The Design and implementation of Environmental Data Atlas (EDA) by Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS)

Environmental monitoring and rest or at ion requires efficient access to
large amounts of spatial information. The geographic information
system (GIS) and remotely sensed data are related to both physical and
man-mad e features. In order to handle this task, the Environmental
Scienc es Section (ESS) created the Environmental Data Atlas (EDA)
that uses spatial keys to link all data sources to a common geog raphical
data base. Furthermore, it is important that all of the data he readily
accessible o n the desktop of scientists, regardless of the type of
computer platform they used. This paper describes the creation of a
comprehensive computing environment that utilizes a geographical data
browsing system as the core for meeting these requirements. It also
describes how bibliographic search and aerial photography browsing
functions were incorporated into the system. Finally, it describes a
sophisticated modeling system that has been integrated into the system
to support site selection activities. By taking advantage of the latest
advancements in geographical data browsing systems, fourth generation
procedural programming languages, and network communications, the
integrated system represents an important step in the evolution of GIS.