Coastal Services Center

Marine & Coastal Spatial Data Subcommittee
Annual Report

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Federal Geographic Data Committee
Subcommittee on Marine and Coastal Spatial Data

2000 Annual Accomplishment Report

The primary mission of the Federal Geographic Data Committee's Subcommittee on Marine and Coastal Spatial Data is to develop and promote that aspect of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) that supports the marine navigation and coastal zone geographic information system (GIS) community. Support is accomplished through the development of data, metadata, standards, and data exchange agreements, and by providing a forum for addressing marine and coastal data issues. The subcommittee supports the overall goals and missions of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) by serving on several working groups and subcommittees that have an interest in coastal and marine geographic data issues. The subcommittee is an active member of the Standards Working Group, the Framework Working Group, and the FGDC Coordination Group.

The subcommittee meets approximately three times a year in the Washington, D.C., area. Additionally, the subcommittee sponsors a number of community meetings and outreach workshops throughout the country during the year. To enhance communications, the subcommittee has a home page on the World Wide Web at www.csc.noaa.gov/mcsd.

The accomplishments listed below were achieved through the leadership and funding support of the agencies serving on the subcommittee.

Significant 2000 Accomplishments:
(in the format of the NSDI Strategic Plan)

Goal One: Increase the awareness and understanding of the vision, concept, and benefits of the NSDI through outreach and education

Members of the Marine and Coastal Spatial Data Subcommittee and their member agencies hosted, conducted, or participated in outreach meetings and workshops with the coastal and ocean community. This has taken various forms, including teaching hands-on metadata classes targeted at this community, presenting workshops and seminars on metadata, publishing papers on coastal data within the NSDI, and facilitating community involvement in the NSDI.

A few selected highlights of subcommittee participation are listed below:

1. Held four, two-day metadata workshops. Participants included staff from the National Estuarine Research Reserve program and the National Marine Sanctuary program.
2. Presented an FGDC metadata overview at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GeoSpatial Data Workshop in November 2000.
3. Conducted two subcommittee meetings on March 28, 2000 and August 3, 2000.
4. Published Shore and Sea Boundaries, Volume Three by Michael W. Reed.
5. Updated and re-released the subcommittee’s Web site.
6. Published an article in Seahorse on the FGDC’s role in the hydrographic data community.
7. Changed our name from the Bathymetric Subcommittee to the Marine and Coastal Spatial Data Subcommittee. This was done to reach a broader audience and to achieve additional participation.

Goal Two: Develop common solutions for discovery, access, and use of geographic data in response to the needs of diverse communities

1. Continued development of a national shoreline database.
2. Continued to work on a Shoreline Profile for the FGDC metadata standard to support information necessary for shoreline and related data sets (standard is close to endorsement).
3. Continued to develop the Hydrographic Data Content Standard for Inland and Coastal Waterways (standard has completed public review).
4. Continued to develop Part 5 of the NSDI Data Accuracy Standard: Hydrographic Data Accuracy Standard (standard is in public review).
5. Provided technical assistance to affected agencies and offices to implement the FGDC metadata standard.
6. Supported state efforts to develop coastal and ocean data within the NSDI.
7. Continued the funding mechanism, targeted at states, to cost share in developing hydrographic data.

Goal Three: Use community-based approaches to develop and maintain common collections of geospatial data for sound decision making

1. Continued to develop the Ocean Planning Information System (OPIS). OPIS provides easy access to comprehensive ocean-related data, metadata, and other information in the Southeast.
2. NOAA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) completed the Topo/Bathy pilot project in Tampa Bay designed to produce a high-resolution, seamless digital database from elevation down to bathymetry, including the shoreline.
3. Initiated the development of an FGDC Marine Boundary Working Group, which is a crosscutting activity with the Cadastral Subcommittee and the Base Cartographic Subcommittee.

Goal Four: Build relationships among organizations to support the continuing development of the NSDI

1. Continued to maintain and build an e-mail directory of over 400 GIS experts working in the coastal zone.
2. Worked with members of the private sector on issues relating to shoreline and hydrographic data.
3. Coordinated the Coastal GeoTools conference that brought together over 400 professionals working in the field of coastal resource management.
4. Participated in interagency collaboration with the Department of the Interior, Department of Commerce, the Department of State, and the Ad Hoc Committee on the U.S. Baseline on marine cadastral data issues.