GEO and IS researchers; (4) defining grand challenges in geosciences that are well suited to IS techniques; and (5) encourage robust, long-term collaborations. Furthermore, the educational component aims to identify new approaches to teaching students in this new interdisciplinary area, seeking to raise a new generation of scientists that are better able to apply IS methods and tools to geoscience challenges of the future. By providing avenues for IS and GEO researchers to work together the IS-GEO RCN will serve as both a point of contact, as well as an avenue for educational outreach across the disciplines for the nascent community of research and practice. The initial efforts are focused on connecting the communities in ways that help researchers understand opportunities and challenges that can benefit from IS-GEO collaborations. The uncertain, heterogeneous and disparate nature of geoscience data paired with recent IS advances and increases in observational data offer unique opportunities for new approaches and discoveries through joint efforts. The IS-GEO RCN will jumpstart interdisciplinary research collaborations in this emerging new area so that progress across both disciplines can be accelerated.