In-situ and remote sensors, as well as simulations, deliver exponentially growing multi-dimensional data volumes, such as 1-D time series, 2-D remote sensing imagery (x/y), 3-D remote sensing time series (x/y/t) and geophysics data (x/y/z), 4-D climate models (x/y/z/t), to name but a few. Data sizes frequently are extremely high, ranging into Terabyte and Petabyte volumes; with the proliferation of remote sensing and in-situ sensors, bio scanners, etc. additionally an increasingly high update rate can be observed. An emerging trend is to not just offer navigation and extraction facilities, but advanced server-side analysis and processing.

Jacobs University's raster data manager, rasdaman, offers an SQL-like multi-dimensional raster query language on the concepts of which the Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) emerging OGC standard grounds. The rasdaman architecture centers around tile-based raster storage, query evaluation, and optimization, using standard relational databases for storage. This works well for „google-like“ 2-D zoom & pan applications and beyond; efficiency needs to be improved, however, for advanced operations, such as on-the-fly spectral transformation.

The challenge on hand is to develop novel optimization techniques for complex queries on extremely large spatio-temporal earth science raster data sets. Tasks include: to establish application profiles across the earth sciences in close collaboration with ESSRS earth scientists; to review existing approaches in imaging, databases, super­computing, and other relevant domains and to come up with own original concepts; to implement and evaluate them in view of the previously established application profiles.

 

Working on this topic requires a sound background in remote sensing, GIS, databases, and general Computer Science.

 

For further information or questions please contact:

Prof. Dr. Peter Baumann ([email protected])

www.faculty.jacobs-university.de/pbaumann

 

Related links:

rasdaman.eecs.jacobs-university.de, www.earthlook.org

 

International Collaborators:

Prof. Liu Chuang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Prof. Claudia Bauzer Medeiros, University of Campinas, Brasil

various partners, Open GeoSpatial Consortium (OGC, www.opengeospatial.org)

 

                                  Please indicate project P2 when applying for this topic.