ENS 550 Internet Data Lab Sp ‘07

For 10 years or so, the ‘promise’ has been that user friendly digital information available on the Internet will greatly enhance informed environmental discourse and public decision making. Slowly we’re making headway. Currently DEC, and EPA have prototype systems working in-house for their staffs that may become public in the next year or so. In the meantime we need to do some exploring. The sites below are frequent starting points THAT DON”T REQUIRE SPCIAL GIS SOFTWARE AND GIS TRAINING.

Local

Syracuse-Onondaga Co. GIS is on the Web: http://www.maphost.com/syracuse-onondaga/

Carefully read the “Disclaimer”. If you are unfamiliar with GIS got to

“Learn more about GIS at the page bottom”

> Accept

Ortho photos, soils, property ownership, flood plains, lots of potentially good stuff here, but files are large:

Sometimes this system is “maxed out” and just stops….

State

NY State GIS Clearinghouse: http://www.nysgis.state.ny.us/

This mainly for sharing GIS files, but they do have Orthophotos with a built in “viewer”

>Ortho Imagery read the page, record date of County info.

>View Ortho Imagery keep clicking zoom , or type in a large map scale and progressive zoom maps will ultimately change to Orthophoto data

Federal

The USGS has been leading the effort to create the “National Map”- which is actually a diverse collaboration of public and private data sharing.

Go to: http://nationalmap.gov/gio/viewonline.html

> MicroSoft’s Terra Server has scanned, panable/zoomable USGS topo maps, and air photos

Also check out MapTech, TerraFly and the other partners

______________________________________________________________________

US Census: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/CP_OnLineMapping.htm

>On-Line Mapping >American Fact Finder

Enter zip code or municipality and state. Examine the census tract data and maps available (zoom, scroll…)

US EPA has spent considerable effort building a robust “data warehouse for its wide spectrum of information holdings. The EnviroMapper Store Front is the typical gateway for the public: http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/em/

Lots of potentially useful info- here from Toxic releases to water quality and environmental justice. It takes a bit of navigation.

EPA has local watershed info. at “Surf Your Watershed”: http://www.epa.gov/surf/

DOI’s Fish and wildlife Service has a “Wetland Mapper” at: http://wetlandsfws.er.usgs.gov/NWI/index.html

_______________________________________________

World

With the explosion in GPS (essentially all cell phones) and the Internet, huge business interests want to sell advertising for stores, restaurants etc. as you move through the environment. “Google earth” provides 3-d zoomable orthohphotos that companies and users can customize with additional data: http://earth.google.com/

(Note: it requires you to download the software first.)

_______________________________

These sites are just the beginning. PLEASE share with the class any additional web resources you find useful for the SEQR project.

Thanks,

JF