CoastGIS'99: geomatics and coastal environment
GIS Web technologies for delivery
of coastal zone information
Roger A. Longhorn
IDG (UK) Limited, EC Projects Office, Neihaff, 9161 Ingeldorf, Luxembourg
ral@alum.mit.edu
Abstract
It is impossible to manage the coastal zone without use of Geographic
Information (Gl) in a variety of different forms, from different sources,
presented to end-users in different ways for different purposes. Manipulating GI is the role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and a
host of related technologies ranging from remote sensing to digital
image processing, from techniques for modeling the processes under
investigation to advanced data visualization tools for presenting the
results. This paper examines the extent to which GIS tools and related
Information and Imaging Technologies (IIT) have advanced in recent years.
Can these new tools assist the researcher and manager in Integrated
Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), especially in regard to delivery of
information in a variety of ways, useful for a wide range of purposes,
via appropriate media and mechanisms? Are current GIS and related
ITT tools sufficient for the information processing and dissemination
tasks facing these people, especially in regard to the temporal aspect
of coastal zone GI? Are there barriers to making these tools more useful
and can such barners be removed? Is putting cu on the Web the key
issue, or only one way in which the Internet can be useful? The paper
concludes with a list of problems and potential barriers to better and
wider use of the Internet for Coastal Zone (CZ) information discovery,
processing and dissemination.
Introduction
Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and research would be very difficult to
achieve without access to large volumes of raw data of many different
types, whether land-based, ocean-based, at the land-ocean interface or
the ocean-air interface. This data is often very expensive to collect,
regardless of the methods employed (field survey or remote 'sensing by
aerial photography or satellite imagery ). Like many other environments,
the coastal zone undergoes continual change, often requiring important
data to be collected repeatedly, and sometimes quickly, e.g. for realtime disaster management. Data collection, processing and response times
can be highly dynamic, e.g. involving CZ, status during tidal changes.
Such temporal data needs are not commonly found in related areas of
environmental management and research, such as urban planning,
agriculture and forestry.
30
GIS Web technologies for delivery
of coastal zone information
Roger A. Longhorn
IDG (UK) Limited, EC Projects Office, Neihaff, 9161 Ingeldorf, Luxembourg
ral@alum.mit.edu
Abstract
It is impossible to manage the coastal zone without use of Geographic
Information (Gl) in a variety of different forms, from different sources,
presented to end-users in different ways for different purposes. Manipulating GI is the role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and a
host of related technologies ranging from remote sensing to digital
image processing, from techniques for modeling the processes under
investigation to advanced data visualization tools for presenting the
results. This paper examines the extent to which GIS tools and related
Information and Imaging Technologies (IIT) have advanced in recent years.
Can these new tools assist the researcher and manager in Integrated
Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), especially in regard to delivery of
information in a variety of ways, useful for a wide range of purposes,
via appropriate media and mechanisms? Are current GIS and related
ITT tools sufficient for the information processing and dissemination
tasks facing these people, especially in regard to the temporal aspect
of coastal zone GI? Are there barriers to making these tools more useful
and can such barners be removed? Is putting cu on the Web the key
issue, or only one way in which the Internet can be useful? The paper
concludes with a list of problems and potential barriers to better and
wider use of the Internet for Coastal Zone (CZ) information discovery,
processing and dissemination.
Introduction
Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and research would be very difficult to
achieve without access to large volumes of raw data of many different
types, whether land-based, ocean-based, at the land-ocean interface or
the ocean-air interface. This data is often very expensive to collect,
regardless of the methods employed (field survey or remote 'sensing by
aerial photography or satellite imagery ). Like many other environments,
the coastal zone undergoes continual change, often requiring important
data to be collected repeatedly, and sometimes quickly, e.g. for realtime disaster management. Data collection, processing and response times
can be highly dynamic, e.g. involving CZ, status during tidal changes.
Such temporal data needs are not commonly found in related areas of
environmental management and research, such as urban planning,
agriculture and forestry.
30