The Information Quality Cluster (IQC) conducted two sessions at the
Summer 2017 ESIP Meeting on the topic of uncertainty as it relates to
data and information quality. The first was a plenary session followed
by the second, a break-out session. One of the key action items
recommended during the break-out session was that a clear understanding
of the concept of uncertainty, and its communication to users was
essential, and that the IQC should develop a white paper on this topic.
The purpose of this session in January 2018 (Winter ESIP Meeting) was to follow-up on that
action with some further discussion leading to the formulation of such a
white paper. The session consisted of a brief recapitulation of the
outcomes from the summer meeting, presentations on statistical and
scientific perspectives on uncertainty, subtopic breakouts and
regrouping for formulation of the definition (both mathematical and
conceptual) and recommended usages of uncertainty (crossing all Earth
Science science disciplines and ranging from quantification to
characterization) that will provide the foundation for the white paper
and planning further actions. The presentations from the session are included here.