MapServer Deploymentin

Environment Canada

Tom KralidisIntegrated Environmental Applications BranchKnowledge Integration DirectorateEnvironment Canada

09 June 2004

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Environment Canada

– Departmental Overview

– MapServer Implementations

– Benefits

– Questions

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Environment Canada

– Departmental Overview

– MapServer Implementations

– Benefits

– Questions

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Environment Canada

– Federal Government Department dealing with:

• Reporting on Canada’s Environment

• Collection and dissemination of Environmental

Information

– Clean Environment

– Nature

– Weather and Environmental Predictions

– Management, Administration and Policy

• Working with other environmental organizations

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Environment Canada

– Importance of Decision Making

• Reporting, Tracking, Forecasting

• Analysis

– Importance of Information

• Timeliness

• Informed

• Reliable

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Environment Canada

Pacific and Yukon

Prairie and Northern

Ontario

Atlantic

Quebec

•LargeDepartment•NumerousRegionalOffices/Facilities

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IM Perspectives in Environment Canada

EC MovingTowards

Connectivity

CISE Task Force formed

Ask Canadians what they want for environmental decision-making

EC commits to two years of levied monies for development of CISE projects/program

IntegratedData = Information

Shareable Data

Useable Data

Identification of Data

Develop an architecture that allows for any APIBuild capacity in ability for others to share

Integrated Discovery, Access, and Use of Environmental Data

Applied geospatial area environmental management projects

2nd year – Focus on the architecture that allows any partners to connect

1st year – Make environmental information available in four

key theme areas

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Knowledge

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Environment Canada

– Abundance of data

• Legacy Databases (circa 1800s)

• Location-based reports

• XML

• Spreadsheets

– Data exists and maintained (“Good to go”)

• Enablement of location-based environmental data

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EC Implementations– Graduating to Information as Web Services

• Publishing• Consuming

– Departmental Interoperability• Fusion of information across activities

– Plug-and-play with complimenting infrastructures• National/Provincial: CGDI, NLWIS, NFIS, LIO, NSDI• International: NSDI, INSPIRE, AUSLIG

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Canadian Information System for the Environment (CISE)

– Answer Canadians' need for integrated environmental information to assist in decision-making

– Integrating information from across the country, across jurisdictions, and across issues

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Canadian Information System for the Environment (CISE)

– Theme areas• Air, Water, Climate, Biodiversity

– Architecture built upon OGC specifications• Data Visualization• Data Access• Data Discovery• Metadata

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• Focus on watershed-based pilot projects;• Informing Canadians for enhanced decision-

making;• RésEau’s deliverables are aligned with five key

areas as identified in the Treasury Board proposal;

Focus Areas• Mapping the sources – open data sources.• Mapping the services – open applications.• Dissemination strategy – information and

tools.• Watershed management – Pockwock

example of how interoperability leads the development of watershed management solutions.

• Engaging youth – water from a youth perspective.

RésEau

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Environment Canada

– Departmental Overview

– MapServer Implementations

– Benefits

– Questions

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EC MapServer Implementations

– CISEViewer– Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network

(EMAN)– Ontario Regional Information System for the

Environment (ORISE)– Bird Studies Canada– Ecostratification– Water Quality Web– Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Aqua Link

(CANAL)

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CISEViewer

– Web Mapping Application to showcase EC data through OGC / CGDI specifications

• Uses Chameleon to connect to data via standards-based services

– Integrated Environmental Information Holdings• Air• Water• Climate• Biodiversity

• Currently internal application– Data QA tool

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CISEViewer

– Integration of partner agency online services• NRCan NTDB OGC:WMS• Atlas of Canada OGC:WMS• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Ecostratification

OGC:WMS, OGC:WFS)• Canadian Geographical Names Service (OGC:WMS,

OGC:WFS)• NIMA World Placename Lookup Service (OGC:WFS)• NRCan Postal Code Lookup Service (OGC:GML)• FGDC ZIP Code Lookup Service (OGC:GML)• NRCan NTS Lookup Service (OGC:GML)

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CISEViewer

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CISEViewer

-Uses Chameleon extensibility to add new widget functionality-Subject matter/ theme-based information

-Air-Water-Climate-Biodiversity

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EMAN NatureWatchWeb Services Enablement

• Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network– http://www.eman-rese.ca/– NatureWatch

• http://www.naturewatch.ca/• Community / Citizen based science monitoring programs

– IceWatch– PlantWatch– WormWatch– FrogWatch

– Input of Observations using accepted field data collection protocols

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EMAN NatureWatchWeb Services Enablement

• Use of UMN MapServer

– Publishing

• OGC:WMS (Visualization)

• OGC:WFS (Data Access)

– Cron job to generate shapefiles of observations using

Perl Mapscript

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EMAN NatureWatchWeb Services Enablement

– Small level of effort

• Afternoon implementation session

– Next steps

• Connect directly to database (Port to PostGIS )

• Seamless upgrade for MapServer

– Need only to update data bindings

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EMAN NatureWatchWeb Services Enablement

• New functionality launched January 2004• “Map of the Week” on GeoConnections

Discovery Portal (February 2004)• First EC publicly available OGC:WMS and

OGC:WFS

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EMAN NatureWatchWeb Services Enablement

Integration with partner agency datathrough interoperability

• Placenames (CGNS)

• Basemaps (Atlas)

• Observations(NatureWatch)

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PYR Water Quality WebWeb Services Enablement

• Use of UMN MapServer– Publishing

• OGC:WMS (Visualization)• OGC:WFS (Data Access)

– Consuming• Use of MapSurfer to connect to MapServer based data• Export of OGC Web Map Context Documents

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PYR Water Quality WebWeb Services Enablement

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PYR Water Quality WebWeb Services Enablement

• New functionality launched March 2004• In alignment with departmental Water Quality

Services Initiative

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ORISE

– Ontario Regional Information System for the Environment

– Decision Support for Ontario environmental information

– Multi-jurisdictional• Federal• Provincial

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ORISE

Chameleon-Rapid Application Development-Extensibility for domain requirements

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ORISE

MapServer-Quick deployment of robust OGC services

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Canadian Bird Portal

– Partnership• Bird Studies Canada• Miistakis Institute

– Portal• Access survey data• Breeding bird surveys• Christmas bird counts• Bird banding recoveries• Important bird areas across Canada

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Canadian Bird Portal

– Use of MapServer• (recent convert!)

• Publish to WMS and WFS

• Small level of effort

– Data already in place

– ~8-10 emails!

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Environment Canada

– Departmental Overview

– MapServer Implementations

– Benefits

– Questions

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Benefits

– Supports Specifications

– No charge to acquire (licensing, etc.)

– Code Extensibility / Customization

• Contribution to main dist

– Quicker turnaround time for upgrades to serve

direct needs and requirements

• e.g. MapServer ODBC “Simple Points” support

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Benefits

– Platform independence

– Easier to use

– Enables increased capacity within organization

• Higher awareness among developers

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MapServer Deployment inEnvironment Canada

– Questions

Thanks!

Tom Kralidis

tom.kralidis at ec.gc.ca