Atlas Purpose
- Provide information about Oregon coastal watersheds and the species inhabiting them;
- To facilitate access to data and information from a wide variety of sources to citizens and decisionmakers
actively involved in natural resource use, policy and planning;
- Provide a resource that meets user information needs, including:
- Regional trends and current status of salmonids and other native fish species;
- Regional trends and current status of land use and stream habitats;
- Human caused barriers to fish passage and locations of currently inaccessible habitat;
- Areas of greatest intrinsic potential for production of salmonids.
Distinguishing Features
- Thematic atlas targeting a specific audience;
- User controlled interface provides several levels of functionality and multiple map and font sizes;
- Advanced searching of all site content;
- Targets user needs: data, tools and expertise.
Target Audience
- Researchers/Scientists;
- NGOs;
- Government/Public Bodies;
- Consultancies;
- Coastal/Environmental Managers;
- Decision Makers;
Atlas Design and Usability
- Focus:
- Map content;
- Textual content
- Design:
- Clear navigation and instruction;
- Involved user feedback;
- Access text from maps/maps from text;
- Multiple point(s) of access to map/data;
- Guided navigation;
- Map Page:
- View limited layers
- View data independently/by theme;.
- Separate legend & layer lists
- Links to internal pages
- Documentation:
- Thematic text;
- Metadata:
- Database
- Multiple format(s);
- Illustrations, images and charts
- Help page(s);
- Tutorial;
- Standards:
- Metadata standards: FGDC;
- Other:
- Glossary;
- User controlled interface;
- Multi-media stories to inform users.
Technology Used
- Mapping Software:
- Data Storage:
- Database Management System:
- Other
- Moxi Media Internet Mapping Framework front end (Java Server Page-based);
- Used Open Archives Initiative Protocol for
Metadata Harvesting.
Functionality/Tools Available
- Level:
- Search Capability:
- Search for data
- Search for thematic information
- Other:
- Advanced search tool;
- Mapping tools:
- Pre-made maps;
- Mapping Tool Wizard for novice users;
- Advanced Mapping Tool for those familiar with GIS mapping;
- Special tools for:
- Interactive statistical report generation to create custom tables and graphs;
- Submission to the Explorer Digital Library via scholarsArchive@OSU;
- Discussion Forum (used very little);
- Administration.
- Mapping Tools:
- Zoom, recentre and full extent;
- Identify features;
- Layer list control;
- View by theme;
- Print/Export maps;
- Measure line and areas;
- Download geospatial data;
Data/Cartographic Information Included
- Geographic Area: North Coast Basin, Oregon
- Number of Datasets: 43
- Topics:
- Physical Environment;
- Coastal Habitats;
- Biology;
- Management;
- Human Impact;
- Environmental Monitoring;
- Infrastructure;
- Natural Resources;
- Other:
- Intrinsic potential;
- Fish passage barriers.
Data Issues
- IPR/Cost:
- Accessibility:
- Poorly managed, inaccessible data;
- Limited GIS-ready data;
- Data duplication;
- Distributed network not yet feasible;
- Data retrieval speed;
- Quality:
- Variable/inconsistent data quality;
- Inappropriate data scales;
- Incomparable regional datasets;
- Management:
- Data management plan development;
- Regularity of data updates;
- Manual upload of data to atlas;
Other Challenges
- Funding for site maintenance;
- Designing simple, intuitive and informative web interface;
- Content balance of science and information;
- Product promotion;
- Design of efficient DBMS for content management;
- Other:
- Designing a product which combines power with ease of use.
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