Scientists, technology experts, and environmental data industry representatives will come together at a workshop that will explore how environmental data are used to gain knowledge about the environment. State-of-the-art technology and world-class presenters will be on hand at the "Gaining Knowledge from Environmental Data" workshop May 1-3 in Fort Collins, Colo.

The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the workshop today on behalf of the multi-agency U.S. Global Change Research Program's Data and information Working Group.

"One of the challenges we face today is effectively using the vast amount of data that are being collected in an effort to address questions about our Earth and its environment," said David Clark of NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colo"The workshop will take a look at some of the tools, procedures, and methods that are being developed to help solve this problem."

The workshop will examine the process of turning environmental data into information and finally knowledge. The plenary session with leaders from science, policy, data centers and industry, will address the big picture – why gaining knowledge from data is important. Two sessions will tackle specific issues related to data and information and how they contribute to gaining knowledge about the environment. A third session on knowledge will pull the pieces together and will identify issues and challenges for data centers to address with the science community.

The conference is sponsored by the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Data and Information Working Group and hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey.

For more information, go to: http://www.globalchange.gov/workshop2001