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REPORTS OF IUGG REPRESENTATIVES ON
ICSU COMMITTEES

Report to IUGG from the representative to CODATA 1991-1995

C.C. Tscherning

Geophysical Department, Copenhagen N., Denmark

1. Introduction

CODATA - the Committee on Data for Science and Technology is one of the ICSU committees. It aims at improving the quality, reliability, processing, management and accessibility of data.

Scientific results are published in Monographs and Symposium Proceedings. Very little material finds its way to international journals with reviewed papers.

Members are: Unions belonging to ICSU and Nations. Representatives of 16 Unions and of 19 Nations participated in the last General Assembly in 1994. The accounts of 1994 showed a balance of a little less than a quarter of a million $ US. It does not cost IUGG anything to be a member of CODATA. The only expenses are related to the participation in the bi-annual general assemblies.

2. Activities 1991-1995

CODATA has organised two Scientific Conferences. One in Beijing in 1992 and one in 1994 in Chambery (France). The General Assemblies are held in the week-end following the conference. At the Assemblies the work of Task Groups and Commissions are reviewed and decisions are made concerning their continuation or discontinuation. New Groups are after careful discussion established.

There has only been one Commission of interest for IUGG, namely a Commission on Global Change. The commission did unfortunately never function, and was discontinued in Chambery.

In the period a reorganisation of the advisory structures related to ICSU were discussed. The merging of CODATA, FAGS and the Panel on World Data Centers were being considered, but the idea was dropped due to the strong insistence of IUGG and others.

It seems that the background for the ideas of a reorganisation were caused (partly) by a wish to put new life into CODATA. Here it is so that the Unions which are members of CODATA either already have solutions to their data problems (like IAU and to a large extent IUGG) or are just starting up computerisation.

Consequently one may ask which benefits IUGG has of being a member of IUGG, except in a role of aiding less developed (in the sense of data management) unions.

Simultaneously with these questions being raised within IUGG, CODATA did itself start a discussion of a CODATA Strategic Plan. This plan describes the following goals of CODATA:

a. Enhance the use of Internet and other networks, and assist in the change to distribution of data by electronic means

b. Investigations of abstract data structures

c. Assist Unions in creating new databases (biology)

d. Study barriers to access to scientific data

e. Extended educational and tutorial activities.

One may question whether CODATA may achieve these goals, which either requires a large effort or are not central for IUGG activities. In my opinion the main role of CODATA must be to strengthen the awareness that data and datamanagement are a foundation of many scientific disciplines such as these covered by IUGG.

The recent CODATA conference in Chambery were in this respect important as can be seen from its title "Data and Knowledge in a Changing World - The Quest for a Healthier Environment". A number of papers (see Appendix) were presented of strong interest for IUGG, and CODATA were therefore also asked to be a co-sponsor of a Union Symposium "21st Century Data Challenges" to be organised in Boulder, 1995.

The disappointment with CODATA, mainly related to lack of results of interest for IUGG, seems to be the reason for an action taken by the IUGG Executive in the Spring of 1995 to dissociate itself from CODATA at the Union level. As a representative to CODATA I was somewhat surprised by this action, which leaves it to the IUGG Associations to cooperate with CODATA. I doubt that this will work. I think the best would be to reconsider this, also because CODATA only wants to cooperate with UNIONS (cf. letter from the president of CODATA dated March 3, 1995).

CODATA have a few activities of interest for IUGG. Its main importance are related to the scientific unions which are beginners in the digital data area. However, IUGG should as earlier support activities which keeps up the awarness of the importance of data and data management issues. This support is best given by staying as a member of CODATA at the union level.

Appendix: Examples of presentations at the 14th Int. CODATA Conference, 18-22 Sept, 1994.

Baker, C.B.: The use of the information highway to explore climate variability.
Scott, N.A. & A. Chedin: Satellite climatology and large data flow.
Royer, J. & A. Shtuka: Stochastic imaging of environmental data.
Duchossois, G. & S. Bruzzi: Environmental Monitoring and European Space programs.
Thieman, J.R.: Large Data Base access and usage in the Earth and Space Sciences through compter networks.
Menaut, J.-C.: Towards the establishment of the global terrestrial observing system.
Olden, R.J. et al.: Integrated ground based and remotely sensed data to support global studies of environmental change.
Frechet, J. & F. Thouvenot: SISMALP: a seismic network for the Western Alps.
Chery, J.: Cinematic of Alpine Arc: Setting up a GPS Reference Network.

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