Access to Marine Data on the Internet for CZM
563
Internet technology has reached a stage where GIS, Digital Image Processing and
Remotely Sensed imagery can now be found on the Web and utilised quite easily by
applications specialists, rather than computer specialists. This means that everyone
potentially has access to the data and information that they require, and has the ability to
manipulate and use that data in the way that they need. The Internet can therefore now
be used as more than an information system, it can also be used to provide decision
support for coastal managers, by aiding in the formulation of answers to questions about
coastal resource problems.
One of the best examples, in the context of coastal zone management is the
Florida Marine Online Mapping website which utilises ESRI's Map Cafe (Fig. 8). This
website epitomises in our opinion exactly what can be achieved using Internet-based
technology, opening up the possibility to deliver geospatial data and information to a
widespread end-user community. Some example screens reveal the potential. But this
particular site is also a much more significant example in terms of what has been
achieved in the context of integrated coastal zone management. Here we have (a) an
identifiable point of access - a focus or portal to geospatial data and information, which
is (b) catalogued, ordered and documented in a form that is (c) widely accessible, (d) in
an electronic format (taking advantage of IT and the Internet), (e) includes Metadata, (f)
is regularly updated, (g) is co-ordinated by a recognisable body, and (h) is userinteractive in the context of GIS and maps, offering information for planning and
563
Internet technology has reached a stage where GIS, Digital Image Processing and
Remotely Sensed imagery can now be found on the Web and utilised quite easily by
applications specialists, rather than computer specialists. This means that everyone
potentially has access to the data and information that they require, and has the ability to
manipulate and use that data in the way that they need. The Internet can therefore now
be used as more than an information system, it can also be used to provide decision
support for coastal managers, by aiding in the formulation of answers to questions about
coastal resource problems.
One of the best examples, in the context of coastal zone management is the
Florida Marine Online Mapping website which utilises ESRI's Map Cafe (Fig. 8). This
website epitomises in our opinion exactly what can be achieved using Internet-based
technology, opening up the possibility to deliver geospatial data and information to a
widespread end-user community. Some example screens reveal the potential. But this
particular site is also a much more significant example in terms of what has been
achieved in the context of integrated coastal zone management. Here we have (a) an
identifiable point of access - a focus or portal to geospatial data and information, which
is (b) catalogued, ordered and documented in a form that is (c) widely accessible, (d) in
an electronic format (taking advantage of IT and the Internet), (e) includes Metadata, (f)
is regularly updated, (g) is co-ordinated by a recognisable body, and (h) is userinteractive in the context of GIS and maps, offering information for planning and