At a time when the health of our oceans is seen as crucial to our very existence, marine researchers have developed a data model that supports seafloor mapping, fisheries management, marine mammal tracking, monitoring of shoreline change, and water temperature analysis. Our ability to measure change in oceans and along coasts has increased as marine GIS has grown more complex. Arc Marine: GIS for a Blue Planet presents the initial results of a successful effort to create and define a data model for the marine community—academic, government, military, and private oceanographers, resource managers, conservationists, geographers, nautical archaeologists, and others who support better management of complex spatial analysis in marine applications. The data model not only provides structure to storing and analyzing marine data but helps users create maps and 3D scenes of the marine environment in ways invaluable to decision making. The standards and best practices that emerged from the case studies in Arc Marine form a diverse set of resources to draw from as the marine community strives to understand, illuminate, chart, and explore the unknown depths. As a teaching tool, Arc Marine serves as a perfect starting point for the intermediate student or as a resource for the expert in marine GIS and its implementation.

About the authors:

Dawn J. Wright is professor of geography and oceanography at Oregon State University and director of the Davey Jones’ Locker Seafloor Mapping/Marine GIS Laboratory. Her research interests include geographic information science, marine geography, tectonics of midocean ridges, and the processing and interpretation of high-resolution bathymetric, video, and underwater photographic images. She has completed oceanographic fieldwork in some of the most geologically active regions of the planet, including volcanoes under the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Wright serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Geographical Information Science, Transactions in GIS, and Geospatial Solutions, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Geophysical and Environmental Data. Her other books include Marine and Coastal Geographical Information Systems (edited with D. Bartlett, Taylor & Francis, 2000), Undersea with GIS (ESRI Press, 2002), and Place Matters: Geospatial Tools for Marine Science, Conservation, and Management in the Pacific Northwest (edited with A. Scholz, Oregon State University Press, 2005). Wright holds a PhD in physical geography and marine geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an MS in oceanography from Texas A&M, and a BS in geology from Wheaton College in Illinois.

Michael J. Blongewicz is a senior GIS specialist at DHI Water & Environment, Inc., in Portland, Oregon, where he has been responsible for creating and developing GIS-based resources within DHI as they relate to data management and integration for hydrological and hydraulic modeling. His experience includes designing and developing decision-support systems, spatial databases, and analytical applications, and managing data conversion efforts. He has been responsible for the GIS aspects of a variety of projects throughout Europe and North America. Blongewicz contributed to the Arc Hydro data model and has been the technical lead for the design of the Arc Marine data model. He designed the extended version of those data models for the DHI implementation of the ESRI geodatabase. He holds a BA in geography from the University of Northern Arizona and a BA in art from the University of Northern Colorado.

Patrick N. Halpin is Gabel Associate Professor of the Practice of Marine Geospatial Ecology and director of the Geospatial Analysis Program at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University. Halpin specializes in geospatial analysis for ecological and conservation applications in marine and terrestrial environments. He is a principle investigator for the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS-SEAMAP) program that provides geospatial data and analysis of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds as well as numerous other marine GIS and marine spatial ecology programs. Halpin holds a PhD in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia and a MPA in international management and BA in international studies from George Mason University.

Joe Breman is the GIS architect for Akimeka LLC on Maui, Hawaii. In addition, he is an instructor of ocean sciences and guest lecturer for the NOAA Marine Sanctuary. He was formerly the data model program manager at ESRI, as well as the marine and coastal community manager responsible for the ESRI marine Web site, and the marine newsletter The Wave. Other published works include Marine Geography: GIS for the Oceans and Seas. In addition, he was editor of the the marine section of the ESRI Press book Conservation Geography: Case Studies in GIS, Computer Mapping, and Activism. He serves as advisory council member of the SCGIS and vice president of PROtector, in addition to founding International Underwater Explorations (IUE). Breman holds an MA in maritime civilizations from the University of Haifa, Israel, and a BA in anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

2007 - 216 pages