WSIM-GLDAS: Prerequisites and Glossary
Prerequisites
Accounts
The Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) program offers comprehensive and unrestricted access to NASA’s extensive collection of Earth science data, facilitating a deeper understanding of our planet.
Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)
ORDCID is a standard and service designed to help researchers establish and maintain their scholarly identities while also facilitating connections among researchers.
Software/Tools
An open-source programming language used for statistical computing and data visualization, widely employed in data mining, bioinformatics, and data analysis.
RStudio (Integrated Development Environment [Abbrv: IDE])
RStudio IDE is an integrated development environment for R, offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed to enhance productivity with the R programming language.
RStudio Layout
Toolbar Above Source Panel: Provides quick access to a variety of useful functions and features for managing your R scripts and projects.
- To import a dataset select File and Import Dataset, proceed with selecting the location of your file.
Source Panel: Top-left, where you write and edit your scripts.
Console Panel: Bottom-left, where you can directly enter and execute R commands.
Environment/History Panel: Top-right, showing variables, data, and command history.
- To import a dataset select Import Dataset and select the location of your file.
Files/Plots/Packages/Help/Viewer Panel: Bottom-right, for file navigation, viewing plots, managing packages, and accessing help.
Glossary
Aerosols : are small particles suspended in the atmosphere. They are often not or barely visible to the human eye, yet their impact on climate, weather, health, and ecology are significant. (Chen, Sidel, and Howl 2015)
Aggregate : the formation or combination of units or items. (Great Schools Partnership 2013)
Application Programming Interface (API) : is a set of defined rules that explain how computers or applications communicate with one another. APIs sit between an application and the web server and act as an intermediary layer that processes data transfer between systems. (NASA Earth Science Data Systems 2015)
Atmosphere : Earth’s atmosphere is a thin veil of gas surrounding the planet. Although it only extends a few hundred kilometers above the surface, it contains a mixture of gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen, that are critical for life to exist. It distributes incoming solar radiation, protecting life from harmful ultraviolet radiation but also driving atmospheric circulation and weather. (Systems 2015), (UCAR Center for Science Education 2021)
Atmospheric Circulation : is the movement of air around the planet. It explains how thermal energy and storm systems move over the Earth’s surface. (U.S. Department of Commerce 2023), (University of California Museum of Paleontology 2022)
Attribute : a specific characteristic that describes data objects within a dataset. (Dinu and Nadkarni 2007)
Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) : BOCES is a public organization created to provide shared educational programs and services to school districts. (New York State 2023)
Choropleths map : a choropleth map is a thematic map that is used to represent statistical data using the color mapping symbology technique. [Also called: Thematic map] (Rodgers 2024)
Contaminant : a contaminant is any physical, chemical, biological or radiological substance or matter that affects the composition, taste, or safety in water. (Environmental Protection Agency 2024)
Drought : is an extended period of unusually dry weather when there is not enough rain.b(Rodgers 2024), (National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) 2024)
Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) : is the core operational system that provides end-to-end capabilities for managing NASA Earth science data from various sources—satellites, aircraft, field measurements, and various other programs. (NASA 2019), (NASA 2020)
Evaporation : is the process that changes liquid water to gaseous water (water vapor). Water moves from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere via evaporation. (Water Science School 2019)
Hectare : is 10,000 square meters (10,000 m2).
Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) : LANCE is a component of the NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). LANCE products are used for monitoring fires, dust storms, hurricanes, air quality, sea ice, vegetation and crop development and volcanic eruptions. (Systems 2015)
Lead : Lead is a naturally occurring metal that can be found throughout the earth, particularly in the Earth’s crust. It can toxic to humans and animals and lead to health effects. (Environmental Protection Agency 2024), (Agency 2024)
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) : is an instrument that collects remotely sensed data used by scientists for monitoring, modeling, and assessing the effects of natural processes and human actions on the Earth’s surface. (Frazier and Maccherone 2000), (NASA, n.d.a)
Near Real-Time (NRT) : data are made available more rapidly than routine processing allows, generally with 1-3 hours after a satellite observation. (NASA, n.d.b)
Outlier : a data point that differs significantly from other observations in the dataset. (Standards and (NIST), n.d.)
Precipitation : is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls to Earth. It is one of the three main steps of the global water cycle. (Society 2023)
Raster (Dataset) : a raster consists of a matrix of cells (or pixels) organized into rows and columns (or a grid) where each cell contains a value representing information, such as temperature. (“What Is Raster Data? - ArcMap d̍ocumentation,” n.d.)
Spatial Data : refers to geographic information about the earth’s features and boundaries that identifies a location or area. (“Spatial Data: Methods@manchester: The University of Manchester,” n.d.)
US Census Bureau : produces data about the American people including the country’s population size and growth as well as changing characteristics of communities and the economy. (U.S. Census Bureau 2023)
Web Coverage Service (WCS) : offers multi-dimensional coverage data for access over the Internet. WCS Core specifies a core set of requirements that a WCS implementation must fulfill. (Open Geospatial Consortium 2023)
Web Map Service : The OpenGIS® Web Map Service Interface Standard (WMS) provides a simple HTTP interface for requesting geo-registered map images from one or more distributed geospatial databases. (Consortium 2023)