Bringing the Ecological Characterization of Otter Island, South Carolina Prototype to the World Wide Web

Jeffrey W. Cowen, Spatial Data Specialist, Technology Planning and Management Corporation contractor at

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center

and

Jason Marshall, Database Administrator, Technology Planning and Management Corporation contractor at

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center

ABSTRACT

The "Ecological Characterization of Otter Island, South Carolina: A Prototype for Interactive Access to Coastal Management Information" CD-ROM, is an interactive and versatile information tool that introduces ecosystem perspectives and supports coastal resource management. Conventional methods and techniques for conducting and delivering ecological characterizations were modernized for this purpose by employing digital data and information technologies. The product contains Hyper-text Markup Language (HTML)-based documents, searchable bibliographies, movie clips, and a digital spatial database, which is accompanied with tools for viewing and querying the spatial database. Development of this product was also guided by the long-term goal of distributing over the Internet the same information and functions that are provided on the CD-ROM. This paper focuses on the new technology that makes interactive access to spatial data possible over the Internet.

INTRODUCTION

Ecological characterizations of coastal systems have been conducted as intensive descriptions of ecosystems since the 1970s and their results have been published for limited distribution in paper form only. They have most often been undertaken to assemble before-the-fact information about ecosystems prior to mining, drilling, or other resource extraction activities and to plan mitigation strategies for associated shore zone impacts. Typically, these studies were structured to include thorough descriptions of physical and biological systems and to include some information about the economic implications of such development in coastal areas.

Developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, "Ecological Characterization of Otter Island, South Carolina: A Prototype for Interactive Access to Coastal Management Information", enhances that earlier conception of ecological characterization, broadening it to include digital publication of text, images, bibliographic information, tabular and geographic data, management protocols and scenarios, and other relevant information. This product was originally distributed on CD-ROM for review by selected coastal resource managers throughout the United States. Its principal purpose is to demonstrate the means and utility of publishing information synthesis "documents" in digital form, and to provide a basis for evaluating this approach. The intended benefits of this effort are to: stimulate improvement, simplify updating, broaden distribution, and foster wider use of data and information appropriate to better understand and manage coastal ecosystems. The secondary goal of the project was to construct an interactive information tool useful to managing Otter Island.

Although originally distributed on CD-ROM, this prototype was developed using technology that allows the transfer of data and information to the Internet. Inter-linking the information contained on the CD-ROM, and making it accessible with new computer capabilities, this prototype begins to demonstrate a truly integrated and interactive data and information capability.

In order to support the managers of Otter Island and to demonstrate integration of geographic information system (GIS) technology with traditional information services, an extensive spatial database for Otter Island and its the surrounding area is included on the CD-ROM. In order to access this spatial data, Environmental Systems Research Institute's (Esri) ArcView Data Publisher™ software is included on the CD-ROM. This software provides the necessary tools to view and query the spatial database, and allowed the developers of the product to program interactive "management scenarios." This paper discusses the methods for and implications of providing the same access to spatial data over the World Wide Web.

SITE SELECTION - WHY OTTER ISLAND?

The targeted ecological system, Otter Island, is a 2088-acre (845 ha) barrier and marsh island facing St. Helena Sound on the lower South Carolina coast. Located in the combined Ashepoo, Combahee, Edisto drainage basin (ACE Basin), this uninhabited island contains undisturbed maritime forest and is a refuge to resident and migrating animals, including several endangered species such as the loggerhead sea turtle and the American Bald Eagle. Otter Island was purchased by the state of South Carolina for inclusion in the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve and is managed pursuant to the goals of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) and the state Heritage Trust program.

The decision to focus this prototype effort on Otter Island was a practical one that recognized that the first need was for a trial or "proof-of-concept" exercise for digital publication of characterization information. It also recognized that any site presents limitations and that such capabilities should continue to be refined and expanded through work at other scales, in other ecosystems, and in response to evolving management needs.

STRUCTURE AND USER INTERFACE

Because the Otter Island project is publicly funded, it was considered important to produce a "freely" distributable product. This meant maximizing the public domain portion of its contents. But it was also considered important to make the product as robust and as well-supported as possible. This meant compromising the desired benefits of free or publicly owned software to gain the robust performance and consistent support offered by some commercial software. Thus, it also meant obtaining copyright releases or distribution licenses for proprietary material.

The Otter Island CD-ROM is, organized around specific "off the shelf" software that was: licensed for distribution, provided state-of-the-art capability, and was integrated into a functional whole. Organization of the information it contains is therefore modular (interchangeable), and its form is determined largely by the requirements of chosen software tools. Because it has become a standard format or language for Internet and World Wide Web applications, HTML was adopted as a means to organize text, integrated with graphics and other features, and to link other self-contained software applications. While the HTML-based text, images, and links readily transfer to the Web, the interactive functionality of ArcView™ does not. Therefore, new methods and technologies were investigated to provide on the Web, the full functionality of the spatial database that exists on the CD-ROM.

SPATIAL DATA ACCESS

Spatial or geographic data are themselves a powerful and convenient form in which to synthesize and visualize information. However, geographic data require special software tools to access and preserve their full potential to relate positions on the earth to measured or described attributes. Almost 35 spatial data sets are included that provide useful information to decision makers for Otter Island. To make this data useable, tools were needed that would allow users to view, query, and create maps from these spatial data. Such tools needed to be presented in an easy-to-understand context, such as a "point-and-click" graphical user interface (GUI). It was also required that this interface be customizable so that new tools could be created, or old ones modified to meet changing needs of resource managers.

Because most of the spatial database for Otter Island already existed at the prototype's inception, a software package was needed that could read those databases without additional preprocessing. It was decided that Esri's ArcView Data Publisher™ software provided necessary functionality and averted need for additional preprocessing. This off-the-shelf software package already offered base capability to easily automate viewing, querying, and creating maps from the existing spatial database. Building on those capabilities, ArcView Data Publisher™ was subsequently customized, adding new tools to allow users to evaluate shoreline accessibility, and to investigate placement of new campsites and hiking trails.

ArcView Data Publisher™ is produced and licensed for economical distribution and use with only the data sets included on the CD-ROM. It is technologically limited to users operating IBM-compatible personal computers with a minimum 486 Mhz processor and 12 MB RAM (preferably 586 Mhz processor and 16 MB RAM). Use of ArcView Data Publisher™ in this CD-ROM product limits use by non-Windows (Macintosh and UNIX) users, since it is not available for Macintosh or UNIX based computers.

Since the CD-ROM was distributed in September of 1996, Esri has made available new tools, which can be incorporated into a development environment to provide access to spatial data over the Web. MapObjects™, a suite of OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) automation objects (programmable and interchangeable objects) can be accessed through industry standard programming environments such as Visual Basic™, Delphi™, PowerBuilder™, and others. The MapObjects™ controls provide a method to display spatial data, pan and zoom a map, and query data interactively. Methods are also provided for vector "overlay" analysis, such as locating endangered species sites that are within 100 meters of a proposed campsite.



The Delphi™ programming environment was chosen for this project. Within this environment, the MapObjects™ controls provided us with the common spatial data query and viewing functionality found on most desktop mapping software packages and allowed the freedom to design customized tools and interfaces. All of the "Management Scenarios" and custom interfaces developed for use on CD-ROM with ArcView Data Publisher™ were replicated using the MapObjects™ controls. In many cases, the interface that was developed in this environment provides easier and faster access to the spatial data, than that provided on the CD-ROM.

After an application has been developed with MapObjects™, the application can be "served" to Web clients from a windows based server that has Esri's MapObjects Internet Map Server™ running on it. All of the data manipulation and access is handled on the server side and is passed back to the client as a Java™-enabled HTML document. These technological advancements should provide for Web users the same access to and visualization of spatial data that is provided on the Otter Island CD-ROM. At the time this paper was submitted, this application had not been fully tested in a Web environment, but preliminary test results were very promising.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

With advances in Object Oriented technologies it is feasible to distribute all of the tools needed to provide a fully functional GIS over the Internet. This functionality can be developed based on the distributed component object model (DCOM), using a combination of ActiveForms™ and Java™. Clients will be able to log onto a server, and have full access to spatial data, with all of the visualization and analysis tools needed to manipulate such data. Clients will also be able to download components, that they may need and incorporate them into their own applications. As Web based technology continues to evolve, distributing and providing access to spatial data will become easier and more common place. The Coastal Services Center will continue to develop these technologies to make information more available to the coastal management community.

For more information visit the Coastal Services Center's homepage at:

http://www.csc.noaa.gov

or contact:

Jeff Cowen
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Coastal Services Center
2234 South Hobson Ave.
Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Ph: (803) 974-6249
FAX: (803) 974-6315
jcowen@csc.noaa.gov

Jason Marshall
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Coastal Services Center
2234 South Hobson Ave.
Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Ph: (803) 974-6249
FAX: (803) 974-6315
jmarshall@csc.noaa.gov