information technology and the Earth sciences

information technology and the Earth sciences As a result of a strong applied tradition the Earth sciences have had a long history of interdisciplinarity and the assimilation of new technologies. The use of sonar after the Second World War to map the sea floor and the use of stable isotopes to study ancient climates are but two examples of technology transfer into the field of Earth science that precipitated conceptual, as well as practical, revolutions in understanding the history of our planet. On the cusp of the twenty-first century Earth science finds itself, once again, at the forefront of another interdisciplinary technological revolution; the electronic communications or information technology (IT) revolution.

Apart from the (now) commonly recognized advantages of electronic mail to speed communication between research collaborators and between students and teachers, the IT revolution will fundamentally change the way in which all science is conducted. It will do so, not by providing tools that enable scientists to study the history of our planet in new ways per se, but by ensuring that information about such tools is distributed to the widest possible audience, and (even more importantly) by making it possible to gain access to large amounts of highly specified information from remote locations. The IT revolution will also allow the results of research to be more effectively communicated to the scientific community and to the general culture quickly, easily, and inexpensively; and because of these factors it will force the professional Earth science community to reorganize its activities in the creation, management, and interpretation of data. While this IT revolution will be experienced by most scientific disciplines, it will have a disproportionate effect on the Earth sciences because of the popular nature of their subject-matter and their place at the heart of many scientific controversies.

Databases

Like all the sciences, Earth science is becoming increasingly specialized. However, cutting against this trend is the need for specialists and students to place their observations within a more general context and to make efficient and correct use of data generated by other groups (both within the Earth science community and elsewhere). Moreover, as the total number of scientists increases, the rate of data acquisition and publication has increased to the point where it is impossible for individuals to keep track of all significant developments in any but the most narrow research programmes. Coping with this flood of information will be one of the first great challenges for the Earth sciences IT revolution.

At present the most popular way of resolving this problem lies in the creation of searchable databases and metadatabases, usually linked to the World-Wide Web (WWW), that can direct individuals to the specific information they need, maintain the quality and integrity of that information, and present it in a form (e.g., as graphs, tables, and figures) that can be understood and used by clients. To take a simple example, the German GEOMAR Research Centre for Marine Geosciences has made its Ocean Drilling Stratigraphic Network (ODSN) database available in the form of a WWW-accessible software interface that enables scientists quickly to construct accurate base maps of tectonic plate configurations for a wide variety of times and regions.

This trend towards using IT to make the results of important research available to the scientific and lay communities is being encouraged by both government and private research foundations as the normal outcome of Earth science research projects. The first generation of Earth science IT research products has been favourably received by researchers and educators alike. As the number and quality of these products improve, and as the Earth science community educates itself to take advantage of them, access to the Internet and WWW will become as indispensable as access to a library for research and education.

Electronic publishing

The reason why Earth scientists are finding it more and more difficult to keep up with the data produced by their increasingly specialized colleagues is that the number of relevant publications is exploding as specialization proceeds. This is compounded by the interdisciplinary nature of much Earth science and the fact that scientific publication in general is undergoing a phase of increased diversification. Add to this the (now) constant constraint of diminishing library acquisition budgets and rising journal subscription prices (especially for institutions), and the result is decreased access to relevant information from traditional print sources. The need to maintain access to scientific publications will be addressed by another aspect of the IT revolution, electronic publishing.

In recent years the WWW has demonstrated its ability to be used as an efficient publishing medium. Virtually all major western business and cultural institutions boast a ‘web page’ that growing numbers of people regard as their first port of call for both general and specific information. From here it is but a small step to the creation of formal scientific journals that have no print-based equivalents. While few fully electronic Earth science journals exist at the time of writing (Palaeontologia Electronica is one example), their advantages are widely appreciated within the Earth science community. In addition, documents published electronically can form the basis for on-line discussions among specialists, the text of which can be included in the body of the document. This will, in effect, turn previously static scientific documents into dynamic, living documents whose value can grow with time.

Several difficulties remain before electronic publications becomes commonplace in the Earth sciences. These include concerns about permanence; the lack of library facilities, personnel, and resources to manage electronic documents; and both professional and nomenclatural formalisms that currently exclude electronic publications from being considered valid for certain types of publishing purposes. These issues are not unique to the Earth sciences and are progressively succumbing to the demand for increased numbers of electronic publications from scientists, professional societies, librarians, funding institutions, and the general public.

Organizational impacts

Over and above the changes it is causing in the creation, management, and dissemination of data and interpretations, the IT revolution is also forcing virtually all institutions involved in the creation or use of Earth science data to re-examine their position with the organizational structure of the field. The days when even large institutions devoted to the study of the Earth could provide support for all their own scientific activities are largely over. In the petroleum industry, for instance, many research and technical services that were performed ‘in house’ in the 1970s, have now been outsourced. The IT revolution will reinforce this trend, since it abolishes many of the physical constraints that were formerly imposed. Moreover the infrastructure and personnel requirements that underpin the creation of Earth science IT products and databases will force the community to locate and support specialized activities in certain types of institutions (for example, databases in museums or commercial providers, publications in electronic libraries) to which all have access instead of continuing to duplicate these resources themselves. If managed correctly, this re-organization will provide an opportunity for the development of further expertise and increased interaction between the various sectors of the Earth science community (academic, museum, commercial, government). It will also require some adjustment of roles in each sector.

The perceived need, tools, incentive, and resources for a major IT-driven revolution in the Earth sciences are thus all in place Even just a few years ago such a step could not have been taken because of the limitations imposed by desktop computer capabilities and by costs. Thanks to the continuing development of computer technology, these limitations have been overcome, and the transfer to large-scale, high-capacity networks will continue to eliminate the remaining technological barriers. More Earth scientists (and students) already have easier access to computers, the Internet, and the WWW than they do to high-quality Earth science libraries. This revolution will dramatically improve the utility of data, the skills of scientists, and the relevance of Earth science to the larger issues of society and culture.

N. Macleod