Web-Based Open Source GIS: Decision Support Tools for Natural Resource Management

1. Web-Based Open Source GIS: Decision Support Tools for Natural Resource Management OCEANSystem and TREESystem Presented by Aaron Racicot – GIS Programmer aaronr@ecotrust.org April 18th, 2006 A Citizen of Salmon Nation

2. Outline • Introduction - Ecotrust • Benefits/Limitations of Open Source • OCEANSystem • Vector based DST • Technology Overview • TREESystem • Raster based DST • Technology Overview • Where is it all going?

3. Who am I… B.S. Computer Science M.S. Environmental Science Telemark/BC Skiing Rafting Guide Mountain Rescue Open Source User/Developer GIS Programmer Split Personality

4. Ecotrust - Salmon Nation

5. Conservation Economy

6. The many faces of Ecotrust

7. Why Open Source? Freedom!!! • Four basic freedoms (The Free Software Foundation): • The freedom to run the program, for any purpose. • The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt • it to your needs. Access to the source code is a precondition for this. • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your • neighbor. • The freedom to improve the program, and release your • improvements to the public, so that the whole community • benefits. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

8. Benefits/Limitations of Open Source Benefits • Software cost = $0 • Source code is available and modifiable • User and development communities flourish • Development cycles are VERY fast Limitations • Total cost is NOT = $0 • Many applications are not as polished as the proprietary counterparts • Compatibility with proprietary software can be an issue

9. Work Flow – Real-Time Web DST Real-Time Web Decision Support Tools Web User Request Web Services Data Gathering Data Formatting Data Processing Static Data Storage Map Formatting Map Production Web User Response

10. Work Flow – What OSGIS is good at Real-Time Web Decision Support Tools Web User Request Web Services Data Gathering Data Formatting Data Processing Static Data Storage Map Formatting Map Production The Problem Is The Arrows! Connecting a web request to server side GIS analysis is tricky Web User Response

11. Vector Example - OCEANSystem User driven… Web interactive tools… GIS analytical computing… PostGIS Mapserver

12. Vector Example - OCEANSystem Shelf Closure mid-2002 Rockfish – SFA - 2001 Rockfish – SFA - 2003

13. Raster Example - OCEANSystem Fisheries Interview Data

14. Raster Example – TREESystem Siuslaw Watershed Restoration Initiative Data Gathering Data Formatting Data Processing

15. Raster Example – TREESystem Mapserver on the front end… GRASS on the back end… Web-based Query

16. Ecotrust – Future Directions At Ecotrust we are trying to help pull it all together in an Open Source context - Mapserver as a web-based GIS - Chameleon as a client user interface - GRASS as a server side GIS for raster data layers - PostGIS as a server side vector processing engine - OGR/GDAL to pre-process data - R-Statistics & GMT for graphing and statistics

17. OCEANSystem – Work in Progress Spatial User Interaction… Chameleon Spatial Interaction User Interactive DST R-Statistics/GMT Integration with simulated annealing algorithms for Marine Protected Areas and site assessment.

18. Where is it all going? • Real-Time Decision Support Tools • Integration of OS software across organizations • “Google” type interfaces (smooth user experience) • AJAX driven • Streaming media • Seamless datasets • Large datasets require more pre-processing • Pressure on large private companies to become more responsive to end user needs • Integration of OSGIS with proprietary software – required for migration path… • Start of services based business…

19. The Future of GIS in Salmon Nation QGIS/GRASS GIS Web-Based Mapserver Fully Integrated Open-Source GIS UMN Mapserver – Making data accessible via the web. Geo-spatial server viewed through a web browser. Taking our vision to a growing audience. QGIS/GRASS GIS – Fully functional server GIS doing the heavy lifting. Runs on the server located at Ecotrust. Adding the analytical glue to make smart decisions based upon sound GIS analysis. Making GIS analysis accessible and affordable for Salmon Nation R-Statistics GMT

20. Where to go for more info OSGIS • Maptools - http://www.maptools.org • FreeGIS - http://freegis.org/ • Open Source GIS - http://opensourcegis.org/ Standards • OGC - http://www.opengeospatial.org/ Desktop • GRASS - http://grass.itc.it/ • QGIS - http://qgis.org/ • UDIG - http://udig.refractions.net/confluence/display/UDIG/Home • JUMP – http://jump-project.org/ • OpenEV - http://openev.sourceforge.net/ Server/Web • Mapserver - http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/ • GRASS - http://grass.itc.it/ • PostGIS - http://postgis.refractions.net/ Tools • Remote Sensing - http://remotesensing.org/tiki-index.php • GDAL/OGR - http://gdal.maptools.org/index.html • PROJ.4 - http://proj.maptools.org/ • R-Statistics - http://www.r-project.org/ • GMT - http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/

21. The End Tool Screen Shots Follow

22. Backup - GRASS

23. Backup - QGIS

24. Backup - OSSIM

25. Backup - UDIG

26. Backup - JUMP

27. Backup – R-Statistics

28. Backup – PostGIS Geometry WKT Geometry