relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale
DESCRIPTION
Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale. Tyler Erickson Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Deborah Donahue Data Manager, Snow Hydrology Research Group Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the
research plot scale
Tyler EricksonInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research
University of Colorado
Deborah DonahueData Manager, Snow Hydrology Research Group
Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
University of California
![Page 2: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Q: Why Relational Databases?
A: To Manage Large Data Sets
![Page 3: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Storage Choices
• Field notes– Good for data
collection
– Difficult to share
![Page 4: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Storage Choices
• Field notes • The bookshelf
![Page 5: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Storage Choices
• Field notes
• The bookshelf• The file cabinet
![Page 6: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Storage Choices
• Field notes
• The bookshelf• The file cabinet• Etc.
![Page 7: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Distributable Storage Choices
• Text data files– Most flexible; easy to
set up & distribute– Difficult for analysis
![Page 8: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Distributable Storage Choices
• Text data files• Spreadsheets
– Good for analysis– Inflexible distribution
![Page 9: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Distributable Storage Choices
• Text data files• Spreadsheets• Database
– Best for large high-dimensional datasets; flexible distribution
– Work intensive to set up & maintain
![Page 10: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Distributable Storage Choices
• Text data files• Spreadsheets• Database• GIS
– Best for spatial data– Uses a relational
database
![Page 11: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
It’s 4pm and you are somewhere near Granby, Colorado…
Do you know where your data are?
![Page 12: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
![Page 13: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Data in Need of a Database
• Data Characteristics– Large volume– Constant format– Need for sharing
![Page 14: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Designing a Database
Data Modeling1. Identifying related entities
• Sample locations, spatial extent, sampling methods, recorded data, data quality, topography…
2. Determining relationships between entities
![Page 15: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Relationships
CARDINALITY: Defines the numeric relationships between occurrences of the entities
• One-to-One– (one member to one home address)
• One-to-Many– (one region/state/province to many members)
• Many-to-Many– (many members to many papers)
![Page 16: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Example: Keeping Track of the WSC
![Page 17: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Example Table Data
![Page 18: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
(MMSA Example)
![Page 19: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Database Information System
![Page 20: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Database Information System
![Page 21: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Database Information System
![Page 22: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Database Information System
![Page 23: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Database Information System
![Page 24: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Other Examples
• EPA
http://www.epa.gov/storet/
![Page 25: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Other Examples
• EPA
• USGS Surface Water
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/sw
![Page 26: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Other Examples
• EPA
• USGS Surface Water
• Snotel
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/snotel.html
![Page 27: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Summary
• Relational databases can be overkill for small data sets.
• Relational databases are a good choice for large data sets with a consistent format, that need to be distributed to many users.
![Page 28: Relational databases as a tool to manage environmental data at the research plot scale](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062309/56814657550346895db37373/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Acknowledgments
• NASA-EOS
• Mammoth MountainEnergy Balance Monitoring Sitehttp://neige.bren.ucsb.edu/mmsa/