A prototype metadata database for online analytical processing of environmental data

We present preliminary results on the development of a prototype database system demonstrating the utility of the integration of environmental metadata within an online analytical processing environment. We utilized existing data derived from CD-ROMs of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) and the US Geological Survey (USGS). We populated a prototype metadata database whose architecture facilitates the scientific and statistical investigations of geophysical parameters associated with the polar regions, allowing for data fusion from other regions and Earth science disciplines, facilitating interdisciplinary studies. The user can extract information combining the knowledge of two disparate sources of geophysical data to allow a query that would result in a useful product. Furthermore, we demonstrate the utility of allowing access to this database via the World Wide Web using an interface to the underlying Oracle database management system.