South Florida Information Access

Project Proposal for 2001

CONTINUING PROJECT WORK PLAN - FY 2001

IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
Project title: South Florida Information Access/Environmental database development and maintenance
Project chief: Roy S. Sonenshein
Region/Division/Team/Section: WRD, SR, Florida District, Miami Subdistrict
Email: sunshine@usgs.gov
Phone: 305 717 5824
Fax: 305 717 5801
Mail address:
U.S. Geological Survey
9100 NW 36th St, Suite 107
Miami, FL 33178

Program(s): Place Based Programs
Ecosystem: South Florida
Project start date: Oct. 1, 1995
Project end date: Sept. 30, 2001

BACKGROUND NARRATIVE

The South Florida restoration effort requires multidisciplinary information relating to present and historical conditions for use in responsible decision-making. Searchable metadata provide a valuable tool for scientists, managers, and the public. The project will expand the project metadata inventory to include metadata on every dataset. The project will also develop an interface to the SOFIA web site using the Geo-Data Explorer (GeoDE) system developed by the USGS Energy Resources Program in Reston. The South Florida Information Access (SOFIA) database is the cornerstone of information management for the South Florida place-based science program. The data are available to Federal, State, and local agencies through a web interface and can be retrieved from the SOFIA database.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS, OUTCOMES, AND PRODUCTS

FY 2000 accomplishments

• Significant improvements have been made in the efficiency and design of the database. Retrieval speeds have been reduced from minutes to seconds. The design of the database is being modified to concentrate on serving data objects (sets of data) instead of individual data values. This will reduce the time required to enter data into the database and significantly reduce the possibility of incorrect data being entered into the database.
• An interface to the National Atlas has been developed which allows for the plotting of an individual data point on an interactive map from the National Atlas (http://www.nationalatlas.gov/).
• A bibliography is being developed of all products from PBS projects in south Florida. The bibliography will be included in the database. The information will also be provided to Gail Clement (USGS, BRD, Miami) to include in the online library database of reports from all sources.
• An interface is being developed for the web using the GeoDE software developed by the USGS Energy Resources Program in Reston. The interface will graphically display the location of all data collection points as well as reference spatial data such as satellite imagery and DOQ’s. Links from data layers and data points are used to direct the user to relevant web sites where the metadata and data are available. The interface is designed for use by the AAT team of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force for monitoring the effects of the restoration.
• The new web server has been installed and will be operational this spring. The new server allows for faster processing of web data requests and provides room for growth of the database and data exchange sites.

FY 2000 outcomes - None

FY 2000 products completed or nearly completed - GeoDE interface will be operational this fall, prototype is being developed; bibliography of USGS PBS reports will be completed this fall

FY 2000 stakeholder meetings or other outreach activities:

• Attendance and presentations at Florida Bay PMC Meetings (December and January)
• Organizing meeting to coordinate development of GeoDE interface with other agencies
• Attended IALE conference, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, April 2000 - poster on SOFIA presented by Jo Anne Stapleton and Heather Henkel
• Will attend South Florida Restoration Science Forum, December, 2000, Naples, Florida

WORK PLAN (Time line FY 2001): Note: Target dates are for initial product, most tasks will be continued through the end of the fiscal year and beyond if funding is available

	Task	Lead Employee	Product	Target Date and comments
Web	Begin development of synthesis videos for SOFIA website, the plan is to contract video production	Roy Sonenshein	Videos for selected projects	Work with Champe Barton (The Everglades Project) First videos by June 2001
Geode	Continue development of GeoDE system for SOFIA, working with Marc Levine (USGS, Reston)	Roy Sonenshein	Geode interface	Continuous work
Geode	Work with agencies to obtain information for site and with AAT team to design the GeoDE system for restoration monitoring	Roy Sonenshein	Data sets for Geode	All information on SOFIA available in September 2000 on Geode by March 2001
Geode	Develop spatial data layers for data collection sites by project	Bruce Irvin	Data layers for Geode, software	Links to all PBS projects in the database or on SOFIA by January 2001
Geode	Develop GIS programs to generate the data layers automatically from the database	Bruce Irvin	GIS interface	June 2001
Database	Develop clickable image maps for the SOFIA site	Bruce Irvin	Clickable image maps	March 2001 - maps for all data sites in database
Database	Database maintenance and update as necessary to accommodate new data	Bruce Irvin	Database	Continuous work
Database	Review of database design by contractor	Roy Sonenshein	Report from contractor	January 2001
Database	Continue database program modifications to access new data tables and to provide web access statistics	George Karavitis	Database	December 2000 for current design, following review by contractor, need to begin modifications
Data	Continue populating bibliographic tables including references to all published PBS products and links to online reports	Roy Sonenshein	Bibliography of PBS products	Available in database by December 2000
Data	Continue collection of data for inclusion on the data exchange and in the database, with emphasis on completed projects and BRD data	Roy Sonenshein	Data for all completed PBS projects	September 2001 - data available either on web site, data exchange or database
Data	Continue entry of data into database	Roy Sonenshein	Data exchange records available in database	January 2001 - all data exchange records available in September 2000 in database
Data exchange	Work with SOFIA web site team (Heather Henkel, USGS, St. Petersburg) to maintain and update data exchange pages and project web pages	Roy Sonenshein	Data exchange web site	January 2001 - data for completed projects on data exchange
Metadata	Work with SOFIA metadata project (Jo Anne Stapleton, USGS, Reston) in developing metadata sets for completed projects	Roy Sonenshein	Metadata records for completed projects and data sets in data exchange and database	December 2000
Metadata	Work with SOFIA metadata project (Jo Anne Stapleton, USGS, Reston) in developing metadata sets for new PBS projects and data sets, other relevant USGS projects and data sets, other agency projects	Roy Sonenshein	Metadata records	September 2001, CESI funding for creation of metadata records for CESI projects
Metadata	Update of metadata to include new NBII metadata format (search by taxonomy)	Gail Clement	Updated metadata search	CESI funding for NBII update to search - December 2001

FY 2001 activities: shown above

FY 2001 deliverables/products: Interface to GeoDE, bibliography of published PBS reports, synthesis videos, data and metadata records for completed PBS projects, metadata records for current PBS projects and other agency projects

FY 2001 outreach:

• Participation in the South Florida Ecosystem Forum (GEER)
• Work with AAT team of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force to develop a monitoring system (Geode) that all agencies will be able to use
• Attendance at meetings of other agencies to demonstrate the capabilities of SOFIA and GeoDE and to encourage use of the web site

New directions or major changes for FY 2001:

• Development of synthesis videos
• Emphasis on providing data for AAT monitoring needs through the use of the GeoDE software
• Funding from CESI (Critical Ecosystems Initiative) program managed by Everglades National Park to hire additional support for web site and metadata record creation

PROJECT SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS: (includes funding from CESI)

Specific name or position title	Team/Division
Roy S. Sonenshein, Hydrologist	WRD, Miami
Bruce Irvin, Hydrologist	WRD, Miami
Denesia Cheek, Hydrologist	WRD, Miami
George Karavitis, Computer Specialist	WRD, Miami
O’niel Slowley, ECO contractor	WRD, Miami
ECO contractor	WRD, Miami
Student clerk	WRD, Miami
Gail Clement	BRD, Miami

Major equipment/facility needs: no new needs.

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