Data Management Meeting

Twenty-five scientists (one or more from each LTER site) attended the annual meeting of LTER Data Managers held August 1-3, 1991 in conjunction with the Ecological Society of America meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Lawson Spivey, Global Change Director for the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS), gave the keynote address, which was followed by extensive discussion on potential collaboration between the SCS and the LTER Network. The rest of the meeting was devoted to assessing ETER Data Management (DM) activities since the 1990 meeting and forming working groups to address specific topics:

Activities/Accomplishments Since 1990 Meeting:

1. LTER Core Data Set Catalog published, with electronic versions (ASCII & WordPerfect) available via FTP
2. DM symposium proposal, “Environmental Information Management and Analysis: Ecosystem to Biosphere Scales,” under NSF review
3. Supplemental proposal to develop an an intersite LTER climate database funded by NSF
4. April 1990 DM work-shop report for Field Stations and Marine Labs in press
5. Collaboration with the Chinese Ecological Research Network (CERN) has been initiated (see pg. 1)
6. Data access policy guidelines completed and sent to all sites
7. GPS proposal funded (see next page)
8. Databits, the DM newsletter continues to serve a critical need
9. SPRINTNET connection added to LTERnet
10. DM history and reference file compiled at the Network Office
11. C-News bulletin board and news software running on LTERnet

1991 Meeting Accomplishments:

• Design characteristics for Interactive Data Access (IDA) systems were outlined, and six steps to support further development were proposed. Other data access mechanisms (including on-line catalogs, data publication, interactive workshops, and education) were discussed.
• A Minimum Site Capability (MSC) working document and site review criteria were developed for review by the LTER sites, to aid new sites in establishing DM systems, assist site reviewers in assessing DM, and potentially influence the availability of DM funding. These documents will be submitted at the North Temperate Lakes LTER Coordinating Committee meeting next February.
• The NSF Science and Technology supplements have enhanced creation of the current LTER technological infrastructure and collaborative research, and have allowed sites to expand the spatial and temporal scale of their research, but that the MSI is dynamic and requires regular updating and continuing support.
• Proposed mechanisms for supplemental funding:
  1. Undertake personnel- and/or computationally-intensive DM projects
  2. Indude refurbishment projects or new facilities as university cost sharing
  3. Encourage sites to achieve MSC
  4. Support acquisition of new technologies which will facilitate intersite research, DM and analysis.
• Proposed future activities (* initiated):
  1. A pilot research/DM project of benefit to the entire LTER Network
  2. *A DM slide presentation
  3. Workshops on new analytical/statistical techniques
  4. Expand Bulletin Board/Email activities
  5. Publish LTER data
  6. *Include non-LTER scientists in 1992 meeting (OBFS, SAML, LMER)
  7. *Collaborate with SCS and CERN
• A working group is preparing a summary report on quality assurance/quality control techniques for ecological data management. They will evaluate electronically gathered data across the Network and develop DM recommendations by conducting a survey and consulting with relevant organizations (e.g., NWS, NOAA, NCAR).