CoastGls'99 : geomatics and coastal environment
to launch a new programme of research into satellite imagery, with a
view to extracting information that will allow us to better calibrate and
parameterise the models we are trying to develop for integrated coastal
zone management, as well as to monitor the state of coastal dynamics.
We should remember that satellite or airborne imagery is an excellent
means of obtaining information, especially for replacing or augmenting
ground-acquired information in a spatially-integrated and objective
way. While the utility of such approaches is clear, it also raises very
interesting questions about how representative they are of the real
world, in terms of scale and spatial pattern.
Decision support
Important work should be undertaken in coming years, on the theoretical basis of decision-making. If we want to work on, and with, tools
that are real decision-suppor't technologies for integrated coastal zone
management, we clearly need to understand the mechanisms by which
decisions are made, and the foundations of decision theory, far better
than we do at present. Sorne work is already underway in these areas,
but these endeavours keep coming up against hard reality. Decisionsupport systems at present work weil when applied to hypothetical
scenarios, but work less weil when these scenarios are based on real-world
situations. If we really want to see progress towards a new conceptual
generation of GIS, it is essential to integrate decision-making concepts
into these new systems. And, more generally, it is absolutely essential
to incorporate into such systems the means of modeiling the behaviour
of hum an society in ail of its many forms.
Lionel Loubersac
A dynamic environment
During 1999, three important meetings took place in Europe that
were dedicated to GI and the coastal zone. These were Info-Coast in the
Netherlands in February, the UK meeting on coastal cartography inJune
and now CoastGIS here in France. In the last two meetings, the coastal
marine community was well represented, while in the Netherlands it
was relatively weak in contrast to su-onger coastal land community
representation. Interestingly, one of the conclusions offered at InfoCoast was the suggestion that GIS implementation problems for marine
coastal applications are similar to those arising for land applications.
This surely is something difficult to agree with, particularly when seen
from an offshore perspective. Here, we are dealing with a flllid environment, where everything moves: tides, CUl-rents, swell, pollution,
fishes, even people. The challenges are to represent this environment
in three or four dimensions and perhaps our coastal community compares itself too mllch with the land GIS community.
to launch a new programme of research into satellite imagery, with a
view to extracting information that will allow us to better calibrate and
parameterise the models we are trying to develop for integrated coastal
zone management, as well as to monitor the state of coastal dynamics.
We should remember that satellite or airborne imagery is an excellent
means of obtaining information, especially for replacing or augmenting
ground-acquired information in a spatially-integrated and objective
way. While the utility of such approaches is clear, it also raises very
interesting questions about how representative they are of the real
world, in terms of scale and spatial pattern.
Decision support
Important work should be undertaken in coming years, on the theoretical basis of decision-making. If we want to work on, and with, tools
that are real decision-suppor't technologies for integrated coastal zone
management, we clearly need to understand the mechanisms by which
decisions are made, and the foundations of decision theory, far better
than we do at present. Sorne work is already underway in these areas,
but these endeavours keep coming up against hard reality. Decisionsupport systems at present work weil when applied to hypothetical
scenarios, but work less weil when these scenarios are based on real-world
situations. If we really want to see progress towards a new conceptual
generation of GIS, it is essential to integrate decision-making concepts
into these new systems. And, more generally, it is absolutely essential
to incorporate into such systems the means of modeiling the behaviour
of hum an society in ail of its many forms.
Lionel Loubersac
A dynamic environment
During 1999, three important meetings took place in Europe that
were dedicated to GI and the coastal zone. These were Info-Coast in the
Netherlands in February, the UK meeting on coastal cartography inJune
and now CoastGIS here in France. In the last two meetings, the coastal
marine community was well represented, while in the Netherlands it
was relatively weak in contrast to su-onger coastal land community
representation. Interestingly, one of the conclusions offered at InfoCoast was the suggestion that GIS implementation problems for marine
coastal applications are similar to those arising for land applications.
This surely is something difficult to agree with, particularly when seen
from an offshore perspective. Here, we are dealing with a flllid environment, where everything moves: tides, CUl-rents, swell, pollution,
fishes, even people. The challenges are to represent this environment
in three or four dimensions and perhaps our coastal community compares itself too mllch with the land GIS community.