Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Semantic graph databases”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

Modeling Atmospheric Science Knowledge from Research Publications

NASA Earth Science Data Centers contain enormous amounts of remote sensing digital data. It is often a significant challenge for users to find data suitable for their research topic in these vast archives. One of the approaches is the usage-driven dataset discovery, where users seek publications on projects similar to their intended study. For this approach to be effective, users need a clear connection between the underlying data in the publications and the study objectives; this is not often apparent to non-expert users. Tools and methodologies that can help facilitate and organize these connections are therefore valuable for creating improved knowledge mappings, which can be further used by search engines to suggest data or publications best tailored to a user’s specific research goal. As an illustration of these challenges, in this work we focus on the atmospheric chemistry processes related to Earth environmental impacts such as ozone depletion, aerosols, smog formation, acid rain, and radiative forcing. We further limit our study to publications that use data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument flown on the Aura Earth Observing System. To create knowledge representations of science carried out in these publications, we use existing ontologies such as the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) and Semantic Web for Earth and Environmental Terminology (SWEET). These ontologies together encompass term dictionaries that include measured variables, names of molecules or radicals, mission and instrument names, locations, action words, among many others. Based on these terms acknowledge graph database was populated with the terms retrieved from scientific publications that study atmospheric chemistry. These databases can be used to further enhance the automation of knowledge discovery and facilitate machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms or applications. These tools and methods can also be extended to apply to content from other related Earth science domains.

Irina Gerasimov↗

Orbital Debris Ontology, Terminology, and Knowledge Modeling

The looming threat orbital debris poses to assets in orbit demands solutions. As the orbital population grows, so does this hazard, but so does the sea of data. The problem is also an opportunity for interdisciplinary innovation and cooperation. This paper focuses on the data and information management aspect of developing solutions for a sustainable and safe orbital space environment. The corresponding author’s in-progress work to develop an orbital debris domain ontology is summarized in order to discuss knowledge modeling for this domain. Methodological approaches of this effort can also contribute to standards efforts and address terminological and policy questions. Leveraging the growing volumes of orbital debris and space situational awareness (SSA) data will create a more complete picture of the orbital space environment. Part of the solution will be: consistent and correct data interpretation, sharing orbital debris and SSA data in one form or another, terminology development & harmonization, and knowledge or domain modeling. To facilitate this, [Rovetto, 2015/16] discussed ontology development for the orbital debris domain. This paper lists concepts from that paper, and subsequently developed concepts [2-9]. Ontology engineering is an interdisciplinary field related to knowledge representation and reasoning in artificial intelligence, semantic technologies and the so-called semantic web. An ontology is effectively a computable and semantically rich terminology that presents a knowledge or domain model for a topic area. Expressions of knowledge or assertions are stored using formally defined term. This knowledge base is reasoned over to yield answers to queries, among other things. Ontologies have been developed in knowledge-based projects across various disciplines, and used for such things as search engines, chatbots, enterprise knowledge graphs, etc. Ontologies support: interoperability, automated reasoning, data sharing and integration, data search and retrieval, and communicating the meaning of data. The Orbital Debris Ontology (ODO), and related ontologies [Rovetto & Kelso 2016] [Rovetto 2016, 2017], were proposed to help achieve this. ODO, for instance, is intended as a domain ontology that can be used across federated databases, offering an explicitly specified set of concepts describing the orbital debris domain. Its meaning-rich taxonomy will provide a sharable semantics for orbital debris data to, in part, consistently communicate the meaning of data to both humans and machines, and tag data elements in space object catalogs to help afford inference tasks, decision support, knowledge discovery, and information integration. ODO and the SSA ontology (SSAO) is part of the overall Orbital Space Domain Ontology concept, which is conceived as a broader domain reference ontology. It aims to provide a knowledge representation structure of the orbital space environment, a common semantic model, and develop a sharable terminology. Collectively this will provide common meaning for datasets, a high-level taxonomy or classification for orbital space objects, and thus means to characterize space objects. Ongoing efforts have included using visualizations, R, JSON-LD, and contemporary semantic technologies. Potential applications and interdisciplinary partnerships include web-based platforms, web apps, visualizations, and academia projects. Community input and participation may yield a more widely understood domain model as well as facilitate terminological standards. For example, the proposed conceptual, terminological and ontological analysis may contribute to such efforts as the Space Debris Mitigation Requirements in the International Standards Organization by developing more precise, consistent and coherent terms and definitions. Projects that seek to develop in-house ontologies can use ODO and related ontologies as domain reference ontologies. This paper was developed independent of author affiliations. Readers are encouraged to contact corresponding author(1) with general interest and potential opportunities to support or realize the described project.

Robert J. Rovetto↗

The Open Data Repositorys Data Publisher

Data management and data publication are becoming increasingly important components of researcher's workflows. The complexity of managing data, publishing data online, and archiving data has not decreased significantly even as computing access and power has greatly increased. The Open Data Repository's Data Publisher software strives to make data archiving, management, and publication a standard part of a researcher's workflow using simple, web-based tools and commodity server hardware. The publication engine allows for uploading, searching, and display of data with graphing capabilities and downloadable files. Access is controlled through a robust permissions system that can control publication at the field level and can be granted to the general public or protected so that only registered users at various permission levels receive access. Data Publisher also allows researchers to subscribe to meta-data standards through a plugin system, embargo data publication at their discretion, and collaborate with other researchers through various levels of data sharing. As the software matures, semantic data standards will be implemented to facilitate machine reading of data and each database will provide a REST application programming interface for programmatic access. Additionally, a citation system will allow snapshots of any data set to be archived and cited for publication while the data itself can remain living and continuously evolve beyond the snapshot date. The software runs on a traditional LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server and is available on GitHub (http://github.com/opendatarepository) under a GPLv2 open source license. The goal of the Open Data Repository is to lower the cost and training barrier to entry so that any researcher can easily publish their data and ensure it is archived for posterity.

Astrobiology data↗

LSKnowledge: Nexus for Transformative Scientific Discoveries and Enhanced Information Retrieval in NASA Life Sciences Portal

We stand at the brink of an extraordinary transformation in the field of AI, driven by the convergence of generative AI and semantic technologies (e.g., knowledge graphs). This fusion holds immense potential and could redefine the future of scientific exploration, particularly in the realm of life sciences research. In this context, we shed light on the pivotal roles that Large Language Models (LLMs) and semantic technologies will play in advancing research, unearthing and comprehending life sciences information through innovative approaches, and empowering researchers to extract insights from NASA's extensive Life Sciences Data Archive. Within the NASA Life Sciences Portal (NLSP), the integration of LLMs and semantic technologies unlocks several advanced capabilities. First and foremost, it equips scientists with sophisticated tools to manage the ever-expanding wealth of scientific literature and data. Furthermore, it facilitates the creation of knowledge graphs that visually represent intricate relationships among biological entities, enabling comprehensive systems-level analysis. Additionally, the fusion of generative AI (including LLMs) and semantic technology can significantly benefit NASA's life sciences research by enhancing information retrieval and hypothesis generation. These tools enhance natural language understanding, facilitating knowledge discovery within NLSP. The overarching vision is to establish a cohesive knowledge ecosystem within NLSP, harnessing the power of LLMs and semantic technologies to synthesize and cross-reference data from diverse missions, disciplines, and research domains. This holistic approach ultimately deepens our understanding of how space environments impact life sciences data. To advance this initiative, we have launched LSKnowledge, aimed at enhancing the information retrieval capabilities of NLSP. In the short term, our primary goal is to develop a robust semantic search system. This system will empower HRP (Human Research Program) researchers to navigate NLSP data repositories more efficiently and precisely, catalyzing the process of hypothesis formation and scientific breakthroughs. To achieve this, we have employed pre-trained LLMs as part of a semantic search tool that can rank and highlight the most relevant records for user queries. To assess the tool's performance, we have curated a set of approximately 200 queries from subject matter experts (SMEs) and manually ranked the top records retrieved by both the current search system and the new semantic search, using SME judgments as the gold standard for relevancy. Herein, we present the results of our comparative analysis and illustrate how these findings have informed the fine-tuning of the system for enhanced performance. In the long term, our objectives include 1) retrieving publicly available information and integrating it with NLSP data to provide more precise answers to user queries, and 2) incorporating non-textual information from the NLSP database into our approach. In conclusion, the fusion of LLMs and semantic technologies within NLSP represents a pioneering stride towards reshaping the landscape of scientific discovery. This synergy not only equips researchers with powerful tools to navigate the burgeoning sea of information but also facilitates a deeper understanding of complex biological relationships, all while accelerating hypothesis generation and knowledge discovery. Through our initiative, LSKnowledge, we are committed to continually refining and expanding these capabilities, with the aim of not only enhancing information retrieval but also integrating diverse data sources to provide more precise insights. In the grand vision, NLSP strives to become the cornerstone of a comprehensive knowledge ecosystem, unraveling the enigmatic intricacies of life sciences phenomena in the context of space environments.

Life Sciences↗