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COVE: A Visual Environment for Multidisciplinary Science Collaboration
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Date
2009
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Association for Computing Machinery
Abstract
New technologies and approaches are transforming how we carry out and communicate science. In oceanography, large multidisciplinary teams are developing deep-water ocean observatories of unprecedented scale. These observatories will allow hundreds of scientists from disparate fields to conduct experiments together, provide real-time sensor and data access through the Internet, and create a vast archive of data. My work explores some of the challenges of creating collaborative tools to support this new science. Working together with a team of scientists, I designed and deployed the Collaborative Ocean Visualization Environment (COVE) to bring together the data, processes and people on the team. I then carried out three field evaluations of COVE: a multi-month deployment with the scientists, engineers, and graphics staff of the observatory design team, and two different two-week deployments as the primary planning and collaboration platform for expeditionary cruises to map observatory node sites and geothermal sites. Based on these experiences and insight gained in these deployments, I explore the needs of interactive tools to support the work of large multidisciplinary ocean science teams.