Science Environment for Ecological Knowledge (SEEK) is an information framework for sharing and analyzing biological data. The goal of SEEK is to let scientists browse, access, and analyze data from diverse sources through a single, simple web interface.

The SEEK project architecture.

The SEEK framework is a complete ecosystem for biological data and related services. SEEK consists of the following:

• EcoGrid—a framework for security, service discovery and invocation, data sharing, and grid-based analysis and modeling;

• Semantic Mediation System—an XML-based data integration system for mediating conceptual differences in data models and assisting the user in model development;

• Analysis and Modeling Tools—predictive modeling tools for ecology and biodiversity analysis within the SEEK framework;

• Knowledge Representation System—methods for representing and formatting biological data.

The EcoGrid provides uniform security and an infrastructure for SEEK-related computational services. A user at a client computer accesses data and services on the EcoGrid through our Kepler science workflow application. Kepler lets the user apply a common set of analysis and modeling tools through a simple drag-and-drop web interface. Behind the scenes, background services from SEEK’s Semantic Mediation System eliminate semantic differences among the dissimilar applications and data sources. The result is that the user has access to all data and all services offered on the EcoGrid without having to worry about differences in semantics or format.

The SEEK project is led by a consortium of institutions, including University of Kansas, University of New Mexico, San Diego Supercomputer Center, and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at University of California, Santa Barbara. Other participating institutions include Arizona State University, University of North Carolina, University of Vermont, and Napier University in Scotland.

SEEK is scheduled for completion in 2007.