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Learn about PASDA's history, purpose, services, and staff. Access geospatial data, metadata, and mapping tools for free in Pennsylvania. See how PASDA supports statewide GIS efforts and offers user assistance.
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http://www.pasda.psu.edu PSLS 2015 Conference January 12th, 2015 Hershey, PA
Presenters • Maurie Caitlin Kelly • Ryan E. Baxter • James F. Spayd
Overview of Today’s Presentation • About PASDA • PASDA Services • Using PASDA • PASDA Online Mapping • Trends and Future Plans
Questions… • How many of you have used PASDA before? • What do you use it for? • What data do you use most often?
About PASDA • PASDA was developed by the Pennsylvania State University. It was originally funded by the PA DEP. • PASDA is a cooperative project of the Governor's Office of Administration, Office for Information Technology and Penn State Institutes for Energy and the Environment. • Funding is now provided by the Pennsylvania Office for Information Technology. • Penn State provides additional substantial support to PASDA for system administration and computing infrastructure through the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the PSU High Performance Computing Center.
PASDA Background • Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access, the official public geospatial data clearinghouse for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, marked its 19th year in 2015. • PASDA, which has grown from a small website offering 35 data sets in 1996 to the expansive user-centered data clearinghouse that it is today, has become a key component in the data infrastructure in Pennsylvania.
PASDA Staff • The PASDA staff include: • Maurie Kelly, Director • Ryan Baxter, Information Technology Coordinator • James Spayd, Database Systems and Data Specialist • Scott Dane, Data Manager
Purpose of PASDA • The purpose of PASDA is to serve as a comprehensive geospatial data clearinghouse by providing free access to geospatial data and information by, for, and about the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. • The data made available through PASDA is provided by our data partners to encourage the widespread sharing of geospatial data, eliminate the creation of redundant data sets, and to further build an inventory (through the development and hosting of metadata) of available data relevant to the Commonwealth.
What is a clearinghouse? • Geospatial data clearinghouses began appearing in the mid to late 1990s, driven in large part by the creation of the Federal Geographic Data Committee, advances in digital data creation, widespread access to the Internet, and the growth of the GIS software industry. • Clearinghouses are repositories of data that provide access via the internet. • Other similar terms are portal, geoportal, distributed data network, data library, etc. • PASDA is also Pennsylvania’s Node on the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.
PASDA Services • PASDA serves as a resource for locating data throughout the Commonwealth through its data storage, interactive mapping applications, and metadata efforts. Services are provided free of charge to all users and data providers. • Data Storage and Access--PASDA works directly with state and federal agencies, local and regional governments, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions to access to the widest variety of data possible. • Inventory and Documentation (Metadata)--PASDA creates FGDC standard metadata free of charge for data providers. • Data Liaison Activities--PASDA works directly with data creators to identify, document, and provide access to agency data. • Metadata Training--PASDA provides metadata training and training in the use of PASDA for organizations and groups. • Presentations & Seminars--PASDA offers seminars and presentations at meetings, conferences, and schools. • User Assistance--PASDA is committed to providing excellent and timely user assistance with the PASDA website and the data available through PASDA. PASDA receives from 5-15 inquiries via email and phone per day.
PASDA Activities • PASDA provides support numerous statewide efforts including: • PA GIS Day • PA GIS Conference • NW PA GIS Conference • USGS NHD Update Survey • PennsylvaniaView Program • PennShare—provided metadata training • FEMA Region III efforts • The Giant Map of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Geography Bee • PASDA staff have also presented and supported regional efforts including: • Western PA URISA, the Ohio Headwaters Resource Committee, the Trust for Public Lands
Giant Map of PA • There are four Giant Maps of Pennsylvania which travel around the state. One is permanently housed at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. • The traveling maps can be used by any non-profit organization. • It is 20’x30’
Metadata • Metadata is the who, what, why, when, and where of data. • PASDA creates metadata for all of the data sets available through the site. • Why is metadata important?
Data • The data on PASDA is provided by federal, state, local and regional government agencies, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions throughout the region. • PASDA does not have any specific data requirements. For example, data can be in any format (shapefile, geodatabase, jpeg, tiff, etc) based on the needs of the provider.
Data • Data updates to existing datasets come to PASDA at different intervals and are based on the update frequency of our data partners. • Monthly, quarterly, and annual updates are the norm though any update interval is acceptable. • There is no charge to serve data through PASDA or to access data through PASDA. • PASDA currently hosts approximately 60+TB of data.
How do organizations share data? • Step 1: Contact PASDA at pasda@psu.edu or 814-863-0104 • Step 2: PASDA will discuss with you the data you wish to share--for example, roads, land use, parcels, aerial photography, etc. and if/how often you might be updating this data. • Step 3: PASDA will also review any metadata you have for compliance and work with you to update or complete existing metadata. • Step 4: Send a DVD, external hard drive, or FTP your data and metadata to PASDA. • Step 5: PASDA will place your data and metadata on the PASDA FTP site, and integrate it into our search and retrieval utilities and create a map service of your data if applicable. • Step 6: PASDA will notify you when your data is made available to the public.
Examples of Data Providers • PA Agencies: PennDOT, DCNR, DEP, PEMA, Fish & Boat Commission, Game Commission • NOTE: We receive data from multiple bureaus and programs within these agencies. • Intergovernmental Organizations: Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Delaware River Basin Commission • Non Profits: Natural Lands Trust, Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mines, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary • Federal Agencies: FEMA, USGS, Census, NASA, NOAA, • Academic Institutions: Allegheny College, Penn State • Local Governments: Allegheny County, Lancaster County, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Chester County, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
Imagery & LIDAR • Aerial photography and LIDAR are some of the most heavily used data on PASDA. • Aerial photography is available from multiple providers—PAMAP Program, local governments like Allegheny County and Lancaster County, regional governments like the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, and Federal agencies like the National Geospatial Agency USDA, and USGS. • LIDAR for Pennsylvania is available from PASDA and was created by the PAMAP program. • Some local and regional governments have also or a planning to create new LIDAR.
Imagery & LIDAR • Available aerial photography ranges in date from the 1993-1999 black and white DOQQs to 2013 Allegheny County imagery and 2013 NAIP imagery. • New imagery from Allegheny county should be available this summer. • There are no current plans to acquire statewide imagery. The latest PAMAP imagery was flown in Fall, 2010 and Spring, 2011 and is available via PASDA as PAMAP Spatial Energy data. • We expect to get some regional updates to imagery by county over the next few years. • Historic imagery is available via the PennPilot project: http://www.pennpilot.psu.edu • The latest round of LIDAR acquired by the state was in 2008.
PASDA Users • Users come from a broad spectrum of organizations and backgrounds, from teachers and citizens to businesses and government agencies--PASDA provides free access to data, applications, and customization tools to meet the needs of every user. • PASDA has seen a dramatic increase in use over the last 5-7 years. • This has been driven by many factors such as Marcellus Shale exploration, environmental conservation, economic development initiatives, expanded use of geospatial data in universities, non profits, and the private sector, and the increased interest from average citizens who are able to access geospatial information via PASDA’s data previewer and KML files without the need for specialized GIS software.
Sample of PASDA Statistics FY 2013/2014 • Hits (includes website, applications, services): 71, 633, 331 • Total Number of Datasets Downloaded: 1,990,989 • GB of Data Downloaded: 36, 563 • Map Service Hits: 57,017,915 • Imagery Navigator: 6,033,630
Map Services • Map services are basically data that are consumed by users via the Internet. • These services can be consumed or presented in several ways. • Many users pull maps services into their GIS software. • Others consume map services in their own applications. • PASDA creates a map service for almost all data sets that we host.
Data Previewer • The Data Previewer function was created to provide access to data hosted by PASDA for individuals who do not have access to GIS software. • It allows users to view data sets and do a simple identify of attributes. • In addition, it allows users to see what they are downloading. • Just click on the Map Services link in the metadata summary and then click on Preview Data.
Google Integration • Google Earth and Google Maps have become extremely popular. • To integrate data hosted by PASDA with Google Earth, PASDA creates KML files. • KML, or 'Keyhole Markup Language', is an XML file format that stores geographic features such as points, lines, images, and polygons. • Users can just click on the Map Services link in the Metadata Summary and then click on View in Google Earth to view the data.
Pennsylvania Imagery Navigator • The PA Imagery Navigator was created to provide easy access to the thousands of imagery, elevation, and lidar data sets available through PASDA.
Pennsylvania Atlas • The PA Atlas was created so users could easily visualize dozens of data sets available through PASDA without having to download each data set.
Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas • The Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and PASDA. • The PA Mine Map Atlas allows residents and stakeholders to see detailed underground mine maps that were once only available in hard copies. • It not only allows users, in particular homeowners, to view previously unavailable mine maps, but also allows them to see their home’s proximity to the nearest underground mine.
Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas • The idea for this project began almost 10 years ago when the DEP approached PASDA about the possibility of providing public access to their underground mine maps. This was, in part, a result of the Quecreek Mine Rescue that occurred in Somerset County.On July 24, 2002, 18 miners accidentally tunneled into an adjacent abandoned mine and nine of them became trapped by the millions of gallons of water that proceeded to rush in. After 78 hours of desperate escape attempts and hopeless notes scrawled for loved ones, the miners were finally found and pulled to safety.The accident led to a strong push at the DEP to provide access to the underground mine maps, which were primarily in paper. By September 2012, the DEP had scanned thousands of these maps into digital form and were ready to provide them to PASDA.
Mine Map Data • By May 2013 the California, Pa., office of the DEP provided PASDA with the first 15,000 digital maps, and PASDA began providing public access to downloadable versions of the maps. • This project, which is ongoing, will eventually provide access to approximately 100,000 underground mine maps.
Functionality • The Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas — launched May 6 2013 — includes features such as address search, latitude and longitude search, measurement tools and a transparency setting that allows viewers to see mine maps on top of aerial photos, road maps, topographic maps or terrain maps. • In addition, the PA Mine Map Atlas has been integrated into the Pennsylvania Historic Underground Mine Map Information System—PHUMMIS hosted by the PA Department of Environmental Protection.
PHUMMIS Integration • This database contains information relevant to past and present underground mining within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including, but not limited to: • maps, indices, locations of mines, and other pertinent data contained in various collections held or obtained by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (Department) Office of Active and Abandoned Mine Operations.
Where do we go from here? • Approximately every five-six years the PASDA staff undertakes a benchmarking effort to research current trends and advances in GIS data clearinghouse development. • In late 2014 the PASDA staff embarked on such an effort. • The goal was to identify best practices in the field as well as examine and evaluate alternatives and enhancements for the PASDA clearinghouse. • The four areas of focus for the effort were: • Data search and retrieval functionality • Applications and visualization tools • Open data portal capabilities • Available data, in particular imagery and LIDAR
Open Data • Open data is a term that is becoming more popular. • As part of the PASDA benchmarking activity, we decided to look at open data sites. • It’s a trendy term, with a social media vibe but what exactly does it mean? • No one could really answer our question completely so we decided to research this trendy new phenomenon.
Open Data • We found that there is no single correct definition for open data. • Sometimes open data is: • data in “open formats” meaning not software specific formats. • code that created an application, model, or data is open for other uses who can download and alter the code. • data that can be edited or added to through crowdsourcing—like adding to a data set of fire hydrants by sending in the coordinates of your local hydrant. • is just cool to say but it actually is just a new term for something that already exists. • The one common denominator and most often discussed qualification for open data is “data must be freely accessible to the public”.
Benchmarking Results & Recommendations • Update the PASDA website (minor update to graphics, text, etc). • Improve performance—possible use of VMs. • Upgrade the PASDA computing infrastructure. • Integrate new resources such as Story Maps. • Expand data formats—full KML files (for some data), json formats. • More outreach efforts to educate users about new data and resources. • Update tutorials and help. • Explore potential mobile apps that support data access. • And finally--PASDA is a leader in the field. Few of the state GIS data clearinghouses are comparable to PASDA in terms of amount of data, applications, services, and capabilities. Why?
Why is PASDA Still a Leader in the Field? • Pennsylvania has greater integrated cooperation among state agencies and other members of the data community who share data than other state. Our data providers are committed to providing access to their data! • Pennsylvania has had a long term commitment to the PASDA clearinghouse, with no interruptions in service or funding. We are going into our 20th year in 2016! • There is a depth and breadth to the types of users in Pennsylvania and their ongoing support for maintaining the PASDA clearinghouse.
