 |
| Screenshot of IMS home page |
|
|
 |
The Tampa Bay Pilot Project is an integrated science effort by the USGS that combines the expertise of Federal, State, and local partners to address some of the most pressing societal and ecological problems of the Tampa Bay estuary.
As a pilot study, the project will serve to develop a template for application of integrated research projects in other estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico. As part of this effort, the Tampa Bay Pilot Study IMS was developed. It is a web-based geographic information system (GIS) that provides access to spatial datasets pertaining to Tampa Bay, Florida.
The Tampa Bay Pilot Study IMS is designed to allow viewing, querying, and analysis of geographic information associated with Tampa Bay’s estuaries (the back of this page shows the list of data layers currently available for displaying). Because GIS on the Internet provides a much more dynamic tool than a static map display, web users can navigate around maps, overlay different layers, query the databases, and print out maps all through an interactive mapping interface.
Users will find that the IMS application is easy to use and it provides a valuable resource for accessing spatial datasets. Maps are often made up of several data layers referred to as themes. Each theme available for viewing is identified in the table of contents (TOC). The IMS automatically changes the background image (theme) according to the level of detail desired. For instance the IMS switches from satellite imagery to aerial photography as the user requests more detail.
|
