The Internet, the Global Positioning System, geographic information systems (GIS), satellite imagery - these are some of the many exciting new tools available for coastal resource managers. Technology is rapidly increasing the amount of information readily accessible to decision makers.
New technology and coastal management issues are not always an immediate fit. Adjustments are often needed for the technology to be relevant and user friendly. Two products presented below are examples of the NOAA Coastal Services Center's efforts in this area. Both products are extensions (software add-ons) created at the Center for the Environmental Systems Research Institute's (ESRI®) ArcView® application, which is the most common GIS software used by coastal management programs.
Nautical Chart Data Now GIS Friendly
For decades, NOAA's navigational charts have been a necessary companion of the recreational and commercial boater. With the advent of GIS, coastal managers are discovering additional uses for these charts. Most of the data incorporated into a navigational chart is the kind of baseline data that is needed to create ocean-related GIS programs. Until recently the nautical chart data was not compatible with most GIS software. A partnership between the federal government and two private companies has rectified this problem. The Center worked with Maptech, Inc., and ESRI® to create an ArcView® extension that allows the desktop GIS user to access nautical charts. The extension, Chartview, is free and downloadable from the World Wide Web.
"Digital versions of NOAA nautical charts used to be available only to those coastal states that could afford large scanners and had access to original charts," said Cindy Fowler of the NOAA Coastal Services Center. "Now anyone with access to the Internet can use this extensive data resource."
The Chartview extension can be found at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/. Direct your questions about this ArcView® extension to Cindy Fowler at Cindy.Fowler@noaa.gov, or (843) 740-1249.
Metadata Made Easier
Metadata is to data what card catalog records are to a library. From metadata, users can quickly determine the appropriateness of a data set because metadata includes information about accuracy and completeness, the format and spatial reference system used, and who created the data and when. All data generated by the federal government requires metadata documentation using the standards established by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC).
To help coastal managers create FGDC-compliant metadata, the Center created a metadata extension for ArcView®. The Metadata Collector prompts the user for input and can extract some of the information from the data set. The extension has been extremely popular, with over 1,000 people having downloaded the Metadata Collector thus far.
The Metadata Collector can be obtained, at no charge, from http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/. User suggestions are being incorporated into a new version, which should be available in March 1999. Questions about the Metadata Collector should be directed to Beth Lovett at blovett@csc.noaa.gov, or (843) 740-1205.
