A Sustainable Plan for the Future of the Generic Mapping Tools

通用测绘工具（GMT）是用于地球、海洋和行星地球科学的开源软件基础设施。GMT支持其他软件平台，并提供数据处理和可视化（图形、图表、地图），促进新发现及其向社会传播。该项目的主要目标是将GMT转变为一个包含更广泛和更多样化的开发人员社区的治理结构。该项目将(1)招募和培训新的和多样化的开发人员，(2)建立一个广泛和可持续的开发人员社区，(3)现代化，简化和加强GMT软件。前两项任务是重要的社交活动，而最后一项任务是技术性的，涉及代码加固、互操作性改进、接口现代化、文档完成和数据升级。该项目将提供尖端计算软件开发和数据分析方面的培训，同时让本科生参与与GMT项目相关的具有科学挑战性的任务。该项目还将促进正在进行的用户培训和开发人员讲习班。该项目基于对GMT未来的愿景，包括未来十年治理、通信、开发人员招聘和培训将如何发展。该项目将设计和实施GMT维护和管理的可持续模式，并执行一系列必要的技术改进。这些改进将解决a)自动化测试和结果验证，b)以其他语言（Python， MATLAB, Julia）开发支持GMT的软件库，以及c)招聘新的热情开发人员，以便GMT可以在不断变化的计算环境中继续维护和发展。此外，海岸线地图等GMT产品将使用现代高分辨率数据以及如何产生更新的技术文档进行修订。最后，该项目将把GMT推进到一个可持续的环境中，从而降低维护成本，增强对GMT产品的信心，并使用户和开发人员社区更加活跃。本项目由地球科学部地理信息学项目和海洋科学部海洋地质与地球物理项目共同资助。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。

The Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) is open source software infrastructure used in the Earth, ocean, and planetary geosciences. GMT supports other software platforms and delivers data processing and visualizations (graphs, charts, maps) that promote new discoveries and their dissemination to society. The primary goal of this project is to transition GMT to a governance structure that includes a broader and more diverse community of developers. This project will (1) recruit and train new and diverse developers, (2) build a broad and sustainable developer community, and (3) modernize, simplify, and strengthen the GMT software. The first two tasks are critical social activities while the last is technical, involving code hardening, interoperability improvements, interface modernization, documentation completion, and data upgrades. This project will provide training in cutting-edge computational software development and data analysis, along with engaging undergraduate students in scientifically challenging tasks related to the GMT project. The project will also facilitate ongoing user training and developer workshops. This project is based on a vision for the future of GMT that incorporates how governance, communications, developer recruitment and training will evolve in the next decade. The project will design and implement a sustainable model for GMT maintenance and curation, and execute a series of essential technical improvements. These improvements will address a) automated testing and verification of results, b) development of GMT-powered software libraries in other languages (Python, MATLAB, Julia) and c) the recruitment of new and enthusiastic developers so that GMT may continue to be maintained and evolve in a changing computational landscape. In addition, GMT products such as coastline maps will be revised with modern high-resolution data as well as technical documentation of how updates are produced. Finally, this project will advance GMT to a sustainable environment that results in lower maintenance, greater confidence in GMT products, and a more engaged community of users and developers.This project is jointly funded by the Geoinformatics program in the Division of Earth Sciences and the Marine Geology and Geophysics program in the Division of Ocean Sciences.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.