  A data Tsunami is overwhelming Astronomy. This wave is affecting all aspects
of our field, revolutionizing not just the type of scientific questions being
asked, but the very nature of how the answers are uncovered. In this invited
proceeding, we will address a particular scientific application - Panchromatic
Mining for Quasars - of the forthcoming virtual observatories, which have
arisen in an effort to control the effects of the data Tsunami. This project,
in addition to serving as an important scientific driver for virtual
observatory technologies, is designed to a) characterize the multi-wavelength
nature of known active galaxies and quasars, especially in relation to their
local environment, in order to b) quantify the clustering of these known
systems in the multidimensional parameter space formed by their observables, so
that new, and potentially unknown types of systems can be optimally targeted.
