sharing environmental data, our experiences at epa
DESCRIPTION
Sharing Environmental Data, Our Experiences at EPA presentation by Dr. Peter Mooney Research Fellow EPA & Dept of Computer Science NUI Maynooth at Dublinked Environment DubMeet May 2014TRANSCRIPT
Sharing Environmental Data
Our experiences at EPA
Dr. Peter Mooney
EPA Research FellowDept of Computer Science, NUIM
As of .. May 26th 2014
The EPA and Environmental Data and Information
Generator and Collector(monitoring, position as legal entity, etc)
Facilitator and enabler (through R&D programmes)
Manager and distributor(Water Framework Directive....)
Providing ‘open-data’ as PDF reports: knowledge distribution - but not actionable
“like funding James Cameron to make Avatar, and then releasing it in a black and white flip book. We are missing all the good stuff”
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/oct/21/development-open-data-action
The EPA have committed significant resources to making
GIS data available
Envision
Pre-packaged data downloads
Service-based access to geospatial data
WFS, WMS and REST Services
Envision Download Services
EPA Research
Over 700 funded Over 700 funded projects (> €10K)projects (> €10K)
since 2002since 2002
https://www.flickr.com/photos/33280166@N02/5354725682
EPA Research Programme has been operating an open access approach over the last 6 years
All EPA funded research projects must provide “significant outputs”
(datasets, info resources, etc) for public access via SAFER
Crucially and innovatively, this couples the final reports/papers with the actual data/information used to generate the findings/recommendations
SAFER -Secure Archive for Environmental Research Data
High rates of download
SAFER has driven excellent resource efficiencies in EPA Research
● AQ PM10 Data ArchiveOpen Access
● 2300 downloads (May 2013)● 2300 X 6 minutes per request = 13,800 minutes
● 13,800 / 60 = 230 hours
● 8 hour working day
● TOTAL 28.75 days SAVED
Example
Several key EPA dataset archives are available on SAFER
http://erc.epa.ie/safer/resourcelisting.jsp?oID=10206&username=EPA%20Drinking%20Water
SAFER is beginning to offer some web-service access
The open nature of the Catalogue has exceeded our expecations
EPA Air Quality
The Air Quality Index for Health
(AQIH) Launched May 2013
The AQIH was developed through collaboration between EPA, HSE, Met Eireann, and other public bodies and experts
The AQIH is true real-time open data from the EPA
Monitoring Network
Ongoing Sampling
EPA Servers andDatabases
Processing and Analysis
Delivery to the public and
stakeholders
Example
Sampling between09:00 and 10:00
Receive from monitoring stations (09:00 – 10:00)
Storage in Databases
Processing and analysis
10:00 – 11:00
Data from the periods including 09:00 – 10:00 is now available for access
AQIH Map Access
Screenshot taken at 14:33 on 26-May-2014
AQIH Twitter
Automated tweets @ 08:00 and 17:00 each day – hourly if AQIH becomes poor in one or more regions
AQIH Web Pages for Stations
AQIH as JSON Open Data
AQIH JSON (wget call)
We get lots of request for the raw hourly data from individual
monitoring stations
This type of data requires expert interpretation – so the AQIH is made available openly instead
SAFER contains the entire archive of validated AQ data from EPA
http://erc.epa.ie/safer/resourcelisting.jsp?oID=10136&username=EPA%20Air%20Quality
Summary of thoughts
Our advice is to L.E.A.R.N
ListenEngage
Activity/ActionsResearch
New/Innovatehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/arichards-gallery/8358810783
The unbounded evolution of Internet The unbounded evolution of Internet technologies has completely changed the technologies has completely changed the data playing field and rules of engagementdata playing field and rules of engagement
10 Years Ago
“Fear of being open”
Today
“Fear of not being open”
DRIVERS CHANGE
INSPIRE,SEIS,PSI Directive,Open Data, Initiatives, etc
Open Internet,Social Media,User-generated content,“The Internet Generation”, etc
Open Data is high on the EPA agenda for future work
● AQIH: Make historical archive available (JSON)● Up-to-date AQ data: AQ Directive changes are
being implemented – potential to make INSPIRE-compliant AQ UTD available
● Explore potential linkages to DUBLINKED: Are there datasets/services which can be shared?
● Upgrading tools such as SAFER: Investigate adding more web-services (pull of information)
Emphasis on delivery of mobile-focused applications
The EPA must carefully consider open-data on a case-by-case basis
Concerns about data misuse or misinterpretation
The resource costs – making open data available isn't free
Working with stakeholders – when data has been generated or owned by several parties
Privacy and security issues – particularly in point-based geospatial datasets
Dr. Peter Mooney email [email protected] and