title: Compiling and using input-output frameworks through collaborative virtual laboratories.
abstract: Compiling, deploying and utilising large-scale databases that integrate environmental and economic data have traditionally been labour- and cost-intensive processes, hindered by the large amount of disparate and misaligned data that must be collected and harmonised. The Australian Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory (IELab) is a novel, collaborative approach to compiling large-scale environmentally extended multi-region input-output (MRIO) models. The utility of the IELab product is greatly enhanced by avoiding the need to lock in an MRIO structure at the time the MRIO system is developed. The IELab advances the idea of the "mother-daughter" construction principle, whereby a regionally and sectorally very detailed "mother" table is set up, from which "daughter" tables are derived to suit specific research questions. By introducing a third tier - the "root classification" - IELab users are able to define their own mother-MRIO configuration, at no additional cost in terms of data handling. Customised mother-MRIOs can then be built, which maximise disaggregation in aspects that are useful to a family of research questions. The second innovation in the IELab system is to provide a highly automated collaborative research platform in a cloud-computing environment, greatly expediting workflows and making these computational benefits accessible to all users. Combining these two aspects realises many benefits. The collaborative nature of the IELab development project allows significant savings in resources. Timely deployment is possible by coupling automation procedures with the comprehensive input from multiple teams. User-defined MRIO tables, coupled with high performance computing, mean that MRIO analysis will be useful and accessible for a great many more research applications than would otherwise be possible. By ensuring that a common set of analytical tools such as for hybrid life-cycle assessment is adopted, the IELab will facilitate the harmonisation of fragmented, dispersed and misaligned raw data for the benefit of all interested parties.
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lenzen
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geschke
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Australia, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Electronic address: t.wiedmann@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wiedmann
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Neal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Ecosystems Sciences, North Ryde, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baynes
authors.affiliation: Barbara Hardy Institute and School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boland
authors.affiliation: Environmental Futures Centre, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dey
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fry
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Australia, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Michalis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hadjikakou
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kenway
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Arunima
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: Programme for Industrial Ecology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: School of Systems, Management & Leadership, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nettleton
authors.affiliation: Urban Research Program, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia.
authors.forename: Lavinia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poruschi
authors.affiliation: Barbara Hardy Institute and School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Australia, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Hazel
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rowley
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, University of Ballarat, Vic 3353, Australia.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ugon
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, University of Ballarat, Vic 3353, Australia.
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Ecosystems Sciences, North Ryde, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004777:Environment; D007753:Laboratories; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D057188:Workflow
keywords: Australia; Collaboration; Electronic research infrastructure; Life cycle assessment; Multi-region input–output tables; Virtual laboratories