From SwissExperiment

About SwissEx

A quote from ESA's 'The Changing Earth' elegantly describes the motivation behind SwissEx:

The latter half of the twentieth century saw full emergence of the concept that the behaviour of planet Earth can only be understood in terms of the coupling between the dynamic processes in the atmosphere, the solid Earth, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the biosphere and the anthroposphere. All of these components are interlinked by a network of forcing and feedback mechanisms that affect the other components. Global-scale effects can arise from regional processes, and global-scale behaviour can have widely different regional manifestations. In addidtion, processes acting at one time scale can have consequences across a wide range of other time scales. The Changing Earth, ESA, 2006

i.e. the driving motivation behind SwissEx is to provide a common, cross-disciplinary platform where data and metadata from all disciplines at a variety of temporal and spatial resolutions are accessible. New technologies allowing high spatial and temporal resolution measurements are also actively developed within the project such that small areas can be intensely monitored where the cost of such measurements has previously been prohibitive. SwissEx will demonstrate the use of this infrastructure to discover new processes and to exploit the combination of new, high spatial/temporal resolution sensor networks with the 'traditional' low resolution, widespread networks.

Introduction

The Swiss Experiment (SwissEx) is an initiative of the Competence Centre Environment and Sustainability (CCES). SwissEx has been created to provide a platform for large scale sensor network deployment and information retrieval and exploitation. The original SwissEx proposal combined both examples of technology development whilst allowing the scientific section of the proposal to use these tools to receive and process the data and discover new processes through this cross-disciplinary work. This structure was split into two by CCES, to provide the SwissEx technology project (previously called SwissEx) and the the SwissEx science project, which were both funded. This wiki hosts both projects and is structured in a way that maintains their definition. The SwissEx Platform The SwissEx platform project is a collaboration of environmental science and technology research projects (both from CCES and other institutions across Switzerland) which will integrate field experiments in a common modern generic cyberinfrastructure on an unprecedented scale. This collaboration will allow common acquisition technologies to be shared and encourage data sharing and preservation of knowledge through the use of a state-of-the-art data storage and processing infrastructure. The storage and processing infrastructure will aim to use the best technologies to store and share both metadata and data along with automated data quality recognition. Interfaces will be developed to combine all of this information into a package which will allow the scientist to use data in an informed manner. These interfaces will allow data to be accessed from whenever, wherever and will allow the integration of data access into 3rd party interfaces. The new acquisition technologies will concentrate on allowing the deployment of high spatial and temporal resolution measurements where cost and/or resources have previously been a barrier. This will include the development of new self organising network technologies and the development and application of new low power and/or high resolution rapidly deployable sensors. The challenge is threefold: Scientific: The use of a generic system for the collection of data (for a wide range of parameters, space and time scales) and for assistance in data validation and interpretation. Technological: The deployment of a large number of sensors with differing requirements for data rates, resolutions, embedded intelligence, cost, data acquisition, streaming, storage, security, authorization etc. Knowledge Management: Recording the collection scenario, methods, locations and times of data acquisition and post-processing alongside the real-time data and allowing scientists to effectively search for their required data. SwissEx Science SwissEx Science is a collaboration between hydrologists at EPFL/EFLUM and boundary layer meteorologists at WSL/SLF. This collaboration aims to use the SwissEx infrastructure to exploit the new technologies - rapidly deployable high resolution sensor networks and new sensors allowing high resolution measurements. These networks will be combined with data from the national sensor networks and perhaps co-located sensors from other projects, to demonstrate and re-define how science should be executed. Through the re-use of data, SwissEx Science aims to bridge the traditional scientific domains, broadening scientific knowledge on the interdisciplinary process interactions with the aim of eventually exploiting these links in large scale sensor deployments to improve environmental hazard forecasting and warning. Public Education Outreach plays a large roll in SwissEx, particularly because the new technologies are attractive and interesting to the public. Through schools programmes including the SwisScope and 03E projects, public field trips, press workshops and a public data interface, SwissEx aims to keep the public informed and interested in the environment around them. Collaboration with the local hazard mitigation authorities also makes sure that SwissEx is translated into a system for the benefit of the wider, non-scientific community.

In the environmental science domain, drawing accurate scientific conclusions, forecasting or validating models requires widespread temporal and spatial environmental monitoring. The overhead in collecting these observations is large and very often duplicated between projects and institutions. The data collected may be more effectively used if it were shared between synergetic projects. Using these synergies also helps us to understand the links between interdisciplinary processes.

SwissEx Partners

PI and Central Management

• WSL/SLF

Infrastructure Development

• EPFL/LSIR
  • Development of the infrastructure and coordinators of the MICS programme (3rd party funding, also funding many of the other partners). Also an integral part of the HYDROSYS project, who are both users and developers of technology used in SwissEx.
• University of Twente
  • Infrastructure development with particular focus on the Semantic Wiki
• ETHZ/IKA
  • Development of a WebGIS based interface containing sensor data
• ETHZ/TIK
  • Further development of GSN to integrate PermaSense requirements
• WSL/SLF
  • Development of webservices for HYDROSYS which will provide 3rd party application access to data and particularly the integration of models. SLF will also supply scripts for 3rd party applications e.g. Matlab, to allow the direct import of data and development of data quality algorithms.
• Microsoft Research:
  • Development of the Microsoft Sensormap data visualisation capability

Technology Development

• EPFL/EFLUM
  • Developing LIDAR technology, Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS), SensorScope and Fast Temperature Sensors in collaboration with DISAL
• EPFL/DISAL
  • Developing Fast Temperature Sensors in collaboration with EFLUM, mobile sensing technology and adding intelligence to the SensorScope stations.
• EPFL/LTE
  • Application of dual polarised mobile high resolution radar technology to the alpine environment and collaboration with AQUA and ISIM
• EPFL/ISIM/AQUA
  • Development of a low power, high resolution video disdrometer
• ETHZ/TIK
  • Development of the PermaSense network
• ETHZ/HWRM (APUNCH)
  • Development of single polarised radar technology for use in rainfall disaggregation models and gps tomography
• EPFL/LCAV
  • Development of the SensorScope self organising network in collaboration with EFLUM and LSIR.
• EAWAG
  • Development of technologies for use in ground water sensing, e.g. the use of DTS and TDRs to get groundwater profiles.
• ETHZ/SED
  • Development of GPS and broadband seismic sensors for use in sensor networks

Deployment and testing of the technologies

• ETHZ/HWRMAPUNCH:
  • Use of the technologies and infrastructure in the Matter Valley for measurements of coupled hydrological hazards (precipitation)
• ETHZ/SEDCOGEAR:
  • Use of the technologies and infrastructure in the Matter Valley for seismic monitoring
• MOUNTLAND:
  • Use of the technologies and infrastructure at various sites for sustainable land use
• BigLink:
  • Use of the technologies and infrastructure at Damma glacier for soil formation and its hydrological influences
• TRAMM:
  • Use of the technologies and infrastructure at various sites for slope instability (landslides and avalanches)
• RECORD:
  • Use of the technologies and infrastructure at the river Thur for the effects of river restoration on the surrounding environment
• EXTREMES:
  • Use of the infrastructure in the analysis of extreme environmental events such that their influences may be better understood
• HYDROSYS:
  • Use of the technologies and infrastructure for the development of an on-site environmental monitoring capability
• EFLUM:
  • Use of the technologies and infrastructure for high resolution monitoring of various regions
• ETHZ/TIK PermaSense:
  • Use of the infrastructure and the in house developed technologies for long-term monitoring of high-alpine permafrost
• WSL/SLF
  • Use of the technologies for many additional measurements including high alpine winter testing of the technologies. Use of the infrastructure as the primary infrastructure for all experimental measurements.

Benefits

The unique benefits of this multidisciplinary collaboration are expected to lead to improvements in:

• Predicting extreme events, assessing accuracy of predictions as function of available data
• Quantifying spatial and temporal variability and scaling in the environment with respect to natural hazards formation and environmental quality
• Assessing the earthquake hazard potential and its frequency characterization for large and major events
• Monitoring environmental change and documenting environmental quality

Project Deliverables

The project's deliverables will consist of:

• Capacity building in designing experiments based on multi-sensoral, multi-scale and multidisciplinary approaches
• Support to CCES project experimental sites in the Swiss Alps and the Swiss Plateau.
• New sensing devices (cheap, autonomous stations) and controlled sensing strategies
• Integration of external data sources within a SwissEx data portal
• Integrated wireless data and metadata collection and management infrastructure with stream processing capabilities.
• Data mining and visualization methods and tools
• Transfer of knowledge through an environmental education program with school children as part of the SwissEx outreach activities

Support and Funding

SwissEx is funded approx. 1/3 by CCES, 1/3 by the partner institutes (those involved in technology and infrastructure development) and 1/3 by third party funding. It has developed into a strong activity of CCES projects and has received continuing support from all involved institutions (WSL, EPFL, ETHZ, EAWAG). External funding from partners such as NCCR MICS, EU, SNF and Microsoft has also been secured. EU funding has been secured for the HYDROSYS project. SwissEx has begun to develop critical activities in the areas of sensor, data technology, education and community building. These efforts support the partner projects of the Competence Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CCES) through the deployment of sensing networks, data infrastructure design and cyber-collaboration platforms.

A successful SwissEx project will certainly be an ETH domain flagship programme because of its interdisciplinary nature and because it creates a new scientific community that transcends institutional and disciplinary boundaries. One pillar of successful research in Switzerland has always been experiment- and technology-based research. The SwissEx would be an important new milestone in that tradition, yet the new methodology described here will bring increased benefit and impact on the society.