Activities and challenges in the soils and hydrological communities: The Environmental Virtual Observatory pilot

1. Activities and challenges in the soils and hydrological communities:The Environmental Virtual Observatory pilot • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

2. EVOp Team Prof Bridget Emmett PI Prof Robert Gurney PI Prof Adrian McDonald PI ProfKeith Beven WP lead Prof Gordon Blair WP lead DrJohn Bloomfield Dr WouterBuytaert WP lead Dr Jim Freer WP lead Prof Phil Haygarth WP lead Prof Penny Johnes Prof Mark Macklin Dr Kit Macleod Dr SimReaney DrGwyn Rees Dr Marc Stutter Prof Doerthe Tetzlaff WP lead Dr Paul Quinn Dr Lucy Ball Project Manager Mrs Julie Delve Mrs Bron Williams DrYehia El-Khatib PDRA Dr Alastair Gemmell PDRA Dr Sheila Greene PDRA Dr Eleanor Mackay PDRA Dr Keith Marshall PDRA Dr Nick Odoni PDRA Dr Nicola Thomas PDRA Dr Claudia VitoloPDRA Dr Mark Wilkinson PDRA • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

3. EVOp Partners • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

4. Challenges in catchment science • We are facing unprecedented challenges in the management of soil and water. • Our research increasingly also has real practical application. • However, many scientific and environmental challenges are very cross-disciplinary, and require use of multiple data, models and toolsacross disciplines, organisations and topics. • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

5. We are ‘rich’ in data initiatives • We have many UK environmental data centres • Met Office, British Atmospheric Data Centre, NERC’s Terrestrial and Freshwater Data Centre etc etc.... • And lots of initiatives and legislation regarding when and how data should be made available (e.g. INSPIRE) • And we’re struggling to comply but it is happening if slowly…..but.. • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

6. What people actually want if you ask them Scientists How do we define which model is better to select from our model ensemble? What kind of language/tools to use to make models talk to each other. Government Agencies What models work? What policy works? How do I do it for less money? • Regulators • How can we reduce monitoring for same information? • Credible apportioning of pollutant load between industry, water, agriculture, other. • Water Industry • How can we convert into saleable product for UK plc? • What is the whole impact of future flooding? • How can water security be assured? • How can the industry carbon impact be reduced? Public Will London run out of water? What is the state of the local river? What are the options to protect us from future flooding? • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

7. Beyond data • Historical data • Does that river flow height mean that business will be flooded again? Should I insure it? (Business) • Real time data sensors • Is that water quality safe for my children to swim in it? (Public) • Modelling tools • Is that land management option ‘future proofed’ for climate change? (Policy maker) • Decision support tools • What are my options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, whilst maintaining productivity? (Food industry) • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

8. What are the opportunities offered by new cloud technologies? • The key to the cloud approach is the representation of everything as a service, that is our data, models, visualisation tools and expert knowledge • A space for: • Exploring data • Linking models • Accessing knowledge • Visualisation tools • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

9. No white elephants… • Perception of a poor track record in big IT initiatives in science or government and a concern IT will be out of date before completion • Poor IT literacy in every sector • How do we break the mould? • Integrate computer scientists with environmental scientists, industry, policy makers in a collaborative project • Scrum methodology and ‘fail early and often’ • A few ‘narrow and deep’ exemplars to demonstrate potential and identify barriers • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

10. The EVOp Approach… Combine environmental scientists, computer scientists and a wide range of end-users to ensure community buy-in and required mix of skills: • 17 PIs/CoIs, 13 institutions • 12 end-users on Project Advisory Group from water companies, policy, software companies, land managers, etc. • Make sure we ask people what they really want • Go out and ask a wide group of end-users Only one way of testing – try it out on real exemplars: • Exemplars at three spatial scales (local, national and global) • Addressing different issues, appealing to different audiences • Dealing with real data, models and visualisations • Demonstrating potential through series of storyboards

11. Storyboards:Identifying the endusers and science demonstrated for each exemplar • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

12. Storyboards: Ensuring each storyboard tests and demonstrates specific IT/cloud issues • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

44. The EVO has also included: • Regular testing with public, government agencies, farmers, power companies, water companies • Legal and Security workshops, of great concern to users • Education: Summer Schools associated with EVO run in Venice 2011 and 2012, hopefully in 2013 onwards • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

45. What next? Turning pilot into operational prototype, driven by science need Questions such as scalable architecture, scalable automated generation of help and semantics, engagement of multiple data centres, setting standards International call for work on standards, governance, legal and security issues, architecture etc, via Belmont Forum Further prototypes across UK and beyond driven by user requirements Need to manage reputational issues drives demand by participants (eg Meteorological Office, Ordnance Survey, British Geological Survey, water industry) • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

46. The next phase: into operation • Allow robust reuse of models and data • Allow integration of science • Save time on discovery of data and models • Ensure up-to-date approaches are widely available • Allow an efficient meeting area between operational users and scientists • Manage legal and security (and publishing) issues • Easy compliance with INSPIRE regulations • Continuing educational initiatives • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

47. EVOKES(Environmental Virtual Observatory for Knowledge Exchange Services) A pre-operational prototype led by users and including a scalable cloud architecture, workflow and ontology tools, embedded and callable models, data from multiple agencies, including real-time data, visualisation tools, security, authentication, and reflection facilities for both static and mobile platforms • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

48. EVOKES initial suggested end users • Insurance and financial services • Water industry • Power industry • Food industry • Oil and Gas • Transport and Logistics • Human Health • UNITAR and similar training? .....in partnership with computing and space industries, and allowing SME input • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools

49. If EVOKES is successful, what is the benefit? Enabling environmental researchers and others to concentrate on science Not only those ‘in the know’ will be able to discover data portals, models and information Stopping re-invention and repeated blind alleys Improving reputation for transparency and contributing to business and societal needs • Realising the potential of environmental data, models and tools