Norio Umemura

Inter-University upper Atmosphere Global Observation Network (IUGONET)

An overview of the Inter-university Upper atmosphere Global Observation NETwork (IUGONET) project is presented with a brief description of the products to be developed. This is a Japanese inter-university research program to build the metadata database for ground-based observations of the upper atmosphere. The project also develops the software to analyze the observational data provided by various universities/institutes. These products will be of great help to researchers in efficiently finding, obtaining, and utilizing various data dispersed across the universities/institutes. This is expected to contribute significantly to the promotion of interdisciplinary research, leading to more a comprehensive understanding of the upper atmosphere.

Progress of the IUGONET system - metadata database for upper atmosphere ground-based observation data

BackgroundThe Interuniversity Upper atmosphere Global Observation NETwork (IUGONET) project is a 6-year research project which started in 2009. The objective of this project is to establish a metadata database of various ground-based observation data covering a wide region from the Sun to the Earth; this will encourage more studies on the mechanisms of long-term variations in the upper atmosphere.FindingsFor archiving purposes, the metadata database system for cross-searching various data distributed across many universities and institute was developed based on the existing repository software called DSpace as the core component and the Space Physics Archive Search and Extract (SPASE) data model as the metadata format. The IUGONET metadata database is still in operation since it was released in March 2012. The system is continuously examined, tested, and updated to improve its quality. The OpenSearch interface in the IUGONET metadata database allows the user to use external applications easily for exchanging metadata and/or for analyzing data.ConclusionsWe conducted self-examination of our product, which was added for planning future directions of the IUGONET project.

The ERG Science Center

The Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG) Science Center serves as a hub of the ERG project, providing data files in a common format and developing the space physics environment data analysis software and plug-ins for data analysis. The Science Center also develops observation plans for the ERG (Arase) satellite according to the science strategy of the project. Conjugate observations with other satellites and ground-based observations are also planned. These tasks contribute to the ERG project by achieving quick analysis and well-organized conjugate ERG satellite and ground-based observations.

Interuniversity Upper Atmosphere Global Observation Network (IUGONET) Meta-Database and Analysis Software

An overview of the Interuniversity Upper atmosphere Global Observation NETwork (IUGONET) project is presented. This Japanese program is building a meta-database for ground-based observations of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, in which metadata connected with various atmospheric radars and photometers, including those located in both polar regions, are archived. By querying the metadata database, researchers are able to access data file/information held by data facilities. Moreover, by utilizing our analysis software, users can download, visualize, and analyze upper-atmospheric data archived in or linked with the system. As a future development, we are looking to make our database interoperable with others.