HR: 0800h
AN: IN41A-0070    [Abstracts]
TI: SDI-Based Groundwater Information Interoperability
AU: * Brodaric, B
EM: brodaric@nrcan.gc.ca
AF: Geological Survey of Canada, 234B – 615 Booth St., Ottawa, ON K1A 0E9, Canada
AU: Boisvert, E
EM: eboisver@nrcan.gc.ca
AF: Geological Survey of Canada, 490 rue de la Couronne, Quebec, QC G1K 9A9, Canada
AB: Though groundwater data are important inputs to hydrologic decision-making, they are highly distributed and heterogeneous, and thus difficult to access in a coordinated manner. The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) is developing an information system for coordinated groundwater data access, using the standards and technologies of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). In mid-stage development, the system is designed to manage and disseminate data produced by GSC scientists, as well as potentially disseminate data produced by other groundwater agencies. The system involves a typical three-tiered, mediator-wrapper architecture that includes a data tier, a mediator tier, and an applications tier. At the data tier local data sources are wrapped by OGC web services (WFS, WMS), which deliver diversely structured data to the mediator tier. The mediator tier acts as: (1) a central registry for the distributed data and other services; (2) a translator of the local data to the standard data format, GroundWater Markup Language; and (3) a consistent set of OGC web services that enable users to access the distributed data as one source. The applications tier involves both GSC and third-party web applications, such as analysis tools or on-line atlases, that provide user interfaces to the system. Apart from the data format standards used to achieve schematic interoperability, the system also deploys some light-weight data content standards to move toward semantic interoperability. These content standards include the definition of common categories for datasets such as standard subject classifications and map layers. A demonstration of the working prototype will be available, as well as discussion of the architecture of the system and the impacts on interoperability. The intent of the development is to grow the system into a national enterprise with a broad range of contributors and users.
DE: 0525 Data management
DE: 1819 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
DE: 1880 Water management (6334)
SC: Earth and Space Science Informatics [IN]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting