SE Coastal Network Water Quality Inventory & Monitoring Program Database Development

Wade Sheldon & John Carpenter Dept. of Marine SciencesUniversity of Georgia

Project BackgroundNPS identified need to compile information on long-term monitoring of water quality in SE coastal waters In Fall 2007 we proposed to:Conduct workshop to gather input, info on regional activitiesCompile database of long-term monitoring program metadataProduce report summarizing monitoring in regionDevelop interactive web applications for querying database

Database Design Process - ResearchReviewed other environmental monitoring database effortsInternational: GTOS TEMS (http://www.fao.org/gtos/tems/)Regional: Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment (http://restoration.gulfofmaine.org/)OOS, regional consortia (SECOORA),

Reviewed monitoring program/observation metadata standardsMMI (http://marinemetadata.org/) various schemas, draftsEPA STORET (parameters) legacy metadataNEIEN (EPA/States/Tribes)Environmental Data Standards Council (2006 standards/schemas)Water Quality Exchange (WQX) STORET replacementNWQMC - Water Quality Data Elements

Database Design Process - EvaluationConcluded huge amount of work going on to standardize and coordinate metadata/data exchangeRegional consortia, EON/IOOSNew NSF programs (INTEROP, FEON) Differences in approaches, progressDetailed schemas & standards -> basic metadata content recommendations without implementation tools -> plans in developmentSome controlled vocabularies, but not widely applied Common threadsGeospatial query/visualization (Google Maps API common)Thematic searches at varying granularity (topics, programs, parameter types)

Database Design Process - Approach

Decide on initial scopeNPS goal: Water Quality monitoring in SE coastal zone (NC,SC,GA,FL)Geographic boundsInitial monitoring programs to target

Design, prototype relational database to support thematic and geospatial queries for targeted contentSupport relevant metadata content standards (EDSC, NWQMC)Flexibility for adding new metadata fields, varying completenessSupport varying granularity in searches (broad-to-narrow), hierarchies

Geographic Scope: Defining the Coastal Zone

Geographic Scope: Defining the Coastal Zone

Initial Monitoring ProgramsUSGS National Water Information SystemLarge amount of relevant, long-term data (water quality, streamflow, groundwater)Excellent support for data mining (XML reports, RDB data)Use STORET parameter codes (basic groupings, units, methods)NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve SWMPRelevant, medium-long-term dataSupport for mining stations, parameters via SOAPEPA STORETProblem: many sites without locations, complete metadataIn house programs (GCE-LTER, NPS)

Prototype Relational DatabaseDraft completed in May 2008, implemented in SQL Server 2000Basic structure: Research Projects Monitoring Programs Monitoring Stations/Sites Parameters/MethodsScalable metadata model used for projects, monitoring programsSome fixed fields (title, desc., dates, web url)Additional editable lists of available fields with web display optionsDeveloped administrative forms (MS Access)Prototype web interfaces under development (demod here)

Administrative Forms Metadata Fields

Administrative Forms Projects

Web Forms Interface

Next StepsGather workshop feedback on:Overall approachMetadata content to surveyQueries, output formats to supportControlled vocabularies, hierarchies for parametersComplete web interfaces for interactive input, queries, map displaySolicit metadata from other groupsContinue to develop automated ingestion approachesXML/XSLT/SOAPSpreadsheet templatesPrepare NPS report

Map Visualizations Draft Google Earth Display

Spatial Query Google Maps & Place Names

Web AccessThis workshop:Router: SSID = GCRC (passphrase = Water Quality)http://192.168.1.100/wqmeta/Register or use username = nps_workshop, pw = nps_workshop

After the workshop:http://www.gcrc.uga.edu/wqmeta/

Background materials:Database design (ERD)Candidate parameter list, hierarchyGIS resources for coastal zone determination