National Academies Press: OpenBook

Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data (2001)

Chapter: Elements of the Information System

« Previous: 3 Environmental Information Systems
Suggested Citation:"Elements of the Information System." National Research Council. 2001. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10237.
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Page 31
Suggested Citation:"Elements of the Information System." National Research Council. 2001. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10237.
×
Page 32
Suggested Citation:"Elements of the Information System." National Research Council. 2001. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10237.
×
Page 33
Suggested Citation:"Elements of the Information System." National Research Council. 2001. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10237.
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Page 34

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ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 31 Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow network, WMO Global Atmosphere Watch, Environmental Protection Agency Clear Air Status and Trends Network, USGS National Earthquake Information Service, and Food and Agriculture Organization Current Agricultural Research Information System. a <http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html>. b <http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html>. THE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEM TREE Elements of the Information System As outlined in Chapter 1 the environmental information system tree consists of four parts: roots, trunk, branches, and leaves (see Figure 3.1). Data collection takes place in the roots. Because a wide variety of information is needed to address environmental issues, environmental information trees have many roots, each representing a different instrument or observing system. The organizations collecting these data are distributed around the world and include federal, state, and local government agencies, universities, private-sector companies, nongovernmental organizations, international programs, and volunteer networks (see Box 3.2). Data collection is typically the most expensive part of the information system because it is both labor intensive (particularly the collection of in situ observations) and includes remote-sensing instruments that are expensive to design, deploy, and operate.1 The synthesis of all sources of information gathered by the roots takes place in the trunk of the tree. The primary output of the information system is core products that are generated by (1) assembling the data into one location; (2) validating and cross-checking the data against other sources; and (3) synthesizing the information into products that typically have greater information content than the data from which 1For example, the national stream gauge network operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and its state and local government partners includes about 7,000 stations and costs approximately $89 million per year to operate (USGS, 1998, A New Evaluation of the USGS Streamgaging Network: A Report to Congress, 20 pp). For comparison, Landsat-7 cost $700 million to design, build, launch, and collect data (Will the U.S. bring down the curtain on Landsat? Science, v. 288, p. 2309–2311, 2000).

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 32 FIGURE 3.1 Tree-like structure of environmental information systems. The roots represent data collected by government agencies operating observing systems funded by an individual country (national supplements) and by government agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and research scientists participating in international networks. These observing systems are supplemented in some cases through data purchases from commercial companies (dashed lines). The data are gathered, validated, checked for quality, and synthesized into core products in the trunk by public-sector modeling and analysis centers. Distribution of these core products and the development of specialized value-added products to serve specific user communities is carried out by organizations in both the public and private sectors. Value-added products may be in the public domain (gray branches) or be proprietary (stippled branches). Both distribution avenues serve a wide range of uses (leaves), including research, commercial activities, government operations, and policy making. Users set the requirements for what core products are needed, and hence what data are collected (downward arrows), and the data are transformed into useful information and ultimately knowledge (upward arrows) through the trunk.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 33 they were derived. The archetypal core product is the output of a large computer model that underlies a readily understandable weather map. Another type of core product is exemplified by data derived from a single rain gauge that has been accurately calibrated, fully maintained, not tampered with, and cross- checked against other sources of information to provide confidence in the results. Finally, the archive of products of the information system is itself a core product, oriented toward the anticipated needs of future generations of research scientists and other users. Each information system yields a limited number of core products based primarily on its own root system. Specification of the set of core products is a central management issue for the tree as a whole, because it determines the balance between the needs of users and the cost of meeting those needs. Core products are created on behalf of a wide spectrum of user groups by modeling and analysis centers in research universities, government agencies and, under special circumstances, private-sector companies. Users may make substantial business, scientific, or personal investments on the assumption that the information in a core product will continue to be available. Hence, core products require a long-term commitment and a degree of care and attention that will yield a high degree of reliability and trust by a large group of users. Although core products are useful in some sense to the broader environmental community, each distinct user group needs an add-on to the core products in the form of (1) reprocessing to make the products more accessible to that particular community; (2) combining the core products with other information special to that community; or (3) distribution and/or communication in a convenient manner or format. Every branch on the tree represents a value-added product or service that meets the needs of a distinct group of users. Value-added products and services are provided by government agencies, national data centers, libraries, scientists, and private-sector vendors. For example, weather information is disseminated to the public by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) because of health and safety considerations. However, many farmers prefer to obtain weather information from private-sector vendors (e.g., Kavouras Data Transmission Network), which gather the NOAA data into a single, convenient

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 34 place.2 Scientists may repackage the same government data into weather products to facilitate teaching. The uses of value-added products and services are represented by the leaves of the tree. The range of uses is broad and includes resource extraction, tourism, government operations, and research (see Box 3.3). Indeed, every human being uses some form of environmental information. The requirements for which data are collected are ultimately set by the users, who thus drive the evolution of the information system. BOX 3.2 THE USE OF VOLUNTEER NETWORKS IN ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS Volunteer networks reduce the overall cost of the information system, increase the geographic coverage of reporting stations, and provide opportunities for community education. It is vital that a coherent observing system built upon this type of input provide incentives for participation. In many cases, the incentives may be little more than providing convenient access to the products that are being generated centrally and a sense of belonging to a community that is enriching human kind. This volunteer resource also requires technical support (e.g., a communication system that enables the data to be assembled reliably and inexpensively), training, observations standards, and feedback encouraging good performance, all of which must be provided by those responsible for the trunk. For example, precipitation data are being collected at over 2,500 stations in the U.S. cooperative rainfall network.a Foreign governments are another kind of volunteer in the sense that (1) they are not paid directly by the U.S. government and (2) they make the decision on what observations they are willing to make and contribute to the network. Their incentives for participation are the scientific, operational, and economic benefits that arise from participating in a multi- government data-sharing arrangement. Developing countries have the added benefit of receiving training in developing and operating observing systems, indeed, establishing volunteer networks is an effective mechanism for building science capacity. aT.Karl, Director, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, personal communication, May 14, 2001. 2Briefing to a committee-sponsored workshop by S.Goodman, director of a USGCRP- sponsored pilot project on a National Environmental Change Information System, on December 5, 2000.

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Reliable collections of science-based environmental information are vital for many groups of users and for a number of purposes. For example, electric utility companies predict demand during heat waves, structural engineers design buildings to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes, water managers monitor each winter's snow pack, and farmers plant and harvest crops based on daily weather predictions. Understanding the impact of human activities on climate, water, ecosystems, and species diversity, and assessing how natural systems may respond in the future are becoming increasingly important for public policy decisions.

Environmental information systems gather factual information, transform it into information products, and distribute the products to users. Typical uses of the information require long-term consistency; hence the operation of the information system requires a long-term commitment from an institution, agency, or corporation. The need to keep costs down provides a strong motivation for creating multipurpose information systems that satisfy scientific, commercial and operational requirements, rather than systems that address narrow objectives. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data focuses on such shared systems.

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