PALEOSTRAT AND DEEP-TIME PALEOCLIMATE DATA - AN EXAMPLE OF A GEOINFORMATICS SYSTEM FOR COMPLEX DATA SETS

Deep-time paleoclimate research requires a systems-based approach to the science and therefore a data system that can handle a wide range of complex data types and their interrelationships. PaleoStrat (www.paleostrat.org) is an example of such a data system that is embarking on a project to capture paleoclimate data for Carboniferous-Permian. Lessons learned by the PaleoStrat community are relevant to others in the process of developing such systems. There are three critical issues to consider when designing such a system: 1) informatic/IT approaches for such complex data; 2) data acquisition, and 3) system usability. The informatics/IT challenges are not trivial, driven mostly by the complexity of the data. It was clear from the start that we had to design a system that can capture the full geologic context for the science it supports and the relationships among these data. For stratigraphic-based information this meant we had to consider: geochemical, physical stratigraphic (sequence & cyclostratigraphic), lithofacies, biofacies, paleobiologic (taxa & fauna), chronostratigraphic (geochronologic, chemostratigraphic, etc.), magnetostratigraphic, etc. data. Data acquisition is a major issue for all databases. PaleoStrat has spent its resources on system development, and we have not been able to load a significant amount of data. This reflects a resource-based decision to first build a robust, user-focused system and then, in collaboration with the community, load it with data. Was that a wise decision? Only time will tell, but other geoinformatics efforts should think carefully about this question during their design stages. Because no database will have sufficient funding to input all relevant data with their internal staff, the only way to acquire significant data sets is through the user community. We will be demonstrating this principle in a new project that focuses on Carboniferous-Permian paleoclimate data. This project will be done in conjunction with the International Congress on Carboniferous and Permian (ICCP), the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) and its relevant subcommissions, and GeoSystems. It is this community support that will: 1) populate the database, 2) improve the system by user feedback (e.g., tool development), and 3) attract a broader user base.