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Data for Environmental Modeling (D4EM): Background and Applications of Data Automation
Citation:
WOLFE, K. L., R. S. PARMAR, G. F. LANIAK, A. B. Parks, L. Wilson, J. E. Brandmeyer, D. P. Ames, AND M. H. Gray. Data for Environmental Modeling (D4EM): Background and Applications of Data Automation . Presented at EPA Science Forum, Washington, DC, May 20 - 22, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
While this project was initially undertaken to meet the data requirements for two US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) modeling systems, i.e. 3MRA (Multimedia, Multi-pathway, Multi-receptor Risk Assessment) and the BASINS (Better Assessment Science Integrating point and Non-point Sources), its component-based architecture allows it to be integrated into other modeling applications.
Description:
The Data for Environmental Modeling (D4EM) project demonstrates the development of a comprehensive set of open source software tools that overcome obstacles to accessing data needed by automating the process of populating model input data sets with environmental data available from distributed data sources. Among the obstacles still remaining are: locating sources of data, querying the data sources, understanding various access protocols, and converting data from native to model specific formats. Data management and geoprocessing components included in D4EM allow for complex data transformations. Geoprocessing operations are implemented through linkages with open source GIS software.