News
Invited Talk: Wednesday 15 May 2019 - Mrs Glenda Coetzer
Title: Scientific Data Management System for the HartRAO Space Geodesy Programme
Author: Mrs Glenda Coetzer
SARAO Information Specialist,
HartRAO site
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)
Abstract:
HartRAO participates in global astronomic and geodetic research activities. Astronomy activities focus largely on the use of the 26‑m radio telescope to conduct astronomical observations, single-dish observations and astronomical Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), where geodetic activities focus on using the HartRAO 15-m and 26-m telescopes for geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) positional reference stations, weather data, seismic systems, Satellite Laser ranging (SLR) and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Inregrated by Satellite (DORIS) systems. Added to the existing instruments and techniques are gravimetric instruments, a Lunar Laser Ranger (LLR) and, in the near future, a VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS) telescope. HartRAO is participating in the African VLBI Network (AVN), a network of radio telescopes in Africa.
Data and data products produced by HartRAO’s expanded range of on-site and off-site instruments must be archived and stored at HartRAO and made accessible to the scientific community. The data management and storage systems currently being used have certain drawbacks, e.g. they are outdated, have limited capacity to handle large volumes of data and are unable to fully address user requirements. This necessitated the design and implementation of a new, next-generation Geodetic Research Data Management System (GRDMS), which is to comply with internationally accepted standards. In this talk, an overview will be given of the design of this new GRDMS. I will touch on the main objectives of the system, its components, data structuring, file naming conventions (FNCs) and Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).
More about the author:
Glenda Coetzer has been the HartRAO librarian for the past 24 years. Her academic background is in Library and Information Science, specialising in data management. One of the things she enjoys most about working in a small, specialised library, is that she does not have time to get bored as there is always something interesting or out of the ordinary requiring her attention. Glenda’s current focus is on data management and data management systems, more specifically data management systems catering for geodetic data services. She is also involved in “The History of Astronomy in Africa” project as well as with AVN training. She enjoys being creative, and uses her skills and knowledge to paint celestial phenomena.