download as a pdf - Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing ...

Part I. Overview3. Heterogeneous data: Classes of data range from huge satellite track records, to multidimensionalmodel outputs, to Lagrangian drifters, to polygonal geographic regions and pointmeasurements. Variables are from diverse disciplines and are unevenly distributed in time andspace.Though challenging, the technical requirements for DMAC that are imposed by characteristics2 and 3, alone, could be addressed by relatively straightforward software engineering. Solutionsthat do not adequately embrace the loosely federated structure of IOOS, however, cannot succeed.Community building considerations must be central in the design of the DMAC Subsystem.COMMUNITY BUILDINGFor DMAC to succeed it must achieve acceptance and recognition by marine data provider anddata user communities. Only “gentle” (non-coercive) tools of persuasion will be effective withinthe loosely federated structure of IOOS. Individuals working in pursuit of their organization-specificgoals must perceive that participation in DMAC will lead to a net gain toward achieving thosegoals. Thus, the greatest challenges for initial acceptance of DMAC and for subsequent growth inits usage are in the areas of community outreach and organizational behavior (the factors that enablea community to agree upon and use standards) rather than in technology.Organizational challenges exist at both management and technical levels of the system. The leadershipof existing marine organizations and programs must understand that access to the benefitsthat will accrue from IOOS depends upon their willingness to commit their organizations to thedevelopment and use of the DMAC Subsystem. At times this may result in short-term inconveniencesto their organizations. Technical staff involved in the development of information managementsystems will need to ensure that their systems conform to the interoperability standards set byDMAC. This may sometimes entail duplication of software functionality that is available throughin-house systems.INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONIOOS is a component of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). Integrating global datafrom GOOS (i.e., blending U.S. and international observations to produce global data products) isessential for IOOS to be able to generate high-quality assessments and forecasts of U.S. coastal conditions.Producing global assessments of coastal ecosystem health and sea level change effects, forexample, will also require that IOOS observations and data products be fully integrated into GOOSalong with other national and international ocean observing system efforts. These requirements fordata integration must be reflected in a very high level of coordination between U.S. DMAC activitiesand related international data management and communications activities.18