Transcript VIEWS_TSS_Poster - VIEWS - Visibility Information Exchange

VIEWS/TSS: An Integrated Systems Solution for
Air Quality and Regional Haze Planning
Introduction
Acquiring, organizing, and analyzing the datasets
necessary for planners to evaluate air quality and
trace emissions sources is a laborious and costly
process that strains already-limited state and federal
resources. Even after such data have been
consolidated and analyzed, using them to design
effective emissions control strategies is a complex
and time-consuming task, requiring expensive,
diverse, and hard-to-use tools, with results that are
usually difficult to integrate and analyze consistently.
To address these issues and improve air quality
decision-making by local, regional, and national
planners, an integrated systems solution consisting of
two distinct though complementary information
systems has been carefully architected to provide a
flexible, scalable, and extensible infrastructure for
current and future air quality decision-making.
The Visibility Information Exchange Web System
(VIEWS) is an online decision support system developed
to help federal land managers and states evaluate air
quality and improve visibility in federally-protected
ecosystems according to the requirements of the EPA’s
Regional Haze Rule and the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards. VIEWS was recently selected by the Western
Regional Air Partnership (WRAP), a collaboration of
western states, tribes, and local agencies administered
by the Western Governor’s Association and the National
Tribal Environmental Council, to serve as the
foundational infrastructure for the WRAP’s Technical
Support System (TSS). The TSS is an extended suite of
analysis and planning tools designed to help planners
develop long term emissions control strategies for
achieving natural visibility conditions in Class I Areas by
2064. The architected combination of VIEWS and the
TSS represents an integrated system that supports a
unique synergy of national and regional air quality
objectives by providing a consolidated suite of data
access and decision-making tools to planners,
researchers, stakeholders, and policy makers.
 VIEWS URL: http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/views
 TSS URL: http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/tss
 Location: Cooperative Institute for Research in the
Atmosphere (CIRA), Colorado State University, Foothills
Campus, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1375
 Sponsors: Western Regional Air Partnership, National
Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
Regional Planning Organizations (RPOs)
 Platform: Windows Server 2003, .Net Framework, SQL
Server 2005, Internet Information Server
Data Acquisition System:
Validation
• Accepts new data in a wide variety of formats
• Automatically extracts data from online sources
• Records metadata about the source datasets
Metadata Import System
Integrated Architecture:
Complementary Goals:
Both VIEWS and TSS are built upon the same underlying knowledge, database, software,
and hardware infrastructure, and have been designed to leverage the contributions and
resources of multiple partners, projects, and systems. Each new feature is designed to
leverage and extend existing software infrastructure, and to continually build a reusable
framework of code libraries and information resources that can be used for future work.
The two systems utilize the same architecture but focus individually on
distinct goals to strategically complement each other. VIEWS functions
primarily as a “Data Support System” while the TSS is more of a planneroriented “Decision Support System”. Used together, the two systems exhibit
individual strengths to provide a truly integrated “system of systems”.
Metadata Import System:
• Facilitates the entry of new metadata
• Validates new metadata entries
• Maps source metadata to integrated metadata
Data
Acquisition
System
AIRDATA_SOURCE
Data Import System
AIRDATA_OLTP
Data Import System:
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Extracts and “scrubs” data from the source DB
Normalizes the data and performs conversions
Transforms the data into a unified, integrated schema
Verifies, validates, and aggregates imported data
Loads data into the back-end OLTP system
Validation
Online Transaction Processing System (OLTP):
• Functions as the “back-end” database
• Fully relational and in third normal form
• Used for insert, update, and delete operations
AIRDATA_OLTP
AIRDATA_DSS
Data Warehouse Generation System:
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Extracts data from the OLTP
De-normalizes and transforms data
Loads data into the data warehouse
Builds indexes on relevant tables
Archives periodic “snapshots” of existing data
Data Warehouse Generation System
Data Warehouse:
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Functions as the “front-end” database
Designed with a de-normalized “star” schema
Used for querying and retrieving data
Automatically generated from OLTP
Validation
VIEWS/TSS: Online Exploration, Visualization, and Analysis Tools
Database Query Wizard:
For selecting, filtering, formatting, and
downloading raw data in a variety of
formats from the Integrated Database.
VIEWS/TSS Data Lifecycle and Data Value Chain Diagram:
End-to-end Data and Decision Support:
Aerosol Trends Tool:
Annual timelines for aggregations such as
the best and worst 20% sampled visibility
days, annual mean, etc.
Aerosol Composition Tool:
Aerosol composition charts with best
and worst 20% sampled visibility days,
annual mean, etc.
Back Trajectory Browser:
ATAD back trajectories with charts of
best and worst 20% sampling days by
aerosol extinction, reconstructed fine
mass, or reconstructed total mass.
The components and subsystems that comprise the overall
VIEWS/TSS system are designed to progressively add value to
data as it makes its way through the system from original source
to end users. Data has a lifecycle of four identifiable but
overlapping stages in VIEWS/TSS: 1) Data Collection, where
data is initially imported into the system; 2) Processing, where a
number of operations ensure the integrity and accuracy of the
data; 3) Analysis, where the data is explored, visualized,
analyzed, and assessed; and finally 4) Decision Support, where
end users utilize the tools and results to make conclusions,
recommendations, and even regulations based upon their
analysis and assessment of the data. At each stage in this
lifecycle, the value of data to decision-making is increased and
the task of working with the data is made easier. In addition,
considerable attention has been given to ensure that the
components serving each stage in the lifecycle are fully
interoperable with external systems and resources in order to
enable developers of other systems to leverage the functionality
of VIEWS/TSS without having to “reinvent the wheel”.
Components and their code have been designed to be modular,
reusable, flexible, scalable, and loosely coupled. By carefully
architecting and connecting the components of VIEWS/TSS with
end user requirements and decisions held firmly in mind, it is
intended that with regard to data value that the sum of the
constituent parts becomes ultimately greater than the whole.
Verification
Validation
Standardization
Conclusions
Comparison
Modeling
Assessment
Regulations
Transformation
Normalization
Aggregation
Data Collection
Data
Primary Storage
Aggregation, Integration,
Processing, Modeling
Processing
Analysis
Forecasting
Reanalysis
Analysis, Visualization, Reporting
Analysis
Recommendations
Decision Support
End Users
Decisions
Future Plans and Goals:
Spatial & Seasonal Pattern Analysis:
Annual spatial patterns of PM2.5, light
extinction, and the contributions of major
aerosol types; seasonal bar charts;
frequency distributions of aggregations.
Long Term Trends Analysis:
Long term trends of fine mass and major
aerosol types; light extinction and the
contribution of major aerosol types to light
scattering for each monitoring site.
Dynamic Contour Maps:
Contour (isopleth) maps of network-wide
parameter concentrations with several
interpolation algorithms.
Visibility Photographs & Webcams:
Webcams and photos that show vistas
and corresponding air quality conditions
from rural and urban sites.
To further leverage the capabilities of VIEWS/TSS, the project team collaborated in mid-2007 with the
Institute for the Environment at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill to submit a NASA ROSES
proposal to incorporate NASA satellite data into the VIEWS/TSS integrated database in order to
enhance the decision support capabilities of these combined systems. The proposal was awarded in
early 2008 and work will soon begin to further expand VIEWS/TSS with relevant satellite data and the
appropriate tools to access and analyze it. In the near future, the development team will be expanding
the VIEWS/TSS database with additional pollutant indicators such as Ozone, CO2, and fire data, as
well as extending the geographic coverage of the system to including international pollutant and
transport data. Data and functionality from the WRAP Fire Emissions Tracking System and Emissions
Data Management System will also be integrated, and design collaboration with the EPA will continue.
Conclusion:
Regional Haze Planning Tools:
A variety of analysis tools designed to assist
SIP/TIP writers in Regional Haze Planning.
Source Apportionment Tools:
PM Source Apportionment Technology (PSAT)
tools used to trace Sulfur/SOx and Nitrate/NOx
from source regions to Class I areas.
Organic Aerosol Tracer Tool:
Analysis tool for distinguishing between
various types of organic aerosol modeled to
arrive at Class I areas.
Emissions Review Tool:
A tool to view emissions data from Base
and Projected Emissions scenarios.
VIEWS/TSS is an integrated systems solution that provides a large inventory of observational, modeled,
and emissions data and the online end-user tools for exploring and analyzing this data. All data, tools,
and other resources on the VIEWS and TSS websites are freely accessible. No account is required to
use the sites, but users are encouraged to register. User feedback is welcomed, and the development
team is committed to continually improving and expanding the end user experience.
Contacts:
Technical Contact: Shawn McClure, CIRA, Colorado State University; [email protected]
VIEWS Administrative Contact: Bret Schichtel, National Park Service; [email protected]
TSS Administrative Contact: Tom Moore, Western Governor’s Association; [email protected]