34 October 2007 | GEOconnexion International Magazine

INTEGRATING LAND ANDSEA DATA AT THE COAST

To help solve some of the many challenges faced by port, harbour andcoastal zone managers, a GIS with the land-sea data interface firmly inmind and based on the latest Web-based digital mapping and GISsoftware technology from Cadcorp, has been developed by SeaZoneSolutions.

Many of the challenges that organisations operating in the coastalzone face, such as environmental and heritage concerns, regulatoryissues and stakeholder involvement, may sound familiar to those whowork in land-locked areas, but when dealing with the coastal environ-ment, there are additional complexities to consider. These include: whoowns the water and/or seabed; who is responsible for a particularstretch of water; are those working upstream still responsible for whatoccurs further downstream, even if not in their defined limits? Pressuredue to questions such as these has increased considerably in recentyears. As a result, ports, harbours and coastline managers are having tofind new ways to deal with these issues and the ever increasing legisla-tion that is being brought in.

As is always the case, to deal with these issues effectively it isimportant to have accurate and up-to-date information available atyour fingertips. However, for a number of reasons, many of whichrelate to data accessibility, this is an area where many coastal organisa-tions lag behind other commercial businesses.

Legacy Data and Centralised StorageMost companies have some form of information system but oftenthese are the legacy of older, disparate technology. This leads to datamanagement problems and inefficiencies, as information is not alwaysavailable where and when it is needed. Nor does it always meetbusiness requirements. The decision-making and informationexchange cycle is therefore prolonged, resulting in increased costs, inthe potential for lost business and the need for additional staff time toanswer relatively simple queries.

In some ports, for example, it can take a couple of man-days toassess what property is available to meet a prospective client’s require-ments. The reason for this is a familiar one. Very often, the differentdepartments store and update information locally, meaning that overtime, each department’s copy of the original information becomesslightly different. As a result, there is no definitive database for the portor coastal zone. Just a series of slightly differing data sets.

To be useful for planning and business management, informationshould not only be accurate and up-to-date, but there should only beone version of it. Ideally, it should be stored and managed centrallyand be available to, and used by, many. So by storing the informationabout their properties in a central database and using tools designedfor information management, ports can reduce the time needed, for

NEIL MCLEOD DESCRIBES HOW CADCORP GIS TOOLS ARE HELPING SEAZONE SOLUTIONS LTD TO INTEGRATE LAND AND SEA DATA AT THE COASTAL ZONE]

www.geoconnexion.com 35

example, to search for suitable property for a prospective client, to justa few minutes, freeing up staff for other work which otherwise theymay well be too busy to achieve.

When data is stored centrally and made available over a network,all users can have access to it. Centralising the data management taskis also important as it ensures that the various datasets remain synchro-nised and current and that everyone accessing the data can trust it asbeing fit for purpose.

Web-based SolutionWeb-based technology is crucial in making data accessible to multiplepeople, as one interface can be developed which can be accessible toall. If a group of organisations needs access to each other’s data toenable decisions to be made effectively and efficiently, then creating aWeb-based solution is the most sensible option. It allows all partners toview their own data in conjunction with the other datasets, therebyincreasing the value of their own data through the ability to use it innew ways.

For example one organisation may hold water quality data andanother, areas of dredging. When viewed together these may give anindication as to how and if dredging affects water quality. It alsoenables decisions to be made more quickly. Instead of having to ask anumber of organisations what their respective data would indicateabout a situation, the information is readily available at the decision-makers’ fingertips.

Having centrally managed, accurate data available to all partiesthrough a Web-based interface can also help to avoid costly disputes.With all organisations involved in the decision-making process able tosee all the appropriate datasets, the process becomes much moretransparent through the ability to see how a decision was reached andwhat information was used to support that decision.

A Web-based system also allows information to be exchangedbetween stakeholders, be they within the same organisation or acrossmultiple organisations. This is crucial when information is stored in avariety of locations, as users in one organisation may need to accessdata which they do not maintain. Having ready access to the majorityof datasets through one interface therefore improves efficiency andthe overall decision-making process.

In the real world, of course, while it may well be possible to makeinformation available from a centrally managed database, it is unlikelythat the departments and organisations that need to use the informa-tion will all be using the same computer systems. So important enablersfor effective data exchange and interoperability in a Web-based GIS arethe various interface specifications (as opposed to data formats) of the

Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). Initially the OGC’s specifications enabled software developers to

make complex spatial information and services accessible and usefulwithin all kinds of applications. However, as the OGC and its standardsevolve and mature, they are becoming increasingly important in manyareas for many stakeholders.

Coastal Zone GISRecognising the power of OGC specifications, Cadcorp businesspartner SeaZone Solutions has developed a technology demonstratorof a simple coastal environment information system as part of its newSeaZone Hydrospatial marine mapping data product.

Hydrospatial data layers Liverpool Bay as seen in SeaZone Hydrospatial

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36 October 2007 | GEOconnexion International Magazine

SeaZone Hydrospatial represents animportant milestone in marine data as itincludes information not available fromnautical charting, e.g. from a comprehensivewrecks spatial database to detailed informa-tion on conservation zones, the sea bed andmore. Designed to provide a comprehensive,accurate digital map of the marine environ-ment and coastal zone, the aim of SeaZoneHydrospatial is to achieve full interoperabilitywith land-based mapping data, therebyeffectively continuing SDIs offshore.

Powered by Cadcorp GeognoSIS.NET - afully OGC-compliant Web mapping server –this new Web-based system, developedjointly by SeaZone and Cadcorp, allows usersto access this same SeaZone Hydrospatialdata through a variety of OGC W*S compliantservices, such as Web Mapping Service (WMS)and Web Feature Service (WFS). This enablesmore flexible use and exchange of datasets,across mixed networks and organisations andin a variety of clients, including Cadcorp MapBrowser and Cadcorp SIS – Spatial InformationSystem, in order to maximise interoperability.

The OGC WMS allows a client to overlayraster map images for display, served frommultiple Web Map Services on the Internet. Ina similar fashion, the OGC Web FeatureService allows a client to retrieve and updategeospatial data encoded in Geography

Markup Language (GML – vector data) frommultiple Web Feature Services. This unifiedinformation infrastructure means it is possibleto serve coastal environment information toany GIS that implements OGC W*S standardsas clients.

From Land to SeaWith regard to the coastline, SeaZoneHydrospatial has been developed to includemarine and coastal topographic features thatare bounded by the Mean High Water (MHW)or similarly defined shorelines available fromland mapping , thereby providing users withconsistent topographic coverage from land tosea. Topographic features that lie outside theMHW line, including the Mean Low Water line,overlay the SeaZone data.

SeaZone Hydrospatial is available in sixcohesive layers covering: bathymetry andelevation; natural and physical environment;structures and obstructions; socio-economicand marine use; conservation and environ-ment; and climate and oceanography.

So for the first time with projects relatedto the coast, it is now possible to model bothonshore and offshore environments together,bringing huge benefits to organisationsplanning coastal defences, operating portsand harbours, protecting wildlife habitats ortrying to better understand coastal erosion

and the impact of flooding.All of this shows that data in the marine

environment is beginning to be used to its fullpotential. The importance of data exchangeamongst various stakeholders or betweendepartments in a single company isfundamental to the improvement in decisionmaking. In turn this will improve efficiency,which will reduce costs, all leading to a moresuccessful and transparent method ofworking. The only way data exchange will beimproved is through effective data manage-ment. Data should be stored in such a waythat all who need access to the data can gainit easily and it should be fit for purpose.

By making this expensively captured andquality-assured coastal information availableto all via OGC standards, geospatial stakehold-ers can enable more of the value to beextracted from their data than ever before, tothe benefit both of coastal organisations andof their clients and users.

Reference sites: www.cadcorp.com

www.seazone.com/hydrospatial.php

Article by Neil D. McLeod, an independentmarketing communications practitioner whospecialises in the spatial information processingsoftware market sector.

Oceanographic measurements in Hydrospatial Military practice areas. Source: SeaZone Hydrospatial

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