Web-Based Knowledge Portal and Collaboration Environment

Earth Knowledge, Inc. proposes to develop a web-based ¿Knowledge Portal and Collaboration Environment¿ that will serve as the information-technology-based foundation of a modular Internet-based Earth-Systems Monitoring, Analysis, and Management Tool. This ¿Knowledge Portal¿ is essentially a ¿mash-up¿ of web-based and client-based tools and services that support on-line collaboration, community discussion, and broad public dissemination of earth and environmental science information in a wide-area distributed network. In contrast to highly specialized knowledge-management or geographic-information systems developed for long-term and incremental scientific analysis, this system will exploit familiar software tools using industry standard protocols, formats, and APIs to discover, process, fuse, and visualize existing environmental datasets using Google Earth and Google Maps. An early form of these tools and services is already being used by Earth Knowledge to facilitate the investigations and conversations of scientists, resource managers, and citizen-stakeholders addressing water resource sustainability issues in the Great Basin region of the desert southwestern United States. These ongoing water resource sustainability projects will serve as use cases for the further development of this information-technology infrastructure. This web-based ¿Knowledge Portal¿ will accelerate the deployment of Earth-system science data and information into an operational knowledge management system that may be quickly used by decision makers concerned with stewardship of water resources in the American Desert Southwest. Successful completion of Phase I work will result in a powerful set of structured work flows for a ¿Knowledge Portal and Collaboration Environment¿ that will facilitate the investigations and conversations of scientists, resource managers, and citizen-stakeholders addressing water resource sustainability issues in the desert southwestern United States. These workflows will be fully tested during Phase 1 and will be integrated and fully functional by the completion of Phase II. The enhancement of the existing ¿Knowledge Portal¿ and ¿Collaboration Environment¿ will facilitate investigations and conversations of scientists, resource managers, and citizen-stakeholders. These capabilities are of interest to existing Earth Knowledge clients including the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the City of Fernley, NV, and the Central Nevada Regional Water Authority. Earth Knowledge has already begun a targeted marketing and sales campaign to other communities in the desert southwestern United States with similar issues and similar scientific, decision-maker and public stakeholder communities. Likewise, through its international relationships the proposer is targeting potential markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. The potential for general public users of the website is also significant. Early versions of the ¿Earth Knowledge Portal¿ have met with a positive reception for design, user-interaction, mapping capabilities, and quality of content. The company has also worked with Google through its partner program to develop a structured subscription schedule allowing the general public to have free access to certain basic capabilities paid for through ad-generated revenue. More sophisticated capabilities are available to subscribers in three tiers through increased monthly and annual subscription rates