Download Sheldon, W.M. Jr., Laporte, C., Douce, T. and Alber, M. 2011. A

A Coastal Water Quality Metadata Database
for the Southeast U.S.A.
Wade Sheldon, Christine Laporte, Travis Douce
and Merryl Alber
Georgia Coastal Research Council
Dept. of Marine Sciences
University of Georgia
Background
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NPS needed information on water quality monitoring in SE USA
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GCRC funded to identify long-term monitoring activities
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Developing SE Coast Network monitoring program
Avoid duplication of effort
Identify comparable data to leverage
Discover data gaps for future expansion
Information proved very difficult for NPS to obtain
Workshop to gather input, info on regional activities
Developed database of long-term monitoring program metadata
Developed interactive web applications, services for querying database
Phase 1 completed in 2009
GCRC funded in 2010 to extend scope, functionality (Phase 2)
Rationale
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Numerous agencies and institutions collecting water quality data
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Information highly dispersed
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Information diverse in scope, format, accessibility
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Large federal databases (USGS, NOAA, EPA)
Program/project web pages (NERR, LTER, USFS, NPS, SAML, ...)
State/municipal web pages
Offline sources (reports, brochures)
Web pages, text files, XML, maps/visualizations
Online sources have radically-different interfaces, export capabilities
Unified database needed to facilitate discovery
Monitoring Station Search Examples
Project Scope and Goals
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Targeted information
 Programs monitoring water quality (and related measurements)
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Sponsoring organization information
Description (mission, goals, policies)
Points of contact (web site, names, email)
Time period
 Monitoring locations/stations
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Geographic location (state, county, HUC, latitude/longitude)
Parameters measured
Time period
Web links for information and data downloads
Geographic Scope
 Phase 1: coastal zone of NC, SC, GA, East FL
 Phase 2: South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SALCC)
Geographic Coverage
Database Design Process
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Designed relational database to store content
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Used SQL Server 2000/2005
Support for relevant metadata content standards (EDSC)
Support for adding new metadata fields, varying completeness
Support for varying granularity in searches (thematic & geospatial)
Developed “middleware” for connecting to database
 Standard queries (views) to abstract structure, simplify querying
 Stored procedures for updates and programmatic queries
 XML middleware for Google Maps, web services (SQLXML)
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Developed user interfaces for update/query
 MS Access forms for GCRC staff
 Web portal for public access (IIS/Active Server Pages)
Data Model
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Hierarchical design with strong
referential integrity
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Organizations
Monitoring Programs
Monitoring Stations
Measured Parameters
Flexible content model for
Organization/Program metadata
 Fixed fields for critical content (name,
acronym, web URL, ...)
 Controlled vocabularies of optional
fields for descriptive metadata
 Supports wide range of detail based
on reporting practices
Data Model
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Monitoring station metadata
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Site name, description
Lat/Lon
State/County/location
8-digit HUC
Probabilistic or long-term site
Dates of operation
Data download/request URL
Measurement parameters
 Linked to stations or programs
 Linked to USGS NWIS STORET codes
 Parameter groups for multiple levels of
detail (nutrients > nitrogen >
ammonium)
Populating the Database
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List of candidate organizations/programs from NPS, workshop
input and local knowledge
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GCRC staff entered organization and program info from web
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Monitoring locations, dates, parameters entered multiple ways
 Mined from program databases if online, queryable
 Federal: USGS NWIS, NOAA NWS (NCDC), ...
 National Programs: NERR CDMO, LTER, ...
 Requested in spreadsheet form if not online
 NPS, state agencies, municipalities, ...
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Program reps asked to check entries
Targeted Organizations
CAMA NE - Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas
CAMA SE - Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas
CAMA SFL - Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas
CCEHBR - NOAA Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research
FDEP NE - Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Northeast District
FerryMon - University of North Carolina FerryMon
GCE-LTER - Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research
GCRD - Georgia Department of Natural Resources: Georgia Coastal Resources Division
JAX - Florida: City of Jacksonville
MAREX - University of Georgia Marine Extension Service: MAREX Marine Advisory Services
NC DENR DEH - North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources: Division of Environmental Health
NC DENR DWQ - North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources: Division of Water Quality
NERRS - NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System
NOAA NWS - NOAA National Weather Service
SC DNR - South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: Marine Division
SC EQC - South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
SECN - National Park Service: Southeast Coast Network
SECOORA - Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association
SERC - Florida International University: Southeast Environmental Research Center
SFWMD - Florida Water Management Districts: South Florida Water Management District
SJRWMD - Florida Water Management Districts: St. Johns River Water Management District
USGS - U.S. Geological Survey
Data Entry Forms – MS Access
Data Entry Forms – Web (ASP)
Database Statistics (Apr 2011)
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Organizations: 22
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Monitoring Programs: 42
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Monitoring Locations: 44,057
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Parameters Measured: 2266
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Location-Parameter Records: 764,887
Accessing the Database
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Prototype web portal: http://www.gcrc.uga.edu/wqmeta/
Browseable lists of organizations, programs with links to info
Search for monitoring locations by multiple criteria
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Program name, site name, site type
Parameter name (or category, tag, ...)
Date range
Hydrologic Unit (8-digit HUC)
Geographic bounding box (with map input)
Multiple output formats
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Paged web table with links to station details
Spreadsheet (CSV text)
Google Earth KML with informational balloons, time-span tags
XML text (web service)
Station Search
Search Results
Search Results
Station Detail View
Google Earth KML
XML (Web Service Output)
Ongoing Work
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Continue adding programs, stations, parameters
 US EPA STORET/WQX (?)
 NADP, NPS, USFS
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Enhance web portal appearance and usability
 Organization and program metadata search/retrieval
 Geographic placename search (state, county, location)
 Additional parameter search options (USGS NWIS code, ...)
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Coordinate with other regional efforts
 SE Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA)
 NPS OpenParks GRID
Conclusions
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Extensive effort is required to acquire comparable information
about water quality monitoring programs
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Providing unified access to monitoring metadata on a web portal,
with links to program contacts and data downloads, is a valuable
service for researchers, resource managers
Questions?