Enabling online geospatial isotopic model development and analysis

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in the amount of environmental data collected over large spatial and temporal scales. It presents unprecedented opportunities for new scientific discovery, while in the same time poses significant challenges to the research community on how to effectively identify and integrate these datasets into their research models and tools. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of IsoMAP - a gateway for Isoscapes (isotopic landscapes) modeling, analysis and prediction. IsoMAP provides an online workspace that helps researchers access and integrate a number of disparate and diverse datasets, develop Isoscapes models over selected spatio-temporal domains using geo-statistical algorithms, and predict maps for the stable isotope ratios of water, plants, and soils. The IsoMAP system leverages the computation resources available on the TeraGrid to perform geospatial data operations and geostatistical model calculations. It builds on a variety of open source technologies for GIS, geospatial data management and processing, grid computing, and gateway development. The system was successfully used to teach a tutorial in the 2011 conference on the Roles of Stable Isotopes in Water Cycle Research. A post-tutorial survey was conducted. We review the users' feedback and present a future development plan based on that.