Chapter 5
ACCESSING GEOENVIRONMENTAL DATA
From On-line to Expert Systems
LARGE DATABASE ACCESS AND USAGE IN
THE EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCES THROUGH
COMPUTER NETWORKS
James R. THIEMAN
NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center, National Space Science Data Center,
Code 633.2, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
ABSTRACT
The development of the worldwide computer network has fostered the creation of
and access to many data information systems and databases. These offer the
capability for users to identify, access, use, and intercompare data from remote
locations. It is not always easy to find the best sources of information for a
particular problem. Directories for this purpose have existed for some time, and
new methods are being developed for network information location, especially for
systems such as the World-Wide Web and other network tools. It is still important,
however, that there be consistency and standard approaches to the information
content for effective information retrieval.
C. Bardinet et al. (eds.), Geosciences and Water Resources: Environmental Data Modeling
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1997