MARGINS Town Hall Meeting
AGU Fall Meeting 2004
Moscone Center, Thursday, December 16, 6:30–? p.m.

Title

The MARGINS Database: Its part in the Marine Geoscience Data Management System and benefits of integrated data access and visualization to researchers and educators.

Description

The MARGINS Database (MARGINS DB) proposal was funded at the Spring 2003 MARGINS-NSF Panel as a repository for all data collected under the MARGINS Program Initiatives. As part of the Marine Geoscience Data Management System (MG DMS), MARGINS DB integrates with databases for RIDGE 2000, the Antarctic and RIDGE Multibeam Synthesis projects and the Seismic Reflection Field Data Center.

In creating the databases, the DMS developers have focused on user-friendly access and maximum interoperability with existing and developing databases. The DMS data access and visualization tools allow seamless acquisition, manipulation and viewing across diverse datatypes from detailed local surveys to global seismic activity. The result is a system that will appeal not only to researchers, but also to educators seeking informative ways in which interrelated data can convey earth science "stories" to undergraduate students and the interested public.

We invite interested and involved parties to learn more about the benefits of the integrated data system and to discuss its potential and power in delivering sometimes complex data in a way that is accessible and enlightening to researchers and educators alike. We will also be discussing other exciting developments in the MARGINS Program, including education and outreach plans and the platform for progress presented by the Program's recent NSF Review. All are welcome.

The MARGINS Program promotes and supports research strategies that redirect traditional approaches to continental margin studies through four fundamental initiatives: the Seismogenic Zone Experiment, the Subduction Factory, Rupturing Continental Lithosphere, and Source to Sink (Sediment Dynamics and Strata Formation).

Also, information on current activities by the MARGINS Office and MARGINS scientists.