Project 1.1.5 - Atlas of
Australia's Tropical Lands and Seas (e-Atlas)
The e-Atlas is a
new web-accessible integrated knowledge management system designed
to provide a framework to facilitate effective use and sharing of
information in order to enhance evidence-based decision making for
effective management and the long-term sustainable use of the Great
Barrier Reef and its catchments, the Wet Tropics rainforests and
Torres Strait. The e-Atlas is a portal providing access to
new data and information handling, spatial mapping and analytical
tools to collate, integrate, share and analyse the vast array of
biophysical and socio-economic data required to manage these
environmentally, economically and culturally valuable systems
effectively. Based entirely on open-source software, the
e-Atlas uses internationally recognised standards that enable its
content to be interrogated and delivered into GIS systems,
particularly those within federal and state government departments
and agencies. The e-Atlas currently holds more than six
hundred maps derived from data contributed by nine different
national, state and local institutions. These maps illustrate
numerous characteristics of North Queensland's ecosystems,
particularly patterns and hotspots of biodiversity and threats,
facilitating the identification and improvement of understanding of
the major risk and resilience factors influencing the MTSRF region,
and their ecological, social and economic impacts, and enhances
capacity to evaluate and implement effective policy and management
responses to enusre the long-term sustainability of North
Queensland's natural assets.
Project Leader and Host
Organisation
Dr Katharina Fabricius (Australian Institute of Marine
Science)
Project Description and Objectives
For detailed descriptions of the outputs for
this project for Year 4 (2009/2010) of the MTSRF Research
Programme, see the Annual Research
Plan.
Existing data and information on the Great
Barrier Reef and the terrestrial tropical ecosystems has generally
been under-used. The e-Atlas is developing the tools to make
greater use of such data information. By providing the means to
share and access data, maps and information on topics relevant to
Australia's tropical land and seas, the e-Atlas aims to promote
collaboration and support the work of management agencies,
researchers, reef-based industries and community groups.
The objectives of the e-Atlas are to:
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Provide a 'one-stop shop' for accurate, up-to-date and
comprehensive information, maps, reports, scientific papers and
data;
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Produce interactive maps of environmental conditions,
biodiversity, risks and hotspots of environmental concern;
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Provide high capacity storage, custom-developed open-source
software for data processing and display as well as data access to
the public and/or registered users;
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Provide the platform for data integration and collaboration
across institutions; and
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Display the results of statistical and process models, to
synthesise and interpret data and to inform management about
contemporary ecological and environmental issues with an emphasis
on risk, resilience and response.
The e-Atlas comprises four components:
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A Website to host the data repository and tools and to
provide interpretative text summaries of key topics;
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A searchable Repository of data, metadata, maps and
scientific reports;
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Tools to search, explore, interactively map and analyse
spatial and temporal data; and
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Research into risk, resilience and response of the GBR
system.
The technical and conceptual development of the tools that
underpin the e-Atlas is progressing rapidly. The initial priority
has been to develop the backbone of the system (web site, mapping,
statistical tools, and automation of work flow; Figure 1) before
populating it with content.
Figure 1: Schematic
representation of the architecture of the e-Atlas.
The e-Atlas is based entirely on an open
source philosophy and uses a moderated wiki style approach in order
to grow through contributions from a wide range of users. The
e-Atlas will develop the tools to enable data owners to upload and
contribute their contents. The cost savings due to this open source
wiki philosophy will be enormous (probably >$200 per uploaded
text page, with potentially hundreds of pages being contributed
each year). So far, the system has been populated by the e-Atlas
team with the first example pages of content being written and
illustrated. Some of the most important data sets have been
compiled, and converted into gridded data through statistical tools
for mapping and graphic display. The spatial modelling of twelve
key data sets comprising over six hundred variables (map layers) is
complete, and numerous additional data sets will be added over the
next two months. However, in order to initially increase the
e-Atlas contents to a critical mass which starts making it useful
for potential user organisations such as GBRMPA, a person in charge
of uploading the contents will be required in the early period.
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See also: Launch of Reef
Atlas: Risk, Resilience and Response, Port Douglas,
25 July 2008.
Background: The e-Atlas
is a partnership between many research providers. Its objectives
are to provide:
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A portal to information and analyses addressing contemporary GBR
ecological and environmental issues with an emphasis on risk,
resilience and response;
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Syntheses of complex data, reports, scientific papers and data
summaries maps; and
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Analyses based on statistical and process-based modelling,
including risk assessment and mapping.
The e-Atlas' technological infrastructure includes
high capacity storage, custom-developed software to facilitate data
processing and display, and data access provision either to the
public or to registered users. Partners gain access to the
technology to develop and display their data spatially, and a forum
to explain and interpret their data and findings. By providing the
means to share and access data, maps and information on topics
relevant to the GBR and its catchments, the Atlas aims to promote
collaboration and support the work of management agencies,
researchers, reef-based industries and community groups. It targets
users with some background knowledge, but does not assume detailed
statistical and modelling skills.
The Annual Research Plans, or ARPs, outline the specific tasks,
products, budgets and staff for each research project within each
of the Research Themes and Programs of the MTSRF. The ARPs
also outline the key deliverables, or 'project
milestones' (e.g. major reports, journal articles,
communications products) to be achieved.
An ARP is developed for each operating year of the MTSRF
(2006-2010).
Details of this and previous years' outputs from this project
are included in each of the Annual Research
Plans.
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