CoastGIS’99: geomatics and coastal enwironment
A first batch of data was entered in the prototype, using the export tables
of the previous database available at MUMM. Nevertheless, extra information had to be captured, such as the different projects, campaigns,
persons, etc. The latter process was particularly time-consuming. A
general query has been constructed within an Access form. Microsoft
Visual Basic was used to construct the SQL-code (Viescas, 1997).
Conclusion
The IDOD project aims at integrating a high diversity of oceanographic
data. Good understanding of the data is a prerequisite in designing a database. Therefore, regular contacts and several discussions with the data
providers were planned. Visits to the data-providing laboratories
provided much descriptive information and the need for meta-information could be explained on the same occasion.
Acquiring data and all meta-information proved to be a very timeconsuming process. Data providers had to be contacted several times
before a dataset could be considered as complete. Consequently, it was
decided to start with the development of a prototype for the concentration
data measured in seawater, as a lot of information was already available
at MUMM. In the resulting prototype, the values are accompanied by
documentation enabling the user to assess the quality and suitability
for a particular task.
Perspectives
In order to cover the whole range of data types submitted to IDOD,
similar datamodels are being developed for sediment characteristics,
contaminant concentrations in sediment and biota, and information on
the abundance of species. It implies, for instance, that extra entities be
planned to enable the storage of subsample and tissue information with
the necessary attributes, e.g. upper and lower depth of a sediment subsample, organ weight, etc. Continuous measurements (fixed position
and underway) will also be included in the database. The spatial or
geographical data (like bathymetry and coastlines) will be organized
in a GIS such as Intergraph Geomedia or ArcView. These data will be
recorded in the internal format of the GIS software.
As they offer two important characteristics, namely their capability of
simulating and anticipating processes, mathematical models are also
thought to be an important source of information in the scope of the
project. Adequate validation procedures will be defined and results of
validated models will be incorporated into the database.
Finally, useful and scientifically sound information will be provided to
a wide range of users. Special attention will be paid to derived products
(maps, tables, reports, etc.) so that they meet the specific requirements
and level of expertise of the various categories of users.
132
A first batch of data was entered in the prototype, using the export tables
of the previous database available at MUMM. Nevertheless, extra information had to be captured, such as the different projects, campaigns,
persons, etc. The latter process was particularly time-consuming. A
general query has been constructed within an Access form. Microsoft
Visual Basic was used to construct the SQL-code (Viescas, 1997).
Conclusion
The IDOD project aims at integrating a high diversity of oceanographic
data. Good understanding of the data is a prerequisite in designing a database. Therefore, regular contacts and several discussions with the data
providers were planned. Visits to the data-providing laboratories
provided much descriptive information and the need for meta-information could be explained on the same occasion.
Acquiring data and all meta-information proved to be a very timeconsuming process. Data providers had to be contacted several times
before a dataset could be considered as complete. Consequently, it was
decided to start with the development of a prototype for the concentration
data measured in seawater, as a lot of information was already available
at MUMM. In the resulting prototype, the values are accompanied by
documentation enabling the user to assess the quality and suitability
for a particular task.
Perspectives
In order to cover the whole range of data types submitted to IDOD,
similar datamodels are being developed for sediment characteristics,
contaminant concentrations in sediment and biota, and information on
the abundance of species. It implies, for instance, that extra entities be
planned to enable the storage of subsample and tissue information with
the necessary attributes, e.g. upper and lower depth of a sediment subsample, organ weight, etc. Continuous measurements (fixed position
and underway) will also be included in the database. The spatial or
geographical data (like bathymetry and coastlines) will be organized
in a GIS such as Intergraph Geomedia or ArcView. These data will be
recorded in the internal format of the GIS software.
As they offer two important characteristics, namely their capability of
simulating and anticipating processes, mathematical models are also
thought to be an important source of information in the scope of the
project. Adequate validation procedures will be defined and results of
validated models will be incorporated into the database.
Finally, useful and scientifically sound information will be provided to
a wide range of users. Special attention will be paid to derived products
(maps, tables, reports, etc.) so that they meet the specific requirements
and level of expertise of the various categories of users.
132