The Space Physics Interactive Data Resource (SPIDR) is designed to allow a solar
terrestrial physics customer to intelligently access and manage historical space
physics data for integration with environment models and space weather forecasts.
SPIDR is a distributed network of synchronous databases and 100% Java middle-ware servers
accessed via the World Wide Web. By enabling easy data mirroring and eliminating the network
bottlenecks associated with transcontinental links, the distributed system architecture
is a key factor for low latency in multimedia data visualization and fast data delivery.
The key concepts in the SPIDR architecture are the data basket
(a collection of different space weather parameters selected from different databases
for the same time interval) and space weather event. The data basket allows the user
to manipulate and deliver the data in various standard formats for easy integration
into existing tools. The "event" system is designed to allow the user to specify desired
spatial, temporal, and parameter conditions in fuzzy linguistic and/or numeric terms and
then to mine the archives and receive a ranked list of space weather events best matching
the desired conditions in the historical archive.
Once an event is discovered or identified, the client can request dynamical temporal
and spatial visualization using a set of communicating Java applets, browse the archive
of Sun and Earth satellite images, and request delivery of the data formatted for
inclusion in model runs.
Each SPIDR node has a database management interface, which allows data updates
performed either by a local user or by another SPIDR server from the Net.
The servers communicate with each other for scheduled mirroring of the data and software.
The space weather historical archives implemented are geomagnetic field variation
and indices, sunspot numbers, ionosphere, interplanetary magnetic field and sun
wind parameters, cosmic rays events and sun flares, GOES, SOHO and YHOKOH satellites data.
