Geography Division Eastern Region Gulf of Mexico DIMS Subtask Proposal

Home | Gulf of Mexico Region IMS | Reports | Geography Division Eastern Region Gulf of Mexico DIMS Subtask Proposal

Subtask of Central Region Integrated Science Partnership Funds (CRISP) proposal:
Geography Division Eastern Region Gulf of Mexico DIMS

Project Title: Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ecosystems: An integrated database and information management system (DIMS).

Task Title: Data Agreements and Data Acquisition

Task Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigators: Michael Crane and Julia Giller

Partners/Collaborators and Affiliations: Federal, state and local government agencies and academic institutions involved in the Gulf of Mexico region.

Introduction: The Gulf of Mexico region is characterized by environmental and economic issues that transcend traditional political boundaries and involve a host of critical integrated and conflicting factors such as mineral resources, fisheries production, ecological habitats for marine life and waterfowl, and urban growth and its attendant anthropogenic impacts. With increasing research being conducted in the region to help understand these conditions and factors, it becomes crucial to make research results, information, and data widely accessible. The ability to understand the Gulf’s ecosystems and its changing character is dependent on accurately modeling and documenting the interrelationships of physical, chemical, and biological parameters. The four USGS disciplines will collaborate on creating an easily accessible outlet for information about the Gulf of Mexico and its environs.

Objective: The goal of the DIMS for the Gulf of Mexico region is to provide a comprehensive collection of consistent geological, biological, hydrological, geographical, and ecological spatial information through a database driven Internet Mapping System. This task will facilitate the establishment of the DIMS by determining data sources, establishing official agreements with data providers throughout the Gulf of Mexico region to ensure data availability, and acquiring geospatial data sets in support of the project.

Approach: Task members will contact Federal, State, and local government agencies and academic institutions regarding geospatial data sets and their accessibility. Where appropriate, official agreements will be established between the USGS and the data sources to ensure data access and sharing. When agreements are in place, geospatial data sets will be acquired and loaded onto the Internet map Server. Federally compliant metadata will serve as a means of documenting and searching for data sets that will be distributed online as well as those data sets that are sensitive in nature and not distributable. Task members will document the utility of the DIMS by the user community and provide feedback to the system designers.

Benefits: The sharing and accessibility of consistent Gulf-wide geospatial data sets will benefit researchers, resource managers, policy makers, and the general public. The clearinghouse will facilitate development of a variety of syntheses and interpretations, and serve as a foundation for integrated ecosystem modeling of parts of the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the DIMS will contribute to The National Map effort of the USGS by providing access to both cartographically and scientifically relevant data.

Outcome/Products: This task will provide the project with:

official agreements with Federal, State, and local government agencies and academic institutions for sharing data and information.
geospatial data sets that are consistent in content, scale, resolution, date, and metadata.
user feedback on the ease of use of the DIMS.

Timeline:

First year activities will include:

determination of data sources
development of agreements to access and share information

Second year activities will include:

continued development of agreements
data acquisition and metadata development