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GLERL 2000 Milestone Reports
GOAL: SUSTAIN HEALTHY COASTS
OBJECTIVE 1: Protect, Conserve, and Restore Coastal Habitats and Their Biodiversity
PM: Number of environmental technologies and tool developed that enhance monitoring, assessment, management and restoration of coastal habitats
Milestone: Improve technology transfer program in the Great Lakes region to give Great Lakes communities access to remote sensing and other tools to improve monitoring, environmental science, and decision-making to enhance water resource protection, management and public enjoyment.
Scientist: George A. Leshkevich
Purpose: This milestone was undertaken in an attempt to make access to and use of remotely sensed (satellite) and other in situ and complementary data sets easier. The goal is to make Great Lakes CoastWatch data available over the Internet in a way that would allow the user to view satellite derived geophysical parameters (surface water temperature, ice cover, etc.) without the need for special software (other than an Internet browser such as Netscape) and to analyze the image data with the aid of in situ data (such as marine observation data or bathymetry), modeled data (such as gridded wind fields), or the users own data in shapefile format, interactively. Better access to CoastWatch near real-time satellite data with the ability to overlay complementary data types for aid in analysis, should contribute to improved monitoring, environmental science, and decision-making to enhance water resource protection, management, and public enjoyment.
CoastWatch is a NOAA-wide program designed to provide a rapid supply of up-to-date, coordinated, environmental (remotely sensed, chemical, biological, and physical) information to support Federal and state decision makers and researchers who are responsible for managing the Nation's living marine resources and ecosystems and to the general public for education and awareness. Improvements in technology transfer to the user community will include improved data access and usability.
Efforts: A JAVA applet utility modified and enhanced for the Great Lakes was implemented on the Great Lakes CoastWatch web site. Accessible using an Internet web browser, users can choose images (water surface temperature, AVHRR Ch.1 (visible) histogram equalized image, GLSEA composite chart, ice cover concentration (during winter), or bathymetry) to overlay with in situ data and shapefiles (marine observation data, nowcast gridded wind fields, shorelines, state boundaries, land mask, bathymetry (contours) or users own data in shapefile format) interactively on their own computer screens.
Customers: Customers are Great Lakes CoastWatch data users Federal, state, and local agencies, academic institutions, and the general public including coastal and resource managers, mitigators and decision-makers, researchers, educators, and recreational users.
Significance: The JAVA applet (JAVA GIS) utility allows online access to and analysis of near real-time Great Lakes CoastWatch satellite derived and in situ data without traditional uncompression and analysis software (only an Internet web browser is needed). Data users can interactively retrieve physical parameters such as water surface temperature, ice cover concentration, winds, and lake bottom depth at a given location in an image, which enhances the accessibility and utility of Great Lakes CoastWatch data.
Success: The project was completed and made available on the Great Lakes CoastWatch web site on June 12, 2000. Judging by the added interest and activity on the web site after its introduction and the number of new data users registering (especially from Federal, state, and academic institutions), the JAVA GIS utility appears to be meeting its goal by making data more accessible and useable to a variety of users for a variety of activities impacting the use and preservation of coastal habitats.
Next Steps: Future activities anticipated include the addition of new image and shapefile data (such as cloud masks and lake bottom type) to the JAVA GIS utility. Near shore land use and land cover could also be added if user interest is expressed.
Last updated: July 9, 2002 mbl