The Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC) has completed the creation and subsequent conversion of metadata for 11 (with 9 pending) of the data layers served on the City of Bellingham server via SoundIQ. SoundIQ is a web mapping application of nearshore data layers, focused in its first phase on Island County, Washington. This online platform was designed to archive, and simplify access to, local nearshore data collected by the Island County Marine Resources Committee (MRC), Island County, and partnering state and federal natural resources agencies. SoundIQ is poised for expansion to other counties with MRCs in northern Puget Sound.
They are pleased to have achieved the goals of the project and hereby describe the process of creating/ converting metadata, as well as some of the associated technical and policy issues. A considerable portion of this process involved researching and understanding ISO standard, xml formatting, metadata acquisition, identification of existing metadata standard, access to software to facilitate the transformations and trouble shooting. There were some challenges, including inconsistencies among datasets and formats provided by the source organizations: Island County MRC, Island County, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Washington State Department of Transportation (WDOT), Washington State Department of Ecology (WDOE), Washington State Department of Health (WDOH), Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (PSNERP), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The Northwest Straits Commission is securing permission to post the Island County MRC metadata in ISO format to the Washington State Geospatial Clearinghouse (WSGC), and effective May 31, 2013 it will be posted to the new SoundIQ Geoportal.
Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative
Contacts:
Terence Stevens
360-428-1045
tstevens@padillabay.gov
Suzanne Shull
360-428-1092
shull@nwstraits.org, sshull@padillabay.gov
Caroline Gibson
360-428-1057
gibson@nwstraits.org
Ann Stark
360-428-1057
AStark@cob.org