Doug Nebert, GSDI Secretariat Carmelle J. Ct, ESRI Dan Zimble, ESRI Liz Gavin, ISLinkup Kate Lance,

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Doug Nebert, GSDI SecretariatCarmelle J. Côté,
ESRIDan Zimble, ESRILiz Gavin, ISLinkupKate
Lance, USGS/EDC

• Spatial Data Infrastructure Geospatial Standards
  in Action
• Metadata and Web Map Services

FGDC U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee
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Spatial Data InfrastructureConcepts and
Components

• Douglas Nebert
• U.S. Federal Geographic
• Data Committee
• November 2001

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What is a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI)?

• The SDI provides a basis for spatial data
  discovery, evaluation, and application for users
  and providers within all levels of government,
  the commercial sector, the non-profit sector,
  academia and by citizens in general.
• --The SDI Cookbook

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Components of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI)

• Technology (hardware, software, networks,
  databases, technical implementation plans)
• Policies Institutional Arrangements
  (governance, data privacy security, data
  sharing, cost recovery)
• People (training, professional development,
  cooperation, outreach)

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Why build an SDI?

• Build data once and use it many times for many
  applications
• Integrate distributed providers of data
  Cooperative governance
• Place-based management
• Share costs of data creation and maintenance
• Support sustainable economic, social, and
  environmental development

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Who needs access to coordinated geographic
information?

• Land Records Adjudication
• Disaster Response
• Transportation Management
• Water, gas electric planning
• Public Protection
• Defense
• Natural Resource Management
• Telecommunications Infrastructure
• Economic Development

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If an SDI were developed

• Improved decisions providing decision makers
  what they really need indicators, models,
  trends, patterns
• Adoption of existing spatial data standards
• Core data available, in the public domain, via a
  clearinghouse

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If an SDI were developed (cont.)

• Development of a private sector involved with
  data sales and added value
• A chance for developing countries to participate
  in the knowledge economy
• A more informed electorate
• Increased globalization

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Creating the motivation

• Development of an SDI should be a voluntary and
  have long-term vision
• Government roles may require both incentives and
  directives
• Commercial and non-commercial participants
  should find SDI appealing as a market
• The correct solution for SDI must be defined by
  your circumstances

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Government Role in Infrastructure

• Building reliable Internet infrastructure
  design, establishing the backbone
• Common guidelines to enable applications
• We cannot imagine the fullest extent of how SDIs
  will be populated or what applications will live
  upon it!

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Heres one overview of the pieces of the NSDI
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• The first task is to inventory who has what data
  of what type and quality
• A standardised form of metadata was published in
  June 1994 by the FGDC. An international standard
  is due in 2002.

Metadata
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Metadata...

• Provides documentation of existing internal
  geospatial data resources within an organisation
  (inventory)
• Permits structured search and comparison of held
  spatial data by others (catalog)
• Provides end-users with adequate information to
  take the data and use it in an appropriate
  context (documentation)

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• Metadata describes existing data holdings for
  order, retrieval, or local use
• Metadata should be used to describe all types of
  data, emphasis on truth in labeling

Metadata
Geospatial Data
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• Special-use thematic layers are built and
  described as available geospatial data
• Common data layers are being defined in the
  Framework activity

Metadata
GEOdata
Framework
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Framework supports...

• Community development of sets of spatial
  features, feature representation, and attribution
  to a lowest common denominator
• Participant collecting, converting, or
  associating information to common Framework
  feature specifications
• Multiple representations of real-world features
  at different scales and times by feature
  identifier and generalisation

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Spatial Data Infrastructures include services to
help discover and interact with data
Services
Metadata
Framework
GEOdata
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An important common service in SDI is that of
discovering resources through metadata
Discovery
Access
Processing
Services
Metadata
Framework
GEOdata
This Discovery Service is the core function of
the Clearinghouse for geospatial information
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Clearinghouse provides...

• Search for spatial data through fields and
  full-text in the metadata
• Links through to full data access, where
  available
• Supports uniform, distributed search through a
  single user interface to all servers worldwide
• A free advertising mechanism to provide world
  access to your holdings under the principle of
  truth-in-labeling

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• A second class of services provides standardised
  access to geospatial information

Discovery
Access
Processing
Services
Metadata
Framework
GEOdata

• This may be made via static files on ftp or via
  online data streaming services. These services
  deliver raw data, not maps.

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Data Access Concepts

• Standardisation of data access implies several
  things
• Definition of model used for the data to be
  exchanged
• Adoption of an exchange or encoding format
• Agreement on data access protocol(s)
• Organisations should strive to identify the
  mode(s) of operation to simplify data exchange

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Data Access Examples

• Administrative boundary data conforming to the
  GlobalMap data model, packaged as Vector Product
  Format (VPF), made accessible over ftp
• Panchromatic 10m, single-band, rectified imagery
  to a specific coordinate reference system,
  packaged as GEOTIFF with LZW compression, made
  accessible on CD-ROM

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A third class of services provides additional
processing on geospatial information
Discovery
Access
Processing
Services
Metadata
Framework
GEOdata
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Processing Services

• These include capabilities that extend and
  enhance the delivery of data through processes
  applied to raw data
• Web Mapping Services
• Symbolisation
• Coordinate Transformation
• Analysis or topologic overlay services

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• Standardisation makes SDI work
• Standards touch every SDI activity

Discovery
Access
Processing
Services
Metadata
GEOdata
Framework
Standards
Standards include specifications, formal
standards, and documented practices
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FGDC Standards...

• Created by thematic subcommittees as national
  standards, representing community consensus view
  of data theme or common approach
• Submitted for 90-day public review
• Reviewed across disciplines for uniformity
• Published as US Federal Standards
• Standards by ISO, OpenGIS, and other national
  bodies are used FIRST, if they exist!

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Roles of standards bodies
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Partnerships extend our capabilities
Partnerships
Discovery
Access
Processing
Services
Metadata
GEOdata
Framework
Standards
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Partnerships are the glue...

• FGDC has recognised 30 geographic data councils
  across the country to establish 2-way
  coordination mechanisms
• FGDC has funded numerous agencies with seed
  funding to further existing efforts along common
  lines
• Partnerships extend local capabilities in
  technology, skills, logistics, and data

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Treated together this comprises an SDI
Partnerships
Clearinghouse (catalog)
Metadata
GEOdata
Framework
Standards
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Current status of the standards

• Metadata is in widespread, but not
  comprehensive, use
• Over 250 Clearinghouse Nodes internationally
  with over a million entries online
• Approximately 20 of metadata provides links to
  data or order online
• Working with OpenGIS to define a services
  architecture for use by SDIs
• Framework layers being defined based on
  community interests and capabilities

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SDI Clearinghouse Network Participants
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GSDI

• GSDI is
• a response to the need for spatial data to
  support the Agenda 21 resolution from UNCED in
  Rio in 1992
• a network of national, regional, and
  international organizations and individuals
  around the world, both public and private
• involved in the development and open sharing of
  global to local data through a network of
  clearinghouses
• advocacy group for the adoption of appropriate
  standards and practices
• Secretariat is at the FGDC in the US
• Santiago Borrero is the current Director of GSDI

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Regional SDIs

• EuroGeographics and European Umbrella
  Organisation for Geographic Information
• Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for
  Asia the Pacific
• Permanent Committee on SDI for the Americas
• Permanent Committee on SDI for Africa (ECA-CODI)