Environmental Observatory Operations Meeting — Baltimore, October 22-23, 2007

Meeting Goals — Environmental observatories integrate legacy data, add modern sensors, provide portals for entering and accessing information from multiple sources, and enable a new level of modeling for synthesizing from diverse information to form Digital Watersheds. The cyberinfrastructure for implementing this concept is supported by NSF programs in Hydrologic Science and Environmental Engineering in a project known as CUAHSI HIS. These two programs are also working to establish a national network of observatories funded by the NSF MREFC program. The design process is being initiated with a number of "test bed watersheds" to address perplexing issues that must be resolved first. Each "test bed" has a server for connecting through a HIS portal. Other field observatories have other funding but face similar issues. In all, many people are learning many things about observatory cyberinfrastructure. The purpose of this meeting is to exchange experiences and visions so as to learn collectively as we all seek an extensible, interdisciplinary system that can transform how we do research, enhance productivity in science, and support effective, informed water resources management.

Attendees — Invitations are being sent to project principal investigators with the expectation that the PIs will coordinate attendance from their project. Each PI is encouraged to come (or at least send a representative) and to bring a project "data manager" as training will be provided for data managers in using HIS cyberinfrastructure. Participation by other investigators and students working on the project is also highly encouraged even though all such will have to come at their own expense. See the Hotel Information page for more details.

Issue Statements — Each observatory or related project attending is asked to prepare a one-page statement to foster discussion at the meeting. Your statement should provide:

1. a short description of the science objective and
2. for each of the eight "issue areas" a concise statement sharing,
   1. a primary lesson learned, and
   2. a burning need that the project will have to resolve.

Your "one pager" is to be sent to Jon Duncan by email before Friday October 12. The statements will be compiled by CUAHSI and be made available to each person attending at the registration desk Monday morning. The compiled statements will be sent by email to members of the coordinating committee on Monday October 15 so that they can begin thinking about the issues a couple days in advance.