Infrastructure to Develop a Human-Environment Regional Observatory (HERO) Network

全球环境变化本质上是一个人类问题。 它是当地发生的无数人类行为的结果。 与此同时，人们在当地经历并应对全球环境变化。 对这些事实的认识导致了致力于研究全球环境变化中人类因素对地方和区域影响的研究中心和研究地点的激增。 然而，这些中心正在和将要产生的本地数据往往是特定于地方的，难以复制和推广。 数据中的这一弱点直接源于科学基础设施的不发达。 没有用于收集、报告、分析、存储和共享数据的通用协议。 没有数据标准，如果数据要成为持久的资源，这是必要的。 此外，如果HDGEC科学家能够利用智能数据检索和分析以及远程协作方面正在取得的技术进步，他们必须协调研究工作，使数据适用于这些技术。 为了解决这些问题，该奖项将支持一个项目，以发展基础设施，研究HDGEC在小区域和地方规模的长期影响。 为实现这一目标，该五年期项目将通过实施四项核心活动促进基础设施发展。 首先，它将制定观察、收集、报告、存储和共享数据的协议。 第二，它将建立一个智能网络环境，用于数据管理、基于网络的访问和GeoCollaboratory，这将有助于将数据与研究问题相匹配，并将促进远程站点的科学家之间的合作。 第三，它将通过将协议和智能网络环境应用于本地HDGEC研究问题来验证概念。 第四，它将通过这个基础设施连接美国地区和地方HDGEC研究站点来建立网络。 将在四个人类-环境区域观测站制定议定书。 HERO位于西南-墨西哥边境地区、堪萨斯高平原、宾夕法尼亚州中部和马萨诸塞州中部，代表了一系列不同的自然和人类环境。 亚利桑那大学、堪萨斯州立大学、宾夕法尼亚州立大学和克拉克大学的科学家将通过解决广泛的人类环境问题来解决基础设施发展问题，但要在当地的背景下。 宾夕法尼亚州立大学的地理可视化科学技术和应用中心将与美国地质调查局国家绘图司合作开发HERO智能联网环境。 HEROINE将强调地理空间数据、人与环境相互作用的科学研究以及分布式数据库的快速开发。 为了开发GeoCollaboratory，HEROINE将开发用于数据检索和协作查询规范的工具，支持定量和定性数据联合探索的地理可视化（GVis）方法，以及整合GVis和地理计算方法（如空间统计，数据挖掘或过程模型）的方法。 HERO和HEROINE开发的基础设施将通过HERO之间的迭代协作进行测试和改进。四个HERO将解决一个研究问题，以测试概念的证明：土地利用如何影响当地对气候变化的敏感性和对气候变化的脆弱性？ 该项目旨在通过发展区域和地方HDGEC中心网络来促进基础设施的采用。 网络建设的特点是，举行了两次HDGEC区域调查员公开会议，并建立了一个高级网站。 该项目将为科学和社会产生重要的产品。 协议和数据标准将产生一个模板（元协议），用于汇集各种数据，供其他大型跨学科项目使用。 智能网络环境将作为一个原型，将科学家聚集在一起，解决复杂的跨学科问题。 此外，该项目还将为整个21世纪人类科学和政策研究的首要主题-"可持续性过渡"作出贡献。“它将保存关于人类与环境关系的宝贵科学数据，从而维护我们的历史和自然遗产。 它将回答有关个人、社区及其环境在时间和空间上的复杂关系的关键问题，并将提供一种技术手段，将科学家、利益攸关方和决策者聚集在一起，解决联系自然和社会的根本问题。

Global environmental change is essentially a human problem. It results from myriad human actions occurring in local places. At the same time, people experience and respond to global environmental changes in localities. Recognition of these facts have led to a proliferation of research centers and sites dedicated to studying the local and regional implications of the human dimensions of global environmental change (HDGEC). The local data that are and will be generated by these centers, however, tend to be place-specific and are difficult to replicate and generalize. This weakness in the data stems directly from a poorly developed scientific infrastructure. There are no common protocols for collecting, reporting, analyzing, storing, and sharing the data. There are no data standards, which are necessary if the data are to be a lasting resource. Moreover, if HDGEC scientists are to be able to take advantage of the technological advances that are being made in intelligent data retrieval and analysis and in remote collaboration, they must coordinate research efforts to make the data amenable to these techniques. To address these problems, this award will support a project to develop infrastructure for studying the long-term implications of HDGEC at small regional and local scales. To meet this goal, the five-year project will promote infrastructure development by implementing four core activities. First, it will develop protocols for observing, collecting, reporting, storing, and sharing data. Second, it will build an intelligent networking environment for data management, Web-based access, and GeoCollaboratory that will help match data with research problems and will facilitate collaboration among scientists at remote sites. Third, it will test proof of concept by applying the protocols and intelligent networking environment to local HDGEC research problems. Fourth, it will build networks by linking the US regional and local HDGEC research sites through this infrastructure. Protocol development will be carried out at four human-environment regional observatories (HEROs). The HEROs, which are located in the Southwest-Mexico border region, the High Plains of Kansas, central Pennsylvania, and central Massachusetts, represent a diverse set of natural and human environments. University of Arizona, Kansas State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Clark University scientists will approach infrastructural development by tackling a broad human-environment problem, but in the local context. The Geographic Visualization Science Technology and Applications Center (GeoVISTA) at Penn State will work with the National Mapping Division of the United States Geological Survey to develop the HERO intelligent networking environment (HEROINE). HEROINE will emphasize geospatial data, scientific research in human-environment interaction, and rapid development of distributed databases. To develop the a GeoCollaboratory, HEROINE will develop tools for data retrieval and collaborative query specification, geographic visualization (GVis) methods to support joint exploration of quantitative and qualitative data, and ways to integrate GVis and geocomputational methods, such as spatial statistics, data mining, or process models. The infrastructure developed by the HEROs and HEROINE will be tested and refined through iterative collaboration among the HEROs. The four HEROs will address one research question to test proof of concept: How does land use affect local sensitivity to climate variation and vulnerability to climate change? The project aims to promote adoption of the infrastructure by developing a network of regional and local HDGEC centers. Two open meetings of regional HDGEC investigators and an advanced Web-site are features of the network building. This project will generate significant products for science and society. The protocols and data standards will produce a template (meta-protocols) for assembling diverse data for use by other large-scale, interdisciplinary projects. The intelligent networking environment will serve as an archetype for bringing scientists together to solve complex interdisciplinary problems. In addition, the project will contribute to the overarching theme of human science and policy research throughout the 21st century -- the "sustainability transition." It will preserve precious scientific data on human-environment relationships, thereby sustaining our historical and natural heritages. It will answer critical questions about the complex relationships among individuals, communities, and their environments over time and space, and it will provide a technological means to bring scientists, stakeholders, and decision-makers together to address fundamental issues linking nature and society.