^S5,; 7^ ;^o : WORLD DATA CENTER A for i Solar-Terrestrial Physics I PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY FEB 2 3 1991 DOCUMENTS COLLECTION U.S. DepositoryCopy PROCEEDINGS ofthe Workshop on Geophysical Informatics Moscow, August 1 4-1 8, 1 988 January 1991 NATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL DATA CENTER '^'^^'^Mm'i International Council Academy of Sciences of Scientific Unions of the USSR Panel on World Soviet Geophysical Data Centres Committee PROCEEDINGS of the Workshop on Geophysical Informatics - Moscow, August 14 18, 1988 Edited by J.H. Allen V.A. Nechitailenko Moscow 1990 CONTENTS J.H. Allen The World Data Centre System. A Current Avenue for Inter- national Data Exchange 7 J.L.Green The NSSDC Information Systems, Status, and Plans .... 24 E.Friis-Christensen Information Systems at WDC-Cl for Geomagnetism, Copen- hagen 33 MA. Hapgood Database Services at World Data Centre CI for Solar-Terre- strial Physics 39 C.-U. Wagner WDC Some User Experiences and Proposals Concerning In- formation Systems for Solar-Terrestrial Data 44 K.D. Hadeen The National Climatic Data Center Informational Systems and Plans 49 V.I. Smimov, V.E. Korotkov, V.I. Melnikov WDC Bl Information System and Making Data and Informa- tion Available to the USSR 52 VA. Nechitailenko Distributed Information System for Planetary Geo- physics 54 E.V. Andreeva, E.P. Ryzhykh Unification of Describing Data Collections on the Environ- ment Situations in Metadata Catalogues 61 C.C. Abston New/Emerging Technologies for Long-Term Data Center Applications 69 N.E. Papitashvili, V.O. Papitashvili Dynamic Model of the Geospheres in Geophysical Informa- tics and the Approach to the Knowledge Base on Planetary Geophysics 89 G.W. Withee Some Considerations Concerning Data Sets for Global Change 96 R.R. Gamache, B.W. Reinisch Databasing of Scientific Data 102 £. Jahs Compatibility Problems in Computer-to-Computer Com- munications. An Overview on Network Protocols 109 C Mazza Standard Formatted Data Units (SFDU). A Technique for Interchange of Data 124 D.W. Fulker The netCDF. Self-Describing, Portable Files-a Basis for "Plug-Compatible" Software Modules Connectable by Networks 136 C.C. Abston Compatibility Problems: Computer-to-Computer Com- munications and Software Transportability 148 J.L. Green Communications Among Data and Science Centres .... 155 C.C. Abston Communications Among Centers 163 J.L. Green NSSDC Applications for Computer Networking 168 E. Jabs ESA Data and Information Dissemination Services and Techniques. An Overview 176 M. Jones, Ju. Sternberg Communications Betweeen Data Centres: Off-line and On- line Techniques 190 J.L. Green NSSDC Data Holdings: Scope, Complexity, and Future Re- quirements 205 MA. Hapgood Maintenance of Digital and Analogue Databases 216 A.Ya. Feldshtein, K.L. Latyshev, LN. Nesterov, Yu. S. Tyupkin Bank of Geophysical Models 220 . E.Friis-Christensen Considerations Regarding Choice of Data Formats for Archiving and Use of Geomagnetic Data 224 C. Mazza The METEOSAT Archiving and Retrieval System 231 B.V. Danilchev A Prototype Data Base Management System 239 A.V. Betov, EA. Eroshenko, YuS. Tyupkin The prospects of Creation and Usage of Cosmic Rays Data Base 243 J.G. Roederer Toward an IGBP Data and Information System 250 D. Rees A Data Management Plan for the Solar-Terrestrial Energy Programme (1990-1995) 262 B.W. Reinish Ionospheric Informatics Working Group of URSI Com- mission G 275 J.H. King Data Exchange Between WDC-A-R&S and WDC-B2- STP 281 J.H. King Data Finding in a Distributed International Environ- ment 285 M. Jones Cooperation Between Data Centres: Interoperability 290 . . . THE WORLD DATA CENTER SYSTEM. A CURRENT AVENUE FOR INTERNATIONAL DATA EXCHANGE J.H. Allen ICSU Panel on World Data Centres Liaison Sub-committee for IGBP Introduction The World Data Center (WDC) system is a dynamic international network of 27 currently active centers linking data contributors to data users. It has operated for some 30 years under ICSU guidance. The WDCs were created in 1957 as archival centers for geophysical and solar data collected during the International Geophysical Year (IGY). In 1960 ICSU requested that they be continued as a non-governmental mechanism for international data exchange in their respective disci- plines. Overall guidance is provided by the ICSU Panel on World Data Centres, taking account of advice from associated international scien- tific bodies. WDC Principles and responsibilities of operation are published in the GUIDE TO THE WORLD DATA CENTER SYSTEM: PART I, THE WORLD DATA CENTERS (December 1987). The GUIDE also includes historical information about the WDCs, a concise de- scription of each discipline center, information about other inter- WDC national data centers and data exchange networks outside the system, and a brief account of several new major international WDC scientific programs for which services are needed, including GLOBALCHANGE. In 1978 the 17th General Assembly of ICSU recommended that "prior to approving the initiation of new projects in the fields of geo- physics and solar-terrestrial physics, the Executive Board should en- sure that the planning for these projects includes clear provision for data collection, archiving and distribution and that such plans have been developed in consultation with the ICSU Panel on World Data 8 J.H. Allen WDC Centres." From a viewpoint, the International Geosphere-Bio- sphere Program (IGBP), "Global Change", is an especially challeng- ing new scientific program. Much ofit is outside traditional WDC areas of "geophysics and solar-terrestrial physics", yet IGBP emphasises identifying key global data bases and determining decadal and longer- term reference values for its disciplines, clearly tasks which call for organized data management. The ICSU Panel on WDCs has appointed a liaison sub-committee to work with the Special Committee on IGBP in meeting the require- ment for sound data management planning. As Co-Sponsor of this Study Conference and the following Workshop on Geophysical In- formatics, the Panel hopes to inform the IGBP community about the WDC existing system, to identify specific data management roles that may be played by present centers, and to learn whether there are needs and resources for new facilities to be created in order to organize IGBP data management in disciplines not presently within WDC the framework. In these meetings we seek to identify available mechanisms for efficient global exchange of data and information, to anticipate new needs that will develop, and to learn how best to adapt new technology within realistic resource limits to perform the necessary tasks for the global scientific community. The World Data Center System In 1988 Today 27 active centers comprise the operating elements of WDCs A, B and C that together form the World Data Center sys- tem. They are described in detail in the most recent GUIDE and WDC-A are listed below. is a distributed (or "virtual") center lo- cated in the United States and divided along scientific discipline and platform lines into nine (9) different sub-centers. WDC-B is in the Soviet Union and comprises two(2) centers that also span all disci- WDC pline areas for which the system was originally created. Thus, WDCs A and B are known as complete or "complex" centers. WDC- C is distributed among several countries and is divided into CI and C2 sections. WDC-Cl is in Europe (8 centers) and WDC-C2 is in Japan (8 centers). Together all WDCs engage in routine and special exchanges of data and information on film, on magnetic tape and floppy disks, in published or manuscript form, as data maps, and by computer mail, telex and facsimile machine. Lately WDC-A cen- ters have begun to experiment with preparation of data collections on optical discs and other mass storage media for more efficient data exchange, improved user access to data, and more compact