EnviroGRIDS Special Issue on “Building a Regional Observation System in the Black Sea Catchment"

Copyright Statement: This is an open access publication licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, even commercially as long as the original work is properly cited.

View Full Issue

Editorial

Abstract: The Black Sea Catchment Observation System has been developed in the frame of the EU/FP7 enviroGRIDS project to inform about crucial regional environmental issues. This system is now making resources accessible to a large community of users for data management and publishing, for hydrological models calibration and execution, for satellite image processing, for report generation and visualization, and for decision support. In this special issue, we present the different components that were developed as well as the encountered challenges in order to bring innovative contributions into the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. One of the major issues was to enable data exchange across different heterogeneous components and infrastructures, more specifically Spatial Data and Grid infrastructures. The interoperability standards proposed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) support the scalability and the efficient combination of the complex specialized functionalities and the computation potential of these platforms. Another important issue was to build the human, institutional and infrastructure capacities to contribute and use this new observation system.

Author 1: Gregory Giuliani
Author 2: Dorian Gorgan

Keywords: enviroGRIDS; Observation System; Spatial Data Infrastructure; Grid computing; Black Sea; Remote sensing; Hydrological modeling; GEOSS

PDF

Paper 1: Black Sea Catchment Observation System as a Portal for GEOSS Community

Abstract: The resources of the enviroGRIDS system are accessible to the large community of users through the BSCOS Portal that provides Web applications for data management, hydrological model calibration and execution, satellite image processing, report generation and visualization, citizens oriented applications, and virtual training center. The portal publishes through Internet both the geospatial functionality provided by Web technologies, and the high power computation resources supported by the Grid technologies. The paper highlights the issues on the implementation of the portal by heterogeneous technologies, in order to support control flow, processing, and visualization of spatial data for GEOSS community, Earth Science specialists, and generally for Web users.

Author 1: Dorian Gorgan
Author 2: Gregory Giuliani
Author 3: Nicolas Ray
Author 4: Anthony Lehmann
Author 5: Pierluigi Cau
Author 6: Karim Abbaspour
Author 7: Karel Charvat
Author 8: Andreja Jonoski

Keywords: Grids computing; geospatial; SWAT hydrological model; satellite image processing; spatial data processing; distributed computing.

PDF

Paper 2: Building Regional Capacities for GEOSS and INSPIRE: a journey in the Black Sea Catchment

Abstract: To understand environmental systems like the Black Sea catchment, it is required to gather and integrate different datasets. However, data discoverability, accessibility and integration are among the most frequent difficulties that scientists are regularly facing. To tackle these issues, capacity building (at human, institutional, and technical levels) is recognized as a key enabler to raise awareness and create commitments on the benefits of data sharing and publication using interoperable services. In this paper, we present experiences and lessons learnt in the frame of the EU FP7 project enviroGRIDS in developing a network of GEO partners and an efficient strategy to build capacities of scientists from different countries in the Black Sea region. As a result, 27 services, providing access to more than 300 (local or regional) environmental datasets corresponding to around 300’000 layers, are currently registered into the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Finally, we discuss the added value for stakeholders in the region to participate into GEOSS and the European directive on data sharing INSPIRE, and how to improve its visibility and credibility in the research community, among potential end users.

Author 1: Gregory Giuliani
Author 2: Nicolas Ray
Author 3: Anthony Lehmann

Keywords: enviroGRIDS; Capacity Building; GEOSS; Black Sea; Spatial Data Infrastrcuture; Grid computing

PDF

Paper 3: Enabling Efficient Discovery of and Access to Spatial Data Services

Abstract: Spatial data represent valuable information and a basis for decision making processes in society. The number of specialisms that use spatial data for such purposes is increasing. Increasing is also the number of services enabling to search, access, process, analyse or visualise spatial data. Standardisation activities of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) support standardised sharing of services through the Web. However, many services declared as OGC compliant do not respond or they are not available. The paper introduces an innovative solution for efficient discovery of and access to spatial data services compliant with OGC specifications. The research was performed in the context of the EnviroGRIDS geoportal. Several thousands of harvested services were quality checked and the summary of the testing including the identified problems are presented.

Author 1: Karel Charvat
Author 2: Premysl Vohnout
Author 3: Michal Sredl
Author 4: Stepan Kafka
Author 5: Tomas Mildorf
Author 6: Andrea De Bono
Author 7: Gregory Giuliani

Keywords: EnviroGRIDS; web services; discovery; metadata; geoportal; SDI; INSPIRE; OGC; SuperCAT

PDF

Paper 4: OGC Compliant Services for Remote Sensing Processing over the Grid Infrastructure

Abstract: The latest issues in simulating and analyzing different Earth Science phenomena require the development of complex algorithms, based on satellite images in different formats. The main goal of this paper is to process these data in a standard manner and to automatically publish the execution results by using the latest Web Processing Services (WPS). The development of these services needs to be slightly different when involving large volume of data processed over the Grid infrastructure opposed to standalone machines. This paper provides an implementation solution of the WPS standard within the GreenLand platform, and exemplifies it on the Black Sea catchment hydrologic modeling use case.

Author 1: Danut Mihon
Author 2: Vlad Colceriu
Author 3: Victor Bacu
Author 4: Denisa Rodila
Author 5: Dorian Gorgan
Author 6: Karin Allenbach
Author 7: Gregory Giuliani

PDF

Paper 5: Grid Based Processing of Satellite Images in GreenLand Platform

Abstract: Geographical Information System (GIS) applications that process large amount of data require intensive usage of hardware capabilities provided by distributed platforms, such as the Grid infrastructure. Due to the constant demand of data availability and data sharing, without concerning its format and size, a new software solution is needed. GreenLand is a system capable to provide such a solution, based on its constituent modules: GreenLandGUI, gProcess, ESIP, WorkflowEditor, and OperatorEditor. This paper highlights each of them and how they interact in order to create a platform capable of fetching, processing, and visualizing large amount of data exposed in a uniform and standardized manner.

Author 1: Danut Mihon
Author 2: Vlad Colceriu
Author 3: Victor Bacu
Author 4: Dorian Gorgan

PDF

Paper 6: Mathematical Modeling of Distributed Image Processing Algorithms

Abstract: Satellite images play an important role in developing Geographical Information System software applications that prove to be useful for different Earth Science phenomena analysis. Accurate results are obtained from high resolution images, or by applying the same algorithm multiple times over a specific input data set. In both cases the data volume that needs to be processed is large, and usually involves distributed infrastructures. In order for non-technical users to use these algorithms, they should be described in a flexible manner, using workflow structure models. This paper highlights the main achievements within the GreenLand platform, regarding scheduling, executing, and monitoring the Grid processes. Its development is based on simple, but powerful, notion of mathematical directed acyclic graphs that are used in parallel and distributed executions over the Grid infrastructure.

Author 1: Vlad Colceriu
Author 2: Danut Mihon
Author 3: Angela Minculescu
Author 4: Victor Bacu
Author 5: Denisa Rodila
Author 6: Dorian Gorgan

PDF

Paper 7: Remotely Sensed Data Processing on Grids by Using GreenLand Web Based Platform

Abstract: Developing applications for analyzing and processing different remotely sensed data is very important for environmental predictions and management strategies. Applications focusing on environmental and natural resource monitoring need large data sets to be processed and fast response to actions. These requirements mostly imply high computing power that can be achieved through the parallel and distributed capabilities provided by the Grid infrastructure. This paper presents the GreenLand application as a user friendly web based platform for the use of environmental specialists engaging remote sensing applications using Grid computing technology. Theoretical concepts and basic functionalities of GreenLand platform were tested in two detailed case studies: a land cover/use determination analysis in Istanbul (Turkey) by conducting vegetation indices and density slice classification on Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, and the retrieval of large remote sensing products datasets (The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)) for the entire Black Sea Catchment. All the results of different image processing scenarios used in the reported experiments have been developed through the enviroGRIDS project, targeting the Black Sea Catchment (BSC) area.

Author 1: Filiz Bektas Balcik
Author 2: Danut Mihon
Author 3: Vlad Colceriu
Author 4: Karin Allenbach
Author 5: Cigdem Goksel
Author 6: A. Ozgur Dogru
Author 7: Gregory Giuliani
Author 8: Dorian Gorgan

Keywords: GreenLand; Landsat; MODIS; image processing; Grid computing

PDF

Paper 8: Calibration of SWAT Hydrological Models in a Distributed Environment Using the gSWAT Application

Abstract: Topics such as the sustainability and vulnerability of land management practices on water quality and quantity are very important in these days both for decision makers and for citizens. The enviroGRIDS FP7 project addresses some of these topics in the Black Sea Catchment area. One of the software tools developed in this project is gSWAT. It allows the calibration of SWAT hydrological models in a flexible development environment and uses distributed computational infrastructures to speedup the simulations. The development of SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) hydrological models is a well-known procedure for the hydrological specialists and this paper highlights, from the end-users point of view, the scenarios related with the calibration procedures available in the gSWAT application.

Author 1: Victor Bacu
Author 2: Danut Mihon
Author 3: Teodor Stefanut
Author 4: Denisa Rodila
Author 5: Dorian Gorgan

PDF

Paper 9: An Interoperable, GIS-oriented, Information and Support System for Water Resources Management

Abstract: Important objectives of the four-year enviroGRIDS project encompass the improvement of transnational cooperation, the use of state of the art Information and Communication Technologies for data analysis and sharing and the application of environmental models for monitoring present and predicting future states of the environment for the Black Sea region. In such a transnational context, there is a dire need for the environmental sciences to evolve from a simple, local-scale vision toward a complex, multi-user, multilayered holistic approach. BASHYT (http://swat.crs4.it/) is a Web based, GIS oriented, information and support tool, part of the Black Sea Catchment – Observation System (BSC-OS). It exposes a set of applications for data management, analysis and visualization and a complete server and client side development framework (wiki like) to create Web contents. The core of the portal relies on the hydrological semi distributed SWAT code to model the water cycle and predict the effect of management decisions on water, sediment, nutrient and pesticide yields on large river basins. Furthermore, BASHYT aims at quantifying the interconnectedness between (human and natural) pressures and states of water body receptors at different space and time scales. The aim is to enhance environmental management capacity to assess water resource and to share and process large amounts of key environmental information. Within an experimental and innovative programming environment, modules have been developed to run near real-time applications based on numerical solvers (SWAT is just one example), run pre- and post-processing codes, query and map results through the Web browser. A set of web OGC services and a complete Application Programming Interface (API) are also exposed by the portal. We expect to improve the ways in which land management systems can operate and improve model usability to aid in making management decisions and watershed-scale modeling.

Author 1: Pierluigi Cau
Author 2: Simone Manca
Author 3: Costantino Soru
Author 4: Davide Muroni
Author 5: Dorian Gorgan
Author 6: Victor Bacu
Author 7: Anthony Lehman
Author 8: Nicolas Ray
Author 9: Gregory Giuliani

Keywords: enviroGRIDS; GIS; SWAT; DSS; Argilla; Black Sea Catchment; Mapserver; BASHYT; Hydrology; Interoperability; OGC; Portal

PDF

Paper 10: Web Based Access to Water Related Data Using OGC WaterML 2.0

Abstract: As the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has adopted WaterML 2.0 as encoding standard for representing hydro-meteorological time series data, the water community is in need of tools and methods for delivering such data over the web. This article presents experiences with one approach for publishing water-related data over the web based on the OGC WaterML 2.0-GeoServer framework and methods developed by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). This implementation is one component of a web based flood information system for Somes Mare basin in Romania, which has been developed within the enviroGRIDS EU FP7 research project.

Author 1: Adrian Almoradie
Author 2: Ioana Popescu
Author 3: Andreja Jonoski
Author 4: Dimitri Solomatine

Keywords: WaterML 2.0; GeoServer; Flood information dissemination; web-based; Somes Mare

PDF

Paper 11: OWS4SWAT: Publishing and Sharing SWAT Outputs with OGC standards

Abstract: The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a widely used hydrological model that produces several useful outputs (e.g. evapotranspiration, soil moisture, aquifer recharge, river discharge) as text files. Currently, visualizing and publishing SWAT outputs as geospatial data requires a lot of time and repetitive processing steps. Moreover, data used and produced are often not interoperable and restricted to software like ArcGIS or MapWindow. Consequently, integrating SWAT outputs with other datasets and/or models is difficult. To solve these issues, we propose an innovative, scalable and interoperable framework allowing (1) the automatization of post-processing tasks using orchestrated Web Processing Services (WPS) and (2) the publishing of SWAT outputs using interoperable data services (e.g Web Feature Service, Web Map Service). The proposed framework simplifies map/data production and facilitates exchange/integration of hydrological data with other sources.

Author 1: Gregory Giuliani
Author 2: Kazi Rahman
Author 3: Nicolas Ray
Author 4: Anthony Lehmann

Keywords: enviroGRIDS; SWAT; Water; Interoperability; WPS; OGC; GEOSS; Black Sea

PDF