ITR -- Polar Satellite Remote Sensing: Toward Full On-Line Access and Education

该项目是由信息技术研究(ITR)计划资助的，该计划支持多学科领域的研究和教育，重点是信息技术和其他学科之间的接口上出现的机会。该计划寻求研究和教育方面的创新项目，以阐明、扩展和利用信息技术。斯克里普斯海洋研究所的北极和南极研究中心一直是极地卫星遥感数据和相关服务的重要来源。它从南极洲麦克默多和帕尔默站由NSF支持的卫星跟踪设施以及美国海岸警卫队破冰船在高纬度作业时接收直接广播遥测。AARC向极地研究人员和探险规划者提供专门的数据分发和指导，包括实时数据访问、用于研究巡航支持的近乎实时的海冰测绘、支持研究项目的定制数据处理以及在极地地区使用卫星遥感数据的内部培训。AARC作为一个为极地研究人员提供定制支持的“区域”数据中心，有三重业务任务：(1)向用户免费及时提供卫星数据；(2)提供培训，介绍来自所有学科的大量极地研究人员使用遥感数据；(3)开发低成本方法，克服卫星数据获取方面的实际“障碍”。该项目将消除卫星数据获取方面剩下的两个重大障碍：基于磁带的档案和检索所需图像的手动系统。首先，将开发一个服务器系统，以三种适当的格式(原始二进制遥测、HDF-EOS和高分辨率JPEG图像)在线维护最近一年的卫星数据，并完全接入互联网。大多数AARC用户请求前12个月的数据，因此这是档案的适当子集。该体系结构将是可扩展的，最终允许在线访问整个档案。第二，将开发一个全面的在线教育课程，讨论遥感在极地研究和考察工作中的所有重要方面和应用。目标是研究人员应该能够登录AARC的网站，详细了解数据，然后使用易于导航的搜索工具以易于使用的格式选择和下载所需的数据。该项目涉及为地球物理科学高级别在线获取遥感数据的研究，可作为需要向更广泛的研究或教育界提供卫星遥感数据的其他机构或合作方案的模式。

This project was funded under the Information Technology Research (ITR) program, which enables research and education in multidisciplinary areas, focusing on emerging opportunities at the interfaces between information technology and other disciplines. The program seeks innovative projects in research and education that elucidate, expand and exploit information technology. The Arctic and Antarctic Research Center (AARC) at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography has been an important source of polar satellite remote sensing data and related services. It receives direct-broadcast telemetry from NSF-supported satellite tracking facilities at McMurdo and Palmer Stations in Antarctica, and from the U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers when these ships are operating at high latitudes. The AARC provides specialized data distribution and instruction to polar researchers and expedition planners, including real time data access, near-real time sea ice mapping for research cruise support, customized data processing in support of research projects, and in-house training in the use of satellite remote sensing data over the polar regions. The AARC, as a "regional" data center providing customized support for polar researchers, has a threefold operating mandate: (1) to provide satellite data in a timely manner at no cost to the user, (2) to provide training that introduces a great many polar researchers from all disciplines in the use of remote sensing data, and (3) to develop low-cost ways to overcome the practical "barriers" to satellite data access. This project will remove two remaining significant barriers to satellite data access: a tape based archive, and a manual system of retrieving requested images. First, a server system that maintains the most recent year of satellite data on-line in three appropriate formats (raw binary telemetry, HDF-EOS, and high resolution JPEG imagery), with full internet access, will be developed. Most AARC users request data from the preceding 12 months, so this is an appropriate subset of the archive with which to begin. The architecture will be scalable to eventually allow on-line access to the entire archive. Second, a comprehensive on-line educational curriculum will be developed that discusses all important aspects and applications of remote sensing to polar research and expeditionary work. The goal is that a researcher should be able to log onto the AARC's web site, learn in great detail about the data, and then select and download the required data in a readily usable format using an easily navigable search facility. This project involves research into high level on-line access to remote sensing data for the geophysical sciences, and can serve as a model for other institutions or collaborative programs that need to make satellite remote sensing data available to a broader research or educational community.