COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A TRANSPARENT-MIDDLE-LAYER COMPUTATIONAL AND DATA MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYNOPTIC APPLICATIONS OF COSMOGENIC-NUCLIDE GEOCHEMISTRY

该项目将开发计算和数据管理知识和基础设施，以实现宇宙生成核素地球化学的全球规模应用。宇宙生成核素地球化学是一种地质测年方法，广泛用于研究地球表面活跃的地质过程，包括冰川和冰盖变化、侵蚀和沉积、构造变形以及地震的大小和频率。宇宙生成核素地球化学并不直接测量矿床的年龄，而是依赖于随时间变化的岩石和沉积物的地球化学性质，因此与年龄有一定的关系。将地球化学测量结果解释为一个精确的、对地质有用的年龄，需要一系列的计算和相关数据，这些数据本身就是积极研究的主题。因此，对不同地点或不同时间收集的数据进行任何综合，都需要使用不断改进的方法，根据不断增长的原始地球化学观测数据集不断重新计算年龄。该项目的重点是开发一个网络基础设施系统，使计算自动化，并使其对对大型数据集分析感兴趣的用户透明，并培训地球科学研究人员和学生如何使用该系统。总的来说，目标是提高地球科学研究人员使用地质年代学数据研究地球表面过程的能力。该项目将开发一个透明的中级计算基础设施，用于宇宙核素地质年代学，其基础是在试验应用中取得成功的原型。该资源将自动化中级计算，允许持续同化数据和改进计算方法，并允许用户专注于大规模数据分析。本研究将涉及：1。现有原型的扩展和专业化；支持涉及大型数据集分析或可视化的新研究和教育应用；和3。研究人员和学生的参与和培训旨在将透明的中级概念和基础设施嵌入研究工作流程。总的来说，目标是建立计算基础设施，以及有能力和动力使用它的研究人员社区，这是将该领域从单一的、特定地点的调查转向快速增长的数据集的区域和全球综合所必需的。此外，本项目的要素侧重于将地球科学研究与教育相结合，包括：1。用户作为共同开发者的参与和项目指导策略；2 .将概括性分析和数据可视化纳入本科教学资源的策略；一个训练地球科学研究人员和学生计算和地理空间技能的项目。将网络基础设施发展整合到本科和研究生地球科学教育中，将建立一个由学生和研究人员组成的社区，他们将为在地球科学和其他领域取得成功做好更好的准备，并建立将小规模实地研究与更广泛的区域或全球规模的类似观测数据集联系起来的能力。该项目的创新方面可能为通过地球科学其他领域的网络基础设施发展进行科学调查提供模式。该项目由地球科学部的地理信息学、地貌学和土地利用动力学项目以及极地项目办公室共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will develop computational and data management knowledge and infrastructure to enable global-scale applications of cosmogenic-nuclide geochemistry. Cosmogenic-nuclide geochemistry is a geologic dating method that is widely used to study geologic processes active at the Earth's surface, including, for example, glacier and ice sheet change, erosion and sedimentation, tectonic deformation, and earthquake size and frequency. Cosmogenic-nuclide geochemistry does not directly measure the age of a deposit, but instead relies on geochemical properties of rocks and sediments that change over time and thus have some relation to age. Interpreting the geochemical measurements as a precise, geologically-useful age requires a series of calculations and associated data, which themselves are the subjects of active research. Thus, any synthesis of data collected in different places or at different times requires constant recalculation of ages from a growing data set of raw geochemical observations, using a continually improving method. This project focuses on developing a cyberinfrastructure system that automates calculations and makes them transparent to users interested in analysis of large data sets, and training Earth science researchers and students in how to use the system. Overall, the goal is to improve the ability of Earth science researchers to use geochronological data to study Earth surface processes.The project will develop a transparent middle-level computational infrastructure for cosmogenic-nuclide geochronology, based on a prototype that has been successful in trial applications. The resource will automate middle-level calculations, allow continual assimilation of data and improvement of calculation methods, and allow users to focus on large-scale data analysis. This research will involve: 1. expansion and professionalization of the existing prototype, 2. support for new research and education applications that involve analysis or visualization of large data sets; and 3. engagement and training of researchers and students aimed at embedding transparent middle-level concepts and infrastructure into research workflows. Overall, the aim is to build the computational infrastructure, and the community of researchers who are able and motivated to use it, that is necessary to move the field from single, site-specific investigations toward regional and global syntheses of rapidly growing data sets. In addition, elements of this project focus on integrating Earth science research and education, including: 1. a users-as-co-developers strategy for engagement and project guidance, 2. a strategy of incorporating synoptic analysis and data visualization into undergraduate teaching resources, and 3. a program of training Earth science researchers and students in computational and geospatial skills. Integrating cyberinfrastructure development into undergraduate and graduate Earth science education will build a community of students and researchers who are better prepared to succeed in both Earth science and other fields, as well as building the capability to link small-scale field research to the broader regional- or global-scale data set of similar observations. Innovative aspects of this project may provide models for enabling scientific investigation through cyberinfrastructure development in other areas of Earth science.This project is jointly funded by the Geoinformatics and the Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics programs in the Division of Earth Sciences, as well as the Office of Polar Programs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.