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A new web-based mapping tool that will give citizens of Delaware easy access to data used in the state’s land-use and natural resource planning and policy decisions has been developed by computer specialists and geologists at the University of Delaware.
Using the system, citizens can create maps of their city, town or even their local neighborhood, complete with an aerial photo of their home.
Delaware DataMIL, developed by UD, the Delaware Geological Survey, the Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination and the U.S. Geological Survey, is an online collaboration laboratory developed to facilitate collection, integration, maintenance, distribution and mapping of Delaware’s geographic data. It is being considered as a prototype for The National Map, a national Internet-based service being developed by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The UD team developing the system was led by Richard S. (Dick) Sacher, manager of resources and data management in IT User Services, who was technical lead for the discussion forums portion of the project; William S. (Sandy) Schenck, scientist with the Delaware Geological Survery and chairperson of the Delaware State Mapping Advisory Committee; John Callahan, an information research consultant in IT User Services, who was technical lead for the project; and Christina (Tina) Callahan, graphic designer for the project.
The map helps make current information accessible to the public in one central location, Callahan explained, saying, “The most common problem people have when creating or viewing a map is currentness of the geographic information. Data producing agencies usually maintain their databases on as-needed or continual bases. When the real world changes, those changes are reflected in the digital database. However, by the time this database gets to the user, the information is nearly always out of date.
“Another issue facing the geographic data user is the enormous amount of information available today,” Callahan said. “For instance, if a researcher is studying population movement within the state, a quick search of the web for transportation data reveals numerous options. How does the researcher select a data source and how can the researcher be sure it will align properly with other datasets needed for study?”
In this new project, web maps are shown in a series of layers, each presenting a different area of information. There are layers, for example, about transportation, elevation, aerial photography, land use/land cover, water, boundaries, man-made structures and more.
“Accurate data and information are part of the shared knowledge infrastructure we need at all levels of government,” Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said, in unveiling the project on April 18. “Our Delaware GIS community has taken an important step forward, creating a new tool to ensure that Delawareans have access to the best possible data and information. Delaware was the first state at the start of the nation; now we’re ready to be the first state in the new, 21st–century national map.”
For academic users, the DataMIL is a resource for classes and research across a wide range of disciplines, and at all levels of sophistication. For municipal, county, state and federal agencies, the system provides access to a common set of basic geographic data and reduces duplication of efforts and inefficient data sharing.
The system also will allow residents to communicate directly with state officials if they have questions about the underlying digital mapping data and give Delawareans a role in updating and maintaining the framework of geographic data used at all levels of government, Sacher said.
“If, for example, you encountered an apparent error in the map you could electronically post an annotated copy of that map directed to a discussion forum. The forums are monitored by the data agencies and facilitate their data maintenance procedures,” Sacher explained.
Another function, the Delaware Metadata Explorer, is a web-based search engine connected to Delaware’s portion of the National Spatial Data Clearinghouse maintained by the University for Delaware’s GIS community, who use the information for analysis and planning.
The Delaware DataMIL is more formally known as the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)/Delaware Framework Data Mapping and Integration Laboratory. It is the only national map pilot having statewide coverage and complete, functioning web-based implementation, Schneck said. “At present, it is viewed within the USGS as the potential template for their vision of the national, internet-based service termed The National Map,” he said.
Visit Delaware DataMIL at [http://datamil.udel.edu].
May 3, 2002
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