Taking the Pulse of an expanding urban region:  an urban eAtlas for greater Phoenix

A preproposal to the NSF-Information Technology Research Program (Information Management and Applications): Group proposal, <$1M/yr for 5 years.

Ramon Arrowsmith, Department of Geological Sciences and Frederick Steiner, School Of Planning & Landscape Architecture

AND OTHERS

Arizona State University

Problem

What is the past, present, and future distribution of materials and processes in an expanding urban region in a semi-arid setting and what are the controls on and drivers of change?

Tools

Urban e-atlas

The Urban eAtlas will create an interactive electronic/ecological data bank and decision theater for the Phoenix metropolitan region.  Connections between users, models, and data are Electronic and they represent an Ecological basis for decisions.

Characterization and analysis of diverse datasets (including active data streams) gathered over different timescales and with different resolutions and maintainence of a high quality standard.

Urban, ecological and climate and surface/subsurface hydrological modeling (multiply coupled models: mesoscale-boundary layer-surface water-subsurface-water-water quality).

Application of Information Technology for analysis and synthesis of information, data fusion, data mining, visualization, simulation, and web-based multilevel user (student/decision maker/scientist) inquiry.

Expected results

Virtual atlas of spatial and temporal distribution of primary and derivative parameters characterizing the region and model results evaluating scenarios for change.

Informed public and decision makers.

Invaluable high resolution, quality-controlled fully digital and archived database and database infrastructure.

We want to bring IT tools to bear so people can interact seamlessly with data and models to address interdisciplinary inquiries

Collaboration

LANL Urban Security team
City of Phoenix Planning Department (Ray Quay)
Maricopa County Flood Control
ADEQ

University commitment

Space
Environmentally friendly IT type.

What is needed:

Input, advice, and participation

5 page preproposal written by the end of November.

What other projects are ongoing that are similar?

Figure out how to write this to dovetail well with the other CAP-LTER and related projects.

Find (a) "card-carrying" IT person(s) to join and identify and work on the IT research challenges.