CHAPTER 9
Using GIS for Siting Artificial Reefs - Data Issues, Problems and
Solutions: 'Real World' to 'Real World'
D.R. Green and S.T. Ray
ABSTRACT: As GIS becomes an increasingly more 'user-friendly' tool, and more
people, not necessarily GIS specialists, recognise the benefits of the technology in theirwork environment, inevitably greater use will be made of the technology for a wide
range of applications. The ease with which a GIS can now be used often overshadows
the complexity underlying this technology and the potential difficulties that can (and
do) arise when this is not fully understood. In practice, there are two routes open to the
application of GIS technology for environmental studies. The first is to commission new
data for the research. The second is to make use of existing datasets. Data is at the heart
of any GIS application. A detailed knowledge about the data sources, the method of
collection, capture, scale and sampling strategy, especially if the data are to be used in
any analysis, modelling or simulation studies, is fundamental to any application.
Unfortunately, information about data (metadata) is seldom available, especially for
archival datasets. Furthermore, although it is now relatively easy to acquire digital data,
to input, store, manipulate and display this data, and to output the results of any GIS
analysis in the practical sense, little consideration is given to the problems associated
with data quality and how this will ultimately affect present and future analyses and use
of the output for planning and decision-making. The need to raise awareness about data
quality for applications is set in the context of the development of an environmental
database for the Moray Firth, North East Scotland, and more specifically the use of
selected datasets from the database to aid in the proposed siting of an artificial reef.
Using this example, the chapter explores the problems associated with the use of both
existing analog and digital datasets as the basis for environmental applications, the
problems of data acquisition, data quality, data standards, error and how these can affect
the operational use of the data in GIS analyses. The solution to such problems appears
to lie with improved error assessment and reporting. The outcome of this chapter is an
attempt to offer guidance and solutions to researchers and applications specialists
113
D.R. Green and S.D. King (eds.). Coastal and Marine Geo-Information Systems, 113–131.
© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
Using GIS for Siting Artificial Reefs - Data Issues, Problems and
Solutions: 'Real World' to 'Real World'
D.R. Green and S.T. Ray
ABSTRACT: As GIS becomes an increasingly more 'user-friendly' tool, and more
people, not necessarily GIS specialists, recognise the benefits of the technology in theirwork environment, inevitably greater use will be made of the technology for a wide
range of applications. The ease with which a GIS can now be used often overshadows
the complexity underlying this technology and the potential difficulties that can (and
do) arise when this is not fully understood. In practice, there are two routes open to the
application of GIS technology for environmental studies. The first is to commission new
data for the research. The second is to make use of existing datasets. Data is at the heart
of any GIS application. A detailed knowledge about the data sources, the method of
collection, capture, scale and sampling strategy, especially if the data are to be used in
any analysis, modelling or simulation studies, is fundamental to any application.
Unfortunately, information about data (metadata) is seldom available, especially for
archival datasets. Furthermore, although it is now relatively easy to acquire digital data,
to input, store, manipulate and display this data, and to output the results of any GIS
analysis in the practical sense, little consideration is given to the problems associated
with data quality and how this will ultimately affect present and future analyses and use
of the output for planning and decision-making. The need to raise awareness about data
quality for applications is set in the context of the development of an environmental
database for the Moray Firth, North East Scotland, and more specifically the use of
selected datasets from the database to aid in the proposed siting of an artificial reef.
Using this example, the chapter explores the problems associated with the use of both
existing analog and digital datasets as the basis for environmental applications, the
problems of data acquisition, data quality, data standards, error and how these can affect
the operational use of the data in GIS analyses. The solution to such problems appears
to lie with improved error assessment and reporting. The outcome of this chapter is an
attempt to offer guidance and solutions to researchers and applications specialists
113
D.R. Green and S.D. King (eds.). Coastal and Marine Geo-Information Systems, 113–131.
© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.