The Live Access Server: Unifying Access to Diverse Data

Jonathan Callahan
NOAA/OAR/PMEL - JISAO

The Live Access Server is a web based data visualization and
subsetting tool that has been in use for more than six years.
Our goal is to make a broad spectrum of data available through
a uniform interface. As part of the Virtual Ocean Data Hub,
LAS is tasked with providing a minimal uniform interface to as
much oceanographic data as possible.

Recent developments have greatly increased the flexibility of
LAS, allowing us to support many diverse data types. We can
now support in-situ data, ship observations, satellite
products and complex model output (curvilinear grids,
additional parameters, etc.).

Great attention has been paid to flexibility of configuration.
Each variable of each data set may, if desired, have a unique
set of associated "products". Each product may in turn be
associated with a distinct menu of options (e.g. contour plots
with contour levels, line plots with axis scaling, ...)

The close connection between LAS and DODS allows data holdings
to be distributed accross multiple sites so that data offered
through LAS can be diverse in space as well as diverse in
nature. Additionally, multiple data formats are supported
through DODS translation or through LAS' support for multiple
back end packages. This talk will consist primarily of live
demonstrations which demonstrate the diversity of data
available through LAS.

Live Access Server - http://www.ferret.noaa.gov/Ferret/LAS/

Bio - Jonathan Callahan Johnathan has a BA in Germanics from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Washington in Seattle. He has been working at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory since 1993 with a primary focus on user interface development for scientific visualization and analysis.

Auditorium - Paper Tuesday - 2:30 - 3:00 P.M.