International MSDIs

Users: Administration, Science, Politics, Economy, Public

MUDAB TMAP

HELCOM OSPAR WISE-Marine

WFD, MSFD, ...

INSPIRE

Figure 3.2:MDI-DE in the scope of actions from German and European initiatives (translated from and modified after (Kohlus & Reimers, 2010, p. 122))

All the aspects mentioned so far (relations to directives, components etc.) are represented by the nine working groups (WGs) of MDI-DE:

(1) reference model

(2) evaluation of existing data sets (3) infrastructure nodes

(4) portal

(5) MSFD activities

(6) data harmonization and interoperability (7) metadata modelling

(8) Sensor Observation Service (SOS) (9) editorial activities

The project’s outcomes are available under www.mdi-de.org. Documentation in form of reports and information on the final publication in“Die K ¨uste”can also be found there. In the future MDI-DE will be continued and maintained by federal and state institutions based on theagreement on cooperation for design and development of software for environmental information systems(VKoopUIS).

3.2 International MSDIs

In order to learn from other initiatives several marine SDI approaches worldwide will be introduced.

Subsection 3.2.1 describes two approaches from Australia which are part of the Australian Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI): the Australian Marine Spatial Information System (AMSIS) and Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Ocean Portal. Subsection 3.2.2 introduces three components of the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) also known as “GeoConnections”: the Marine Geospatial Data Infrastructure (MGDI), Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) GeoPortal and COINAtlantic (Coastal and Ocean Information Network Atlantic). While these two countries have more than one entry point for marine data Ireland has a single source for marine data – the Marine Irish Digital Atlas (MIDA, subsection 3.2.3). As another example for an European country’s MSDI

Metadata Data Services

Figure 3.3:Components of MDI-DE (translated from and modified after (Lehfeldt & Melles, 2011, p. 110))

the efforts of the United Kingdom will be presented in subsection 3.2.4 – MAGIC/CAMRA and MEDIN. Since the United States of America were and are an impetus in the field of SDI and MSDI development their Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) Registry, Marine Cadastre, Data.gov and Geoplatform will also be introduced in subsection 3.2.5. Later, chapter 4 will evaluate and analyse these approaches to see what can be learned from them or what to avoid.

3.2.1 Australia: ASDI, AMSIS and Ocean Portal

In Australia we mainly find two approaches with the aim to tie in with the Australian Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI). One – the Australian Marine Spatial Information System (AMSIS) – focuses primarily on “framework” data (boundaries, cadastre, infrastructure etc.) while the other – the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Ocean Portal – offers a variety of data mostly from scientific research e.g. biological and climate data.

AMSIS was developed and is maintained by Geoscience Australia (government agency) and – as a web based interactive mapping and decision support tool – offers access to over 80 layers of information in the Australian marine jurisdiction including maritime boundaries, bathymetry, physical and environmental information, legal interests, fisheries and shipping (Dwyer & Wright, 2008).

The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) is a distributed set of equipment and data-information services which, among many other applications, aims at meeting the needs of the research community in Australia. The strategic focus of IMOS is on the 4-dimensional ocean

3.2 International MSDIs 51 variability and the impact of major boundary currents on the continental shelf, ecosystems and biodiversity. IMOS is organized as a matrix of nodes and facilities where the facilities deliver data streams which are then used by the nodes and other stakeholders. There are facilities inter alia for bluewater, climate observations, coastal currents, water properties, coastal ecosystems and a biophysical sensor network on the Great Barrier Reef. The data the facilities are producing are made available through the electronic Marine Information Infrastructure (eMII). eMII is based at the University of Tasmania and handles and organises the storage, accessibility, discoverability and means of visualisation of data. All data is freely available from the IMOS Ocean Portal which allows the discovery and usage of the data from all of the facilities (Moltmann et al., 2010) and (Proctor et al., 2010).

3.2.2 Canada: Marine Geospatial Data Infrastructure (MGDI), COINAtlantic and GeoPortal

The national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI) of Canada is called Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) but is also known as “GeoConnections” which is the more market-oriented title and is divided into twelve committees respectively nodes. The CGDI¹“[. . .] recognizes that governments have a responsibility to make geospatial information available, and to ’play their role’ in developing a knowledge economy in response to the needs of citizens, industry and communities in support of the economic, social and environmental well-being.”The CGDI aims at helping users access and integrate said geospatial information by facilitating the infrastructure. Thus the CGDI does not house the spatial data but provides the framework so that various authorities can provide their data through the use of common standards. The CGDI mainly consists of²:

• “the GeoConnections Discovery Portal (GDP), a national search engine that allows providers to catalogue their data sets and users to determine which data sets exist where;

• GeoGratis, a national repository where suppliers may place data for free distribution;

• GeoBase, a national suite of framework layers coordinated by the Canadian Council on Geomatics that includes place names, a national digital elevation model, a national layer of satellite imagery, a national road network, national geodetic (survey reference) points, and a national layer of administrative boundaries”

One component of the CGDI is the Marine Geospatial Data Infrastructure (MGDI) which tries³“[. . .]

to satisfy the geographic data needs of water-oriented stakeholders.” The development of the MGDI is led by the Marine Advisory Network node which is one of the CGDIs twelve nodes whereupon the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Canadian Centre for Marine Communications (CCMC) are the key participants of the node (DFO, 2001). The MGDI assists the economic and social needs of Canada’s marine regions and assists the management of Canada’s water resources (NRC, 2003). As a key partner of both CGDI and MGDI the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is developing the (DFO) GeoPortal which is a key component of the MGDI and provides services that enable DFO employees to index and publish their data and additionally find, view and download other spatial data. The GeoPortal does not intend to be a data warehouse but rather acts as a clearing house for marine spatial data by using an open standards-based architecture [BCMSRM03]. Another initiative inside CGDI is COINAtlantic which⁴“[. . .] has implemented a coastal and ocean information network for the western North Atlantic.”The initiative is led by the Atlantic Coastal Zone Information Steering Committee (ACZISC) and aims at the provision of open access to spatial data to support integrated coastal and ocean management (ICOM) by adopting all standards of and complying with the architecture of the CGDI (Sherin et al., 2009).

1(Labonte et al., 1998)

2(Sherin, 2007)

3(NRC, 2003, p. 1)

4(Butler et al., 2011)

3.2.3 Ireland: Marine Irish Digital Atlas

The Marine Irish Digital Atlas (MIDA) originally was a three year project by the Coastal & Marine Resources Centre (CMRC) at University College Cork which started in September 2002 and is still enduring. MIDA⁵ “[. . .] aims to be a single source for marine and coastal geospatial information in Ireland”

from numerous data owners for professional and public use. It provides over 140 data layers (and associated metadata) from more than 35 data sources trying to address the needs of the Irish coastal and marine community including marine scientists, administrators, educational establishments and the general public (Dwyer et al., 2003), (O’Dea et al., 2009) and (O’Dea et al., 2007).

3.2.4 United Kingdom: MAGIC/CAMRA and MEDIN

Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) is a web map application that combines data on key environmental schemes and designations and which involves six government organisations (Defra [Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs], English Heritage, Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation and two others)⁶. The Coastal and Marine Resource Atlas (CAMRA) is/was managed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and is hosted as a sub-topic on the MAGIC website⁷. The atlas features a list of priority datasets including important coastal and marine habitats and species, as well as physical geography and relevant infrastructure. The Atlas is a web map tool offering access to a wide range of information on coastal and marine resources (DEFRA, 2006, p. 1).

The UK Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) is offering a framework for marine data management in the UK through clearing up terms and conditions for data use, coordinating marine survey and research activities, defining data specifications for improved data management and of course better access to data. MEDIN is working through seven interlinked work streams (WS) inter alia concerning a network of marine Data Archive Centres (DACs, WS1), data and metadata specifications (WS2) and a web portal (WS3) for example. Another major issue for MEDIN is longevity which means that it investigates the question on how to achieve a sustainable framework in the long run. MEDIN approaches this question by defining regular meetings, archiving the data in DACs, using an agreed-on metadata standard for all its data, keeping the metadata freely available and many more (Charlesworth et al., 2009).

3.2.5 United States of America: CMSP Registry, Marine Cadastre, Data.gov and Geoplatform

For the management of coastal areas and waters in the United States, both national organizations such as the Marine Cadastre or the scientifically oriented National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are responsible, as well as organizations from individual states. Through theNational Ocean Policy Implementation Planthe terrestrial and marine spatial data systems in the U.S. were brought together.

Amongst other portals that are on a state or local level (Oregon Coastal Atlas, North Coast Explorer etc.) and other portals (such as nowCOAST and Digital Coast) there are two marine-oriented portals that are of main importance:

• Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Data Registry (CMSP) by the NOAA“[. . .] is a collection of Web-accessible NOAA geospatial data deemed essential for local, regional, or national-level CMSP processes.”⁸

5(Strain et al., 2006, p. 13)

6http://magic.defra.gov.uk/About MAGIC.htm

7http://magic.defra.gov.uk/camra.html

8http://egisws02.nos.noaa.gov/cmspgisdataregistry/