Curation and Publication of Simulation Data in DesignSafe, a Natural Hazards Engineering Open Platform and Repository

Abstract

Most open repositories present a similar interface and workflow to publish data resultant from different types of research methods. Publishing simulation datasets is challenging due to the iterative nature of simulations that generate large numbers and sizes of files, and their need for detailed documentation. DesignSafe is a web-based open platform for natural hazards engineering research where users can conduct simulations in high performance computing resources, curate, and publish their data. Working closely with experts, we completed a data design project for curation and representation of simulation datasets. The design involved the creation of a data and metadata model that captures the main processes, data, and documentation used in natural hazards simulation research. The model became the foundation to design an interactive curation pipeline integrated with the rest of the platform functions. In the curation interface, users are guided to move, select, categorize, describe, and register relations between files corresponding to the simulation model, the inputs and the outputs categories. Curation steps can be undertaken at any time during active research. To engage users, the web interactions were designed to facilitate managing large numbers of files. The resultant data landing pages show the structure and metadata of a simulation process both as a tree, and a browsing interface for understandability and ease of access. To evaluate the design, we mapped real simulation data to interactive mockups and sought out experts’ feed-back. Upon implementing a first release of the pipeline, we evaluated the data publications and made necessary enhancements.

Open is not enough

“…Examples of such domain-specific repositories include the Sloan Digital Sky Survey 35 , EarthCube 36 , and a number of others [176]. DesignSafe [58] is an example of a web-based repository that focuses on specific requirements for simulation datasets. While the tailored design approach requires extensive efforts for the implementation and maintenance, it enables a more targeted interaction with preserved research content [97].…”

Disaster Risk Management Through the DesignSafe Cyberinfrastructure

“…This representation captures the provenance, function, structure, context, and domain of these data, so that when published they are findable, explainable, and reusable. DesignSafe provides data models for the main data sources in natural hazards engineering: experimental, simulation, hybrid simulation, and field research as well as a simple model to publish reports, surveys, presentations, or datasets different from the sources mentioned , Esteva, Jansen, Arduino et al 2019. While data derived from different types of natural hazard research are used in disaster risk management, of special importance are data generated during field research, especially post-disaster reconnaissance missions.…”