Technology trends in distributed data access and visualization

As computational power increases, and observation systems sample the environment more densely in space and time, environmental datasets have become increasingly large and more complex. Furthermore, environmental datasets, both observed data and model outputs, are geographically distributed across heterogeneous computing platforms. Our ability to understand these large, complex, distributed data sets depends upon the development of new methodologies for accessing and integrating the data sets with visualization and analysis technologies.

Emerging technologies in fast networks, distributed data access, data visualization and collaboration illuminate the trends we may follow in our pursuit of improved availability and understanding of environmental data sets and model outputs. Our experience with technologies emerging today validates the potential of these trends in technology. (Examples will be given and/or demonstrated.) Just as the emergence of the web rivals the impact of TV, telephone or radio on information dissemination, so does the development of high speed networks, advanced visualization and collaboration technologies have a similar impact on the way research science is conducted, and ommunicated.