Searching the Web for Earth Science Data: Semiotics to Cybernetics and Back

Abstract

This paper discusses a search paradigm for numerical data in Earth science that relies on the intrinsic structure of an archive's collection. Such non-textual data lies outside the normal textual basis for the Semantic Web. The paradigm tries to bypass some of the difficulties associated with keyword searches, such as semantic heterogeneity. The suggested collection structure uses a hierarchical taxonomy based on multidimensional axes of continuous variables. This structure fits the underlying 'geometry' of Earth science data better than sets of keywords in an ontology. The alternative paradigm views the search as a two-agent cooperative game that uses a dialog between the search engine and the data user. In this view, the search engine knows about the objects in the archive. It cannot read the user's mind to identify what the user needs. We assume the user has a clear idea of the search target. However he or she may not have a clear idea of the archive's contents. The paper suggests how the user interface may provide information to deal with the user's difficulties in understanding items in the dialog.

Keywords

• Recall and Precision
• Navigational Search
• Earth science data