WHAT IS PALEOSTRAT?

 

PaleoStrat is a community digital information system that provides a unique and dynamic working environment for geoscience researchers within a secure working space for individual users and projects. It includes mechanisms for the input, searching, output and synthesis of these data, and open access to public data.

 

The PaleoStrat database is designed to include all relevant data and metadata types for stratigraphic-based data derived from stratigraphic sections, drill holes, field, and laboratory studies, including:

 

#          Physical Stratigraphy

#          Biostratigraphy

#          Sequence & Cyclostratigraphy

#          Lithology

#          Biofacies

#          Lithofacies

#          Petrology/Petrography

#          Geochemistry

#          Geochronology

#          Paleontology

#          Taxonomy

 

No other such comprehensive, integrated data system exists for stratigraphic-based data, and the challenges for design, implementation, maintenance, and migration are immense but PaleoStrat is committed to continue to grow and refine the system through interaction and collaboration with the user community and other geoinformatics sites.

 

PALEOSTRAT’S VISION

 

PaleoStrat must provide:

 

#          Mechanisms to capture the full geologic context of stratigraphically-based data,

#          A database that can accommodate all relevant data and metadata types,

#          User-friendly ways for data input, 

#          A secure area for users and projects to store unpublished data,

#          Searching: simple, but powerful ways for the user to find the information they need, and

#          Access to the tools necessary to analyze and assess data.

 

Why Paleostrat?:

 

#          Data integrity, completeness, reliability

#          Reproducible results – the cornerstone of science

#          Publication – permanent link to a cited data set

#          Research funding – improves fundability of next individual proposal

#          Research initiatives – community groups & facilities require creation & stewardship of data sets

#          Legacy data – work with the community to capture critical legacy data

 

THIS IS YOUR SYSTEM

 

It is important to emphasize that this is your geoinformatics system.  It is designed as a service to the community to enhance the research and education process. PaleoStrat is designed to become a part of your daily research working environment.  Use it to capture your legacy data. Need new data types? Have an  tool you want to make available? Need help with data or image loading?  This means we need your feedback on how to make improvements; we are here to help - please feel free to contact us at any time! 

 

 

Where are the data?

PaleoStrat has spent its resources on developing a comprehensive data system, and we have not been able to put in a significant amount of data into the database.  This reflects a decision to use available resources to accomplish the difficult task of building a user-focused system first and then, in collaboration with the community, load it with data.  Our hope is that PaleoStrat becomes a part of your daily work flow for new data - but that does not address the issue of all of our legacy data.  To address that, we have set up a mechanism that allows you to deposit any electronic data you have.  We will then ingest those data into the system, working with you as necessary to resolve various issues.  As is normal when using the PaleoStrat system, you would be the "owner" of those data, you will have exclusive access to them until you publish them (in a published paper or you release them to the public). Once ingested, you would download the data into an Excel workbook, and you would have the responsibility to quality check the data.  Using the workbooks this should be a reasonably easy process.

 

SOME SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS

 

System Access: PaleoStrat provides open access to public data. In your personal or project workspace can see and work with public and your own data in a secure, private space – until you are ready to make your data public.

 

User Working Environment:  PaleoStrat provides a unique, dynamic working environment for geoscience researchers within a secure working space for individual users and projects that can only be accessed by passwords and where the user controls who can see and/or edit their data. The user decides when to "publish" their data, i.e., to provide public access to them.

 

Data Input and Editing: “Smart” Excel Workbooks are used for data input and editing, providing the user with an easy and familiar working environment. Personal assistance is available particularly, for complex or extensive data sets.  The use of Excel workbooks, also allows the user to capture data offline, for example in the field, and they upload them to their work space when they have access to the internet.

 

Searches: Searching for and discovery of data within a complex data system such as PaleoStrat is a difficult task for information technology. For now, we have a simple “Quick Search” that includes filtering among choices, and will soon have a powerful map-based interface. However, we are working with computer scientists to address the issues associated with complex search and discovery methodologies.

 

International Geo Sample Number (IGSN): IGSNs are important for data integrity, and will soon be required for publication in many journals; see the SESAR web site for more details (www.geosamples.org). Automatic assignment of IGSN’s will happen as soon as SESAR publishes web services, for now PaleoStrat will submit batch files to SESAR to obtain the IGSNs.

 

Data Sharing: PaleoStrat is working with other databases to provide seamless access to data from these geoinformatics sites – e.g., SedDB (www.seddb.org).  This is an ongoing effort that will be enhanced by the emergence of the National Earth Science Information System (see www.geoinformatics.info).

 

Analytical & visualization tools: The next phase of PaleoStrat development will include a focus on providing access to analytical and visualization tools.  Some of these will be hosted on the PaleoStrat site, others will be provided via seamless access to tools hosted by other sites. For example, we are presently working with Emil Platon, University of Utah, to host his graphic correlation tool, StrataPlot and with Pete Sadler, University of California, Riverside, for his constrained optimization tool, CONOP. 

 

Data translation: Many users have preferred desktop software packages for data analysis and visualization.  Therefore, on a case-by-case basis, we will work with users to provide a mechanism to easily translate data in PaleoSTrat into the format of your desktop software packages. Overtime, then we envision having a large suite of such data translators available for use.

 

Crossing the waterline: We have partnered with SedDB to build a combined system to seamlessly "cross the waterline" and integrate data from the modern oceans with that from the marine rocks now incorporated in terrestrial settings. This is, of course a reciprocal agreement - users studying, for example, the chemistry of Miocene siliceous sedimentary rocks from SedDB, will be able to pull information from such rocks that are hosted in PaleoStrat without having to leave the SedDB site. In addition, the researcher can readily intermix secure data from their personal workspace with large amounts of publically available data as they address their particular research problems.

 

International connections: Internationally we are founding members of iGeoInfo (www.igeoinfo.org) and will work with the Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI; www.bgs.ac.uk/cgi_web) of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS; www.iugs.org) to better link our efforts to the global needs of the science. We also work with the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS; www.stratigraphy.org) and three of its subcommissions (Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic).

 

Science projects and initiatives: We will host data sets specifically tailored for geoscience groups and initiatives, including:  GeoSystems, EARTHTIME, the ICS, and others. We welcome working with all groups and individual to meet their geoinformatics needs in sedimentary geology and paleontology.