978-1-61284-848-8/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE Thinking and Computing Spatiotemporally to Enable Cloud Computing and Science Discoveries Chaowei Yang* Center for Intelligent Spatial Computing, and Department of Geography and GeoInformation Sciences College of Science, George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia, United States of America E-mail: cyang3@gmu.edu Abstract—We live in space time dimensions and all physical and social sciences are based on the dimensions. The representation and digitization of scientific phenomena into data and computation of the digitized data greatly depends on the spatiotemporal principles that govern the relationships of phenomena. The latest advancement of cloud computing is not an exception. Conducting cloud computing in a spatiotemporal fashion will help use spatiotemporal principles, which exist in all physical and social sciences, to optimize cloud computing and science discoveries. This paper 1) introduces the latest advancement of distributed computing; 2) analyzes the impact cloud computing has on GIS science, application, and education; 3) illustrates how spatiotemporal principles exist and can be utilized to enable cloud computing and science discoveries; and 4) discusses research directions and agenda for GIScience professionals in the 21st centuries. Keywords-GIS; Geodynamics; CyberGIS Spatial Computing; Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure I. INTRODUCTION The advancement of distributed computing and spatial computing in the 21st century converges to produce a new computing paradigm, cloud computing, in a pay-as-you-go fashion similar to when we use our utilities such as electricity and water [1, 2]. This new paradigm enables our long held dream of supplying and consuming computing resources as a utility [3]. Cloud computing also has deep impact on the science discoveries, applications, and educations that need support from distributed computing. This paper introduces 1) the science, application, and educational requirements for such a computing paradigm, 2) the definition, characteristics, and other common understanding of cloud computing, 3) why we need spatiotemporal principles for cloud computing and science discoveries, 4) research directions and a potential agenda about making better social impact using cloud computing to enable science discoveries, application development and educational support. II. SCIENCE DISCOVERY REQUIREMENTS 21st century witnesses the globalization and integration of various domain sciences to address challenges for advancing global science, application, and education [4, 5]. For example, the March, 2011 Japanese earthquake triggered tsunami and nuclear leakage. It caused life loss of thousands of people and is impacting lives in the entire northern hemisphere. Many countries began to reconsider their nuclear power facilities and are designating a 15-300 km buffer surrounding a nuclear facility as risk zone [6]. In response to the emergency, significant amount of data, information, domain knowledge, expertise’s wisdom, and computing resources are needed in a disruptive fashion to conduct relevant science, application and education for the public to make smarter decision for saving more lives and reducing assets loss. After the emergency response, the access to such information will be silent down and computing resources should be leveraged for other science, application, and education purposes. Similar types of global and regional crises are happening in an increasing rate and become more severe with increasing impacts from human beings to planet Earth. For example, in April, 2011, the United States suffered from the historical intense and frequent severe storms in the southern and eastern regions, hundreds of people lost their lives and millions of people lost their homes. The increased dry season in China accelerates the desertification in the western part. The dust storms generated in western China impact big metropolitan areas, such as Beijing and Shanghai, and the dust are transmitting through atmospheric circulations to Japan, Taiwan, and other regions, even cross pacific ocean to the Northern America and finally settle down in Atlantic ocean [7]. These new global disasters require us to better understand the natural and scientific principles driving them so that we can make better, smarter, and more effective decisions, and reach out to large number of people in the shortest time possible. The decisions can be in the forms [4, 5] of 1) rapid response to emergencies, such as the tsunami and nuclear leakage, 2) policy making,