1. The Gulf of Maine Biogeographical Information System (GMBIS) Project COD Conference Brussels, 25-27/11/2002 Vardis M. Tsontos Dale A. Kiefer University of Southern California tsontos@usc.edu A spatial data management framework in support of OBISAtlanticReferenceCentre

2. 2 year project funded May 2000 by ONR via NOPP 2 year project funded May 2000 by ONR via NOPP Partners Partners - University of Southern California (USC) - University of Southern California (USC) - DFO Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) - Atlantic Reference Centre (ARC) - System Science Applications (SSA) Objectives Objectives - develop framework & tools for integration, visualisation, dissemination of biogeographic & oceanographic data of biogeographic & oceanographic data - demonstrate the viability of the assembled information system via a pilot application for the Gulf of Maine: application for the Gulf of Maine: use extensive BIO & ARC survey databases use extensive BIO & ARC survey databases thematic context: structured scientific storylines thematic context: structured scientific storylines The Gulf of Maine Biogeographic Information System Project (GMBIS) component of the Census of Marine Life / OBIS initiative component of the Census of Marine Life / OBIS initiative - address critical issues of data management / integration - address critical issues of data management / integration

3. GMBIS Thematic Approach Part IThe Setting Large-Scale Topography, Environment and Ecosystem: Scotian Shelf and Gulf of MaineLarge-Scale Topography, Environment and Ecosystem: Scotian Shelf and Gulf of Maine Climatological seasonal structure of the Gulf of Maine RegionClimatological seasonal structure of the Gulf of Maine Region Biological Distributions in relation to GOM physical structureBiological Distributions in relation to GOM physical structure Characterization of Species Diversity in the GOM by Aggregated Taxonomic CategoriesCharacterization of Species Diversity in the GOM by Aggregated Taxonomic Categories Part IITemporal Variability Past Examples of Marine Population Changes in relation to Variable Subpolar InfluencesPast Examples of Marine Population Changes in relation to Variable Subpolar Influences Interannual Variability in Drift, Growth & Survival of Browns Bank Haddock Early Life StagesInterannual Variability in Drift, Growth & Survival of Browns Bank Haddock Early Life Stages Recent Interannual Variability in Plankton & Haddock larvae on Western/Central Scotian ShelfRecent Interannual Variability in Plankton & Haddock larvae on Western/Central Scotian Shelf “Distribution of marine populations in relation to environmental variability in the GoM” Subthemes: scales of variability (spatial, temporal, levels of biological organisation) Show utility of system in addressing biogeographic questions Show utility of system in addressing biogeographic questions Developed by DFO – longstanding research activities in GoM (eg. GLOBEC G.Bank) Developed by DFO – longstanding research activities in GoM (eg. GLOBEC G.Bank) Resulted in a form of synthesis (“Atlas” & data gaps) Resulted in a form of synthesis (“Atlas” & data gaps)

4. Summary of electronically archived data maintained by BIO & ARC Diverse types of oceanographic & biogeographic data Diverse types of oceanographic & biogeographic data GMBIS tapped a representative range of data and archival systems GMBIS tapped a representative range of data and archival systems

5. GMBIS Information System Design: Components & Information flow

6. Simulation control panel AVHRR SST imagery for the Gulf of Maine Species richness relative to bathymetry, water density differentials & bottom temperature (summer climatology) Environmental Analysis System (EASy GIS) PC/WinNT/XP/00/98 system PC/WinNT/XP/00/98 system 4D (lat/lon/depth/time) internal data representation 4D (lat/lon/depth/time) internal data representation Time Series plots Depth profile plots Transect vertical contour plots Image Browse Toolbar False colour plot Contour plot Bubble Plots

7. EASy Netviewer – GIS Web Server Web-enabled EASy GIS applications with Netviewer plug-in Web-enabled EASy GIS applications with Netviewer plug-in Clients access with Web-browser (MS I.Explorer) Clients access with Web-browser (MS I.Explorer) PC Server MS IIS EASy Netviewer DLL WEBPAGEWEBPAGE Internet Remote Clients browser Deploy multiple GIS applications from single server Deploy multiple GIS applications from single server Netconsole: Netconsole: - administration/monitoring tool Client-side Functionality: Client-side Functionality: - full data visualisation - data export/download - conferencing Mean field Cod & Haddock abundance distributions - Summer

8. Diverse Imagery Supported SAR Image, Santa Monica BayAerial photography, MalibuNOAA Nautical Charts [CHL] SEAWIFS, Gulf of MaineSST AVHRR, Gulf of Maine Vector Imagery – LA ESRI Shapefiles Automated imagery ingestion/georeferencing – FTP, DODS sources Automated imagery ingestion/georeferencing – FTP, DODS sources Multiple types / formats (eg. HDF, NetCDF, Binary, DOQQ, Shp) Multiple types / formats (eg. HDF, NetCDF, Binary, DOQQ, Shp)

9. Virtual Database Utility Dialog Sequence - Select a data source - Choose data types to import - Map the data fields - Save the configuration Connectivity to any ODBC compliant data source (eg. Oracle, Excel, ASCII) Connectivity to any ODBC compliant data source (eg. Oracle, Excel, ASCII) EASy Project Database Generic relational database Import Maps variably structured relational DB to key fields required by EASy Maps variably structured relational DB to key fields required by EASy Save mapping configurations for reuse/automation Save mapping configurations for reuse/automation Maps columnar, flat-file data to critical EASy fields Maps columnar, flat-file data to critical EASy fields Columnar ASCII/Excel flat-file

10. Linking to Online Databases & Webpages Interactively browse web pages with either static or dynamic content GoM Herring distributions and FishBase descriptive species information Context sensitive querying of online biogeographic/species identification databases (eg. OBIS portal, Fishbase, GenBank)

11. Assembled information system– precursor to a dynamic, electronic Atlas for the GoM Assembled information system– precursor to a dynamic, electronic Atlas for the GoM Conclusions Reusable software tools (EASy & ACON) for the assimilation, integration, visualization Reusable software tools (EASy & ACON) for the assimilation, integration, visualization & dissemination of the full range of likely CoML data types (biological & environmental) & dissemination of the full range of likely CoML data types (biological & environmental) Generic approach for biogeographic/oceanographic information system Generic approach for biogeographic/oceanographic information system design & implementation design & implementation GMBIS – Methods for mapping species distribution patterns in the Gulf of Maine GMBIS has produced a range of products of relevance to CoML/OBIS GMBIS has produced a range of products of relevance to CoML/OBIS