2018 ESIP Summer Meeting

During the 2017 ESIP Summer Meeting, the Information Quality Cluster (IQC) sponsored a plenary panel session and a breakout session focused on Earth science data uncertainty. Expert panellists presented to the ESIP audience key aspects of scientific quality and addressed questions such as "How is uncertainty determined and characterized in the products of their research or application? What are the major side effects and limitations of common statistical techniques used to quantify and characterize uncertainty? What is the impact of uncertainty on the quality of their data products? How is data uncertainty accounted for when multiple sources of data are spliced and woven into a single product? How do they document and convey the information about uncertainty to other scientific users? What is the best way of conveying uncertainty to the (possibly skeptical) public?" Following considerable discussion during the breakout session, a one of the key action items recommended was that a clear understanding of the concept of uncertainty, and its communication to users was essential, and that the IQC should develop a white paper to satisfy this objective. During the 2017 ESIP Winter Meeting, the IQC held a session titled "Formulation of a White Paper on Earth Science Data Uncertainty" where further presentations by experts was held about the mathematical basis for uncertainty as well as uncertainty from the point of view of scientific data producers and applications' users, followed by subgroup discussions for formulating the white paper. An outline of the white paper has been developed and reviewed by IQC members and a number of individuals have signed up to be co-authors and/or reviewers.

This IQC session represents a follow-on to the preceding ESIP 2018 Summer Meeting IQC breakout session which intends to provide an opportunity to acquire a final set considerations and recommendations from additional domain experts toward the development of the white paper. This purpose of this working session is to finalize the white paper outline and establish the final points and issues that should be addressed by the paper. This session will also function as a “last call” for any additional requests for co-authorship or reviewers for the proposed paper.