Coastal Services Center

The coastal resource management community, like the rest of the world, has greatly benefited from the technological advances of the past ten years. Electronic mail alone has revolutionized the way coastal managers communicate, and that other important communication tool, the Internet, is just beginning to find its niche in this community's workday. Geographic information systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are becoming common information resources.

But keeping up with these advances and the amount of information now readily available can be a challenge for managers. "In some instances, the abundance of information has moved faster than the capacity to deal with it," says Miki Schmidt, GIS program manager for the NOAA Coastal Services Center. "But technology is catching up here. Software companies are helping us find new ways to compress, store, and utilize large amounts of data."

Moore's Law, a truism in the computer industry, remains in effect and is expected to continue. In 1965 Intel cofounder Gordon Moore said microchip miniaturization would lead to a doubling of computer power every 18 months. He was right, experts say. Computers continue to get more powerful, less expensive, and smaller in size. Today's home computer offers what formerly was available to cutting edge businesses only.

Not only are the desktop computers growing in capability, so is the ability to gather information. Kirk Waters of the Center's remote sensing program says the number of satellites coming to the launching pad is on the increase, especially from the private sector. The new satellites will offer data of a resolution previously the exclusive domain of spy satellites. Water quality indicators, land cover documentation and mapping, and ocean temperature measurements are just a few types of coast-related information obtainable from these satellites.

But satellites aren't the only data sources undergoing extensive improvements. The Center's high-tech beach mapping program is a good example; airplane-mounted lasers provide thousands of shoreline measurement points for every mile of beach. Waterborne sensors are giving real-time, continuous water quality measurements. And traditional scientific research is being put to greater use, as information previously hidden in obscure libraries is now open to anyone with Internet access.

Ginger Hinchcliff of the Center's Training Institute notes the potential for data saturation, but sees this issue as an important change agent for the next decade. "We have the data. Competition will force scientists and computer companies to focus more on applicability and ease of use."

Schmidt agrees. "Just having the information isn't enough. The coastal manager has to be able to translate the data into a decision making tool that can be readily used and understood by the coastal manager and the public. The technology of the future will feature more visualization tools, allowing us to see the potential impacts of our decisions."

While carpal tunnel syndrome has the potential to become one of the occupational hazards of the coastal manager of the next millennium, the human dimension of coastal management cannot be underplayed. Hinchcliff says she is seeing state programs strive to be even more creative in the ways in which they engage the public. "Surveys, conflict resolution skills, workshops, and needs assessments—coastal managers will increase their use of these tools. Education and outreach will be used more proactively."

Because of the great potential for information overload in the near future, the NOAA Coastal Services Center is working to help the coastal resource management community decide which tools and information can best be used to get the job done.

"Through our partnerships with state and federal programs and nongovernmental entities, the Center will focus on the value of the new information, training, and technology, and figure out how to best secure it for our customers," says Margaret Davidson, the Center's director. "The advances of the new millennium will be for naught if we aren't able to do a better job of protecting our nation's coastal resources."