Geoinformatics for Paleoscience – Emile-Geay

The future of old things: geoinformatics for better paleoscience

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JulienEmile-Geay
Dr. Julien Emile-Geay    Climate Dynamics Lab   University of Southern California

 

Presentation Slides: JEG_IS-GEO_lecture

Audio: (link in prep) |Video

Learn more about Dr. Emile-Geay’s research at:  http://climdyn.usc.edu/

Presented at: IS-GEO Monthly Telecon | September 2017

 

 

 

Abstract: By some accounts, paleoscientists spend up to 80% of their time trying to access the data they need, in the form they need it. In the 21st century, we should be able to do much better. This talk will review recent progress made by the LinkedEarth project, which relies on data standards and artificial intelligence to enable scientists to spend more time doing the science they want to do. LinkedEarth is manifesting a better future for paleoscience by creating an online platform that (1) enables the curation of a publicly-accessible database by paleoclimate experts themselves, and (2) fosters the development of community standards. In turn, these developments enable cutting-edge data-analytic tools to be built and applied to a wider array of datasets than ever possible before, supporting more rigorous assessments of the magnitude and rates of pre-industrial climate change. We will start by illustrating these principles in the context of the PAGES 2k project, and outline how they may serve the PAGES community as a whole. In particular, we will illustrate how to go from spreadsheets to syntheses (PAGES 2k). We will dwell on community participation in the first paleoclimate data standard. We will present GeoChronR and Pyleoclim, new open-source tools compatible with these standards and enabling cutting-edge paleoscience. We will finish by some remarks on interoperability, enabling cross-talk between scientists within a field, across fields, and between data and models. In our vision of the future, machines serve scientists, not the other way around. Yet, the process needs a lot of human input, and the participation of the PAGES community will be recognized and further encouraged.