Havana, February 2007

Dale Nicholson

Canadian Hydrographic Service

Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure

in Canada

Havana, February 2007

Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure in Canada

• National Overview• SDI and the Canadian Hydrographic Service

– The organization– Non navigation clients– Data management– Hydrographic information network– Water level information infrastructure

• Role of Hydrographic Organizations in SDI

Havana, February 2007

National Overview

• Existing Organizations– Canadian Council On Geomatics

• Multi governmental organization (federal, provincials, territories)

– Inter-Agency Committee on Geomatics• Multi departmental organization of the federal government

– Canadian Geomatics Accord (2001)• Aim to facilitate geospatial information sharing

– Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (1996)• To make Canada’s geospatial data bases available via the Internet

• GeoConnections Program : financial incentives

Havana, February 2007

Canadian GeospatialData Infrastructure (CGDI)

• A Framework for Data• Basic Principles

– Collect data once and use many times– Distributed management of the data– Centralized access by communities of practice,

i.e. Observatory or Observing Systems concept

• Sets the principles, standards and data policies for interoperability of systems

Havana, February 2007

Canadian GeospatialData Infrastructure (CGDI)

A Three Tier Model– Data

• Distributed geospatial information, such as metadata, feature data or map layers

– Services• Web services compliant with CGDI-endorsed standards

that enable access to data or data processing

– Applications• Applications addressing a specific problem or issue

Havana, February 2007

Marine CGDI

• Marine Geospatial Data Infrastructure– Sub component of CGDI

• Web Access to Marine Information– DFO GeoPortal (http://gp2.chs-shc.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/)

– St. Lawrence Observatory (http://www.osl.gc.ca/)

– COIN Pacific (http://aardvark.gov.bc.ca/apps/coin/)

– MarInfo (http://www.marinfo.gc.ca)

– Others

Havana, February 2007

Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS)

• CHS Mandate– Maritime navigation safety and efficiency– Tides, Currents and Water Levels– Seabed mapping for sustainable development– National sovereignty, security and emergency

preparedness

Havana, February 2007

CHS Statement of Direction

The Canadian Hydrographic Service is enhancing its role as an organization recognized as the official

provider of national hydrographic information. To realize this goal, the CHS is realigning its activities

towards data accessibility and the integration of marine information in support of the safe and efficient use of our waterways, the sustainable

development of Canada’s oceans and inland waters, and national sovereignty and security.

Source: "Canadian Hydrographic Service, Statement of Direction", October 2006

Havana, February 2007

CHS Business Model

Non Navigation Clients

Management and Administrative support

Technical support, development, research

Data TransformationData Acquisition Data Integration

Data Dissemination

Navigators

Havana, February 2007

Non Navigation Clients

• Source data requests :• The sample : one CHS region over 2 years

• Growth of requests : 50% from 2004 to 2005

• 88% for bathymetry, 12% for shoreline, limits, infrastructure

• Usage:– 38% engineering projects and studies

– 27% scientific projects

– 23% navigational aids planning

– 12% others (court case, displays, planning, etc.)

Havana, February 2007

Data Management in CHS

• Dissociation of Source Data and Product Data

• Source Data Management Principles:– Systematic data integration for all new sources– Identify the best data (most recent, most accurate)– No cartographic transformation– Conservation of all data traceability– No data creation and no movement of data

between sources

Havana, February 2007

Hydrographic Information Network (HIN)

• Metadata Management System – Centralized national DB for source information

and products

• Source Data Management Systems– Databases decentralized in the geographic regions

• Product Management System– Databases decentralized in the geographic regions

Havana, February 2007

HIN Simplified Architecture

HIGH LEVEL DATA FLOW

Internal Source

External Source

Bathy Data

Sources Product Usages Products

SDB ExtractBathymetric

Source Data Base

Hydrographic Production Database

Release Generated Products

Non-Bathy Data

CHSDIR (Metadata)

Havana, February 2007

HIN - Work in Progress

• Implementation of CARIS Hydrographic Production Database (HPD) for Source and Product Data Management

• Implementation of the Bathymetric Data Base• Develop and Provide a New Product for Non-

Navigational Purposes• Experiment with the use of “Navigation Surfaces" in

Chart Production and Bathymetric Data Management

Havana, February 2007

Water Level Infrastructure

• Network of 80 permanent tide gauges all accessible remotely (90% by public)

• St. Lawrence tide gauges linked to a network infrastructure providing real time water levels and forecasting

• Used for maritime traffic management, optimization of security and transits

• Tsunami warning systems in Pacific and Atlantic

Havana, February 2007

Sineco – Work In Progress

• Part of the Integrated Marine Information Infrastructure (St. Lawrence Observatory)– Base chart data, real-time water levels, currents,

winds, ice, other vessel movements (Automated Identification System), dense bathymetry all integrated for e-Navigation

– Interoperability based on the ISO 19000 standards– Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) based on

open standards

Havana, February 2007

Role of Hydrographic Offices in SDI

• The official source for, but not limited to:– Bathymetric data– Seabed information– Water level information

• This should be well communicated and officially recognized

• Advanced by being very active in international standards development and activities