An Integration of GIS Technologies for Ice Hazard Warnings:

This paper presents the current and future application of mission-critical GIS technology in the Canadian Ice and Marine Services Branch (IMSB) for supporting the marine community. IMSB provides timely and accurate ice information for day-to-day decision support in Canadian waters. The acquisition, processing and integration of real-time data is essential for this task.

A typical day at the IMSB involves the real-time acquisition, processing, and analysis of geographic data; the integration of vector, raster, and alphanumeric information;  generation and the dissemination of text, chart, image and spatially enabled products to clients and partners. All products are deposited in a central  repository and are made available to public and partners via a geo-spatial web service.

IMSB is also responsible for an extensive archive of the Canadian maritime cryosphere; specifically sea ice, lake ice and icebergs.  This information is an integral component of monitoring global climate variation since the cryosphere is especially sensitive to minute changes in environmental conditions.

The Ice and Marine Services Branch (Canadian Ice Service)

The Canadian Ice Service of the Meteorological Service (MSC) of Environment Canada is responsible for providing sea ice and iceberg information under the Canadian Federal Ice Program.

Water transit is vital to the economy of Canada.  Each season, ships face many challenges traveling the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Labrador Sea and the Arctic Ocean.   Ice floes and icebergs clog shipping lanes, delaying transit and creating hazards for both the ships and those on board. These floes and icebergs can also damage drilling platforms and fishing vessels and are hazards for northern communities.

To fulfill its mandate, the Ice and Marine Service Branch (IMSB)  in Ottawa, Canada is dependent upon integrated GIS and supporting technologies for the rapid processing and dissemination of navigation products generated from the data acquired from satellites, airborne radars, ice/ weather models and other data sources. The Integrated Spatial Information System (ISIS) satisfies the IMSB requirement for a system which is reliable in a real-time production environment yet flexible and scalable to adapt to new data sources, products, platforms and evolving business requirements.

The ISIS is built around a core of commercially available software packages which have made it easier to incorporate established and evolving geospatial standards and to integrate, generate and disseminate a wide variety of GIS based products.

The IMSB provides a variety of services including;

• daily ice hazard warnings and charts describing ice conditions in active navigable waters
• warning service for extreme ice events
• weekly and monthly analyses of all Canadian ice covered waters for transportation planning, climate monitoring and sustainable development
• an ice and iceberg archive for climatological studies
• and contribution of Canadian ice data to the World Data Centre for Glaciology

Integrated Spatial Information System: Functionality

• Data Acquisition Subsystem receives data from different sources and platforms, distributes data to other systems, triggers ice models or classification tasks, performs automatic geolocation, performs image compression, enhancements and contouring of satellite, imagery and model outputs and stores everything in a central data repository.  Load balancing, distributed databases and parallel computing are used to meet daily processing requirements and for meeting strict production and delivery deadlines.

• Data Management and Metadata Repository is composed of a relational database management system (RDBMS) and a database based upon the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) as defined by the US Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). The repository ensures the metadata access to the records is controlled and constraints are strictly enforced. The  repository is comprised of a catalogue which is streamlined for a daily production environment and long range catalogue for archiving and trend analysis.

• Ice Analysis Subsystem is the high-end ISIS workstations that provide access to all data referenced by the Metadata repository. Custom tools are developed for sorting, displaying, and analyzing of data in order to generate electronic and hardcopy products such as navigation charts and bulletins. Analysts can enhance imagery and then annotate with text and line objects to reveal ice characteristics and iceberg targets.  This client/server subsystem is based on high availability UNIX servers and Windows 2000 clients and makes  extensive use of ERDAS Imagine, ArcGIS and ArcView3 software.    There are three primary components of this subsystem;
• Geospatial Metadata Browser is a visual directory of the real-time data repository. A user can view metadata associated with a data object in a tabular format and/or graphical format showing the coverage 'footprint'. A variety of temporal and spatial data filters are available for data discovery and drilling. With geospatial metadata the footprint of the data can be superimposed on a globe which allows the user to see the geographic context of the data.
• the Image Analysis component provides the user with multiple image display, analysis using Esri shared libraries,  mosaics and generation of annotated image products.
• the Data Integration and Product Generation component integrates GIS data from various sources including model prognosis, previous or archived analyses, analyses from partners and observations from ships, aircraft and remote operation offices. Topology and product generation as defined by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards and business rules are integral within this component.

 
• Berg Analysis and Prediction Subsystem is comprised of three software components; Geospatial Meta Browser, Image Analysis and Iceberg Product Generation. The Browser and Image Analysis are identical to the Ice Analysis Subsystem.
• Iceberg Product Generation provides capabilities for validating and correcting iceberg locations received from aircraft and ships, integrating recently reported icebergs with Most Recent Observation File (MROF), generating now cast and prognosis products based on model outputs and MROF.

 
• Product Dissemination Subsystem receives products generated by Ice Analysis Subsystem or from other systems, formats these products based on client profiles and then delivers via their preferred communication methods such as FTP, e-mail or Fax. A product database and client standing orders maintain all deliveries and provide tracking and performance details. The subsystem supports delivery in GeoTIFF, MrSid, PDF, Encapsulated PostScript, JPEG, GIF, bundled Shapefiles, Esri export files and ERDAS IMG formats.

• Field Decision Support Subsystem is the low-end ICE-VU workstations that are deployed on Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) vessels, remote ice operation offices, on board reconnaissance aircraft, and at the IMSB. ICE-VU workstations were designed specifically as marine decision support applications and provide Coast Guard and Ice Service Specialists with the capability to receive real-time Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)/ Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) data or to download compressed MrSID imagery and GIS products provided by the IMSB. ICE-VU is stand-alone system and has its own data acquisition, processing and catalogue functions to enable user to plan navigation routes and deviations.

• Climate Support Subsystem provides access to operational analysis tools for meteorological and ice trend analysis and support for analysts producing long range forecasts and seasonal outlooks. This subsystem has direct access to long range archive repositories, based on CSDGM Metadata search criteria. It supports other tools for producing ice climate products and an annual ice atlas.

• Data Order Subsystem provides tools for planning aircraft flight paths, planning data transmissions during flights to ships and to Ice Reconnaissance Data Network (IRDNET) ground stations for subsequent broadcasts to CCG and MSC. This subsystem also provides tools for planning Radarsat and ENVISAT data acquisitions and for ordering data frames to meet IMSB operational requirements.

Integrated Spatial Information System: Architecture

• Layer 1 – Application Layer that provides Human Machine Interface (HMI) and data interfaces to meet business requirements based on operational workflow and scenarios. This layer makes extensive use of components in the service layer.

• Layer 2 – Service Layer that provides reusable software components and common system wide functions. Examples of service components are, print/plot services, malfunction detection/reporting, error reporting, logging, communication software, Database services, interfaces to COTS, Help facilities, etc. This layer also contains encapsulation modules for interfacing with various models.

• Layer 3 –Architecture Layer that provides generic mechanisms and structures for managing data and control for the system as a whole. This layer also contains RDBMS, commercial software and functions required for distributed processing and parallel processing.

• Layer 4 – Implementation Layer which defines hardware platform, operating systems, networking environment, and storage networks.

Figure 2: ISIS Software Architecture

Integrated Spatial Information System:  Moving Forward

As well, a new OnBoard Analysis Subsystem is in the concept stage. This subsystem is intended to have capabilities between the high-end ISIS and low-end ICE-VU Ice Analysis Subsystems. Data integration and analysis will be based on Ice Analysis Subsystem described above.  Visual data entry will be based on pen computers that will use GIS technology for attribute and feature inputs and for topology creation. CCG will be installing pen computers onboard ships and helicopters for generating ice observation charts.

To assist the IMSB personnel on the aircraft, the OnBoard Analysis Subsystem will be configured with a small network linking server, workstation(s) and pen computers. This will allow the analysis of newly acquired SAR/SLAR imagery in real-time, generate an analysis enhanced by visual and other sensor data and then transmit the product directly to coast guard ships, commercial ships or satellite broadcast stations for delivery to IMSB and to CCG Ice operation offices. Beyond the standard ice duties, there would be opportunities in which aircraft equipped with the OnBoard Analysis subsystem could assist in disaster assessment (flooding and pollution) and wildlife management.

Another area where IMSB has begun to focus is accessible, on-line data archiving. IMSB is responsible for extensive archive of the Canadian maritime cryosphere, specifically sea ice, lake ice, and icebergs. This information is an integral component for monitoring global climate variation since the cryosphere is especially sensitive to minute changes in environmental conditions.

Currently the IMSB is saturated with various charts, images, and analysis and it is necessary to collect all of this together into state-of-the-art archive accessed through ArcSDE and ArcIMS. ArcSDE and the geodatabase will provide the centralized mechanism for managing and sharing information with clients and partners using XML protocols. This archive will be accessible through Web and other data infrastructures.  To provide complete interaction with the new archive, the IMSB plans to replace the current ArcView3.x based Browser with a new Visual Basic (VB) and MapObjects (MO) application. The new Browser will allow the user to query and retrieve information not only a focused operational catalogue but also a large GIS enabled data warehouse of cryosphere resources.

IMSB production is based on a product based paradigm in which products are generated by IMSB staff for specific geographical areas. With a near real-time data warehouse, IMSB can generate products in the future based on product and geographic region templates and provide the capability for generating charts on demand. This approach will require automated tools for having a continuous spatial database.

The open, scalable architecture of ISIS will enable IMSB and MSC and their partners to offer new products cost effectively for meeting clients, public and partners needs and deliver these products via the web as part of the Canadian e-government initiatives. The ISIS framework can be easily adapted to implement other applications and disaster management systems such as pollution control, agriculture, coastal management, flood forecasting, and many more.

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