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MPDS: a federated Multi-Proxy Database System for Mediterranean and African paleoclimatologists
by
Michel Hoepffner
Medias-France
Coauthors: Jean-Luc Boichard (Medias-France), Rachid Cheddadi (CNRS), Bertrand Ferret (Medias-France), Francoise Gasse (CNRS), Joel Guiot (CNRS), Laurent Labeyrie (CNRS), Anne-Marie Lezine (CNRS), Marie-Antoinette Melieres (CNRS)
In the field of the reconstruction of paleoenvironments and paleoclimates, for different purposes (abrupt events, validation of models, etc.), scientists working at wider scales than that of the site scale have to use large data sets. An integrated and quantitative multi-proxy approach is also decisive to provide a correct interpretation of individual signals.
To integrate different proxies in a paleo-environmental or paleo-climatic study, new methods are always under development.
Here we propose to present examples on which Medias-France is currently working Data policies and software needs for mono-proxy databases were first defined. The main programs within which Medias-France is in charge of either creating or maintaining a mono-proxy database, are dealing with Mediterranean and Submediterranean regions, and Africa. They are Format (assessment of the sensitivity of tree-growth to climate change in mountain and Mediterranean forests), African Diatoms (integration of the fossil and recent African diatoms), EPD (European Pollen Database), and APD (African Pollen Database), a compatible structure of the European Pollen Database for African pollen data archival.
After having define the current step is to elaborate a tool allowing the intercomparison between data and between site for the reconstruction of the paleoenvironments through a multi-proxy-multi-size database.
Medias-France is building a tool in order to consult and to use quickly and easily various mono-proxy data for a region and/or a period, with the following features:
- Such database shall be federated, with the concern to maintain the authority of the mono-proxy database administrators and scientific responsibles, and the possibility for them to manage together such a multi-proxy database - This multi-proxy database shall be used without particular computer competencies - The tools shall be freeware, light and reliable. The development of this multi-proxy paleoclimatological database will not lead to the disappearance of the mono-proxy database. The mono-proxy databases will be organised into a common Relational Database Management System, and periodic mirroring procedures will transfer and format on this Multi-Proxy Database System (MPDS) the existing mono-proxy databases.
Date received: April 30, 2001
Copyright © 2001 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cahi-63.