Track: Oceanography, Coastal Zone, Marine Resources
Marine Environment Information System - A Conceptual Model in GIS
Dr. Sayed Jamal BukhariIn the recent past, the geographic information system has made great strides in many walks of life. However, the adoption of GIS in the marine environment has always been a daunting task. The reason behind this is the dynamic nature of the marine environment, the continuous variation (both temporal and spatial) in its factor variables, and the three-dimensional regime in which it resides. The present application is an effort in proposing a GIS-based analytical system that not only maps the variations in the factor variables but also serves as an analytical tool in determining the dynamic nature and the pollution status of the marine and nearshore environment. The basics input into the system are the physical, chemical, and hydrographic parameters; the geochemistry; and the texture of the sediments. The applications make use of formulae and calculations proposed by researchers and available in published literature. The factors determined here are Index of Geo-accumulation, Chemical Index of Alteration, Chemical Maturity, and Enrichment Factor to determine the pollution status of the bottom sediments. Physical parameters, such as current direction and intensity, and wave parameters are utilized in understanding the dynamic nature of the coast and the longshore drift patterns in the nearshore environment. Mechanical and statistical analyses convey the textual conditions of sediments. The software used were ArcView GIS and ArcInfo for the GIS perspective, Visual Basic as the front-end, and Oracle for the database.
Dr. Sayed Jamal Bukhari
The Centre for GIS
Doha,
QATAR
Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail: sbukhari@gisqatar.org.qa