Spatial cloud computing: how can the geospatial sciences use and help shape cloud computing?

The geospatial sciences face grand information technology(IT)challenges in the twenty-first century:data intensity,computing intensity,concurrent access intensity and spatiotemporal intensity.These challenges require the readiness of a computing infrastructure that can:(1)better support discovery,access and utilization of data and data processing so as to relieve scientists and engineers of IT tasks and focus on scientific discoveries;(2)provide real-time IT resources to enable real-time applications,such as emergency response;(3)deal with access spikes;and(4)provide more reliable and scalable service for massive numbers of concurrent users to advance public knowledge.The emergence of cloud computing provides a potential solution with an elastic,on-demand computing platform to integrateobservation systems,parameter extracting algorithms,phenomena simulations,analytical visualization and decision support,and to provide social impact and user feedbackthe essential elements of the geospatial sciences.We discuss the utilization of cloud computing to support the intensities of geospatial sciences by reporting from our investigations on how cloud computing could enable the geospatial sciences and how spatiotemporal principles,the kernel of the geospatial sciences,could be utilized to ensure the benefits of cloud computing.Four research examples are presented to analyze how to:(1)search,access and utilize geospatial data;(2)configure computing infrastructure to enable the computability of intensive simulation models;(3)disseminate and utilize research results for massive numbers of concurrent users;and(4)adopt spatiotemporal principles to support spatiotemporal intensive applications.The paper concludes with a discussion of opportunities and challenges for spatial cloud computing(SCC).

Redefining the possibility of digital Earth and geosciences with spatial cloud computing

Global challenges(such as economy and natural hazards)and technology advancements have triggered international leaders and organizations to rethink geosciences and Digital Earth in the new decade.The next generation visions pose grand challenges for infrastructure,especially computing infrastructure.The gradual establishment of cloud computing as a primary infrastructure provides new capabilities to meet the challenges.This paper reviews research conducted using cloud computing to address geoscience and Digital Earth needs within the context of an integrated Earth system.We also introduce the five papers selected through a rigorous review process as exemplar research in using cloud capabilities to address the challenges.The literature and research demonstrate that spatial cloud computing provides unprecedented new capabilities to enable Digital Earth and geosciences in the twenty-first century in several aspects:(1)virtually unlimited computing power for addressing big data storage,sharing,processing,and knowledge discovering challenges,(2)elastic,flexible,and easy-to-use computing infrastructure to facilitate the building of the next generation geospatial cyberin-frastructure,CyberGIS,CloudGIS,and Digital Earth,(3)seamless integration environment that enables mashing up observation,data,models,problems,and citizens,(4)research opportunities triggered by global challenges that may lead to breakthroughs in relevant fields including infrastructure building,GIScience,computer science,and geosciences,and(5)collaboration supported by cloud computing and across science domains,agencies,countries to collectively address global challenges from policy,management,system engineering,acquisition,and operation aspects.