GIS as an integrative tool in Marine Biology

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has developed a promising Geographic information System, which enables researches to integrate data and to share results much more effectively than before.*

The natural systems studied at the AIMS are very complex, yet highly interactive. Because of their complexity, different researchers carry out their specialised analyses in isolated studies. It is only in the final stages of their research that they bring their findings together. By that time, it is too late for any real experimental integration.

However, recently a centralised, online data management system has been developed (EGIS), in which all data is associated with a spatial feature. This enables researchers to work together and to share information much more efficiently.

Firstly, there is a set of common data (for example on water temperature in different locations), which is used widely by researchers in different fields. Thanks to EGIS, these are now accessible to all, and both in the labratory and at sea. This means that the time consuming process of data transfer is avoided.

Secondly, in EGIS, new research data can be added constantly. This means that researchers can now compare and analyse data from different projects, while working on their own. For example, some of the findings by researchers working on oceanographic modeling or marine biodiversity may be valuable to those working on marine biotechnology. And because data from all these fields are available online, they do no longer have to work in isolation.

A next step would be to share information with other organisations. To stimulate such an exchange and integration, the Australian government has set up the Cooperative Research Centre Reef (CRCReef). In fact, other marine institutes have recently installed spatial Web servers, which means that sharing information will be possible.

However, there are still a few obstacles to overcome, before the system can work smoothly. First and foremost, many (older) datasets are still non-spatial, yet very important for the research. Also, the display of results is rarely hazzle-free and there is the issue of intellectual property rights. It is very important for researchers to have exclusive access to their data until they are published. However, by that time, too long a period might have passed for the raw data to be useable by another researcher.

Currently, the most promising applications of the EGIS data set seems to be in the field of prediction. By combining spatial data from different research and the use of statistical methods future scenarios can be explored for a specific reef area.

Niels van Manen
SPINlab, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam

* A much more detailed description of the EGIS and its working can be found in:
Stuart James Kininmonth, ‘GIS: The key to research integration at the Australian Institute of Marine Science’ in: Marine Geography: GIS for the oceans and seas, by Jeo Breman (ed.) (2002), p. 67-71.

GIS in Archaeology (1)

After highly interesting interviews with Julian Richards* and Hans Kamermans** about the use of location information by archaeologists, we are happy to announce the release of our second article in the series on GIS in science in VI Matrix.

An English translation of the article and an overview of relevant sources can be found on our website. The article can be found under 'research', 'current projects', 'research projects' and then 'GIS in science'.

In this article we also introduce a first version of our model on the integration of GIS in a scientific discipline. A more detailed description and a visual representation of this model will be released shortly on this WebLog.

We would like to invite you to have a critical look at our article and to share with us your experiences with or views on GIS in Archaeology. Your feedback and suggestions are most welcome. You can leave your comments with this posting.

We are specifically looking for examples of research which resulted in surprising outcomes, thanks to GIS. But we are also interested in cases which shed light on the limitations of the current GIS systems or on the obstacles on the way to a futher integration of location information in the field.

* Julian Richards is Professor in Archaeology at the University of York, UK, Co-Director of Internet Archaeology (an online journal) and Director of Archaeology Data Service.
** Hans Kamermans is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Leiden, Secretary of the steering committee of CAA (Computer Applications and quantitative methods in Archaeology) and co-editor of Internet Archaeology.

GIS in Historical Sciences (1)

After an inspiring interview with Peter Doorn, director of the Data Networking and Archived Services (DANS), about the use of location information by historians, we are happy to announce the release of our first article in the series on GIS in science in VI Matrix.

An English translation of the article and an overview of relevant sources can be found on our website. The article can be found under 'research', 'current projects', 'research projects' and then 'GIS in science'.

We would like to invite you to have a critical look at our article and to share with us your experiences with or views on Historical GIS. Your feedback and suggestions are most welcome. You can leave your comments with this posting.

We are specifically looking for examples of research which resulted in surprising outcomes, thanks to GIS. But we are also interested in cases which shed light on the limitations of the current GIS systems or on the obstacles on the way to a futher integration of location information in the field.

GIS in Science - location information as the key to scientific breakthrough?

We have recently launched an exciting new project about about the value of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for science. Through this WebLog we would like to invite you to participate - sharing your experiences, expertise and views.

Almost every scientific investigation has a spatial aspect: natural as well as cultural phenomenon always happen somewhere. It is not surprising therefore that scientists ever since Antiquity have shown an interest in location. A good example of this is the Illiad; Homer's classic account of the Greek-Persian wars, which gives a detailed description of the actual battles, as well as the sites at which they took place.

Although geographic or spatial aspects have been considered by scientists for many centuries, it has only recently become possible to take them into account systematically. This is largely due to the development of technological devices commonly known as Geographic Information Systems.

We believe that many scientific disciplines, now and in the near future, can benefit greatly from these systems because of the opportunities they offer for data integration and visualisation and spatial analysis. Inspired by a book by the American philosopher of science Joseph Pitt about the interaction between science and technology, however, we are also interested in the other side of the story: how can scientists, from the specific nature of their field, contribute to the further advancement of GIS?

Our first goal will therefore be to explore how GIS is currently being used in different sciences; how scientists benefit from their application; and to what extent they themselves add to the improvement of the systems. Through interviews with 'GIS'- specialists working in different fields and a study of the available literature, we hope to get a clear picture of this. Our findings are published in the Dutch magazine VI-Matrix. English translations of the first two articles - on historical GIS and GIS and Archaeology - can be found on our website.

More importantly, our project aims to invoke a debate among scientists about how GIS and science can benefit most from each other in the (near) future. We believe that this WebLog, serving as an online discussion forum, will be a crucial means of accomplishing just that. We therefore kindly invite you to share your experiences and expertise with us. For example, how do you feel about the use of location information in your discipline? Do you have any examples of surprising outcomes thanks to GIS? Which obstacles do you foresee on the way to a further integration of GIS in your field? Which contributions can you and your colleagues make to the further improvement of GIS?

Finally, we also try to see our project in the light of a more general discussion on the interaction between science and technology. Can we use GIS as a case study to model this interaction? What are the different stages of the integration of a technology (GIS) in a scientific discipline? Which are the requirements for a successful interaction between the two - science and technology? And what are the effects of innovative developments in each, on the other?

Through this WebLog we will notify you of interesting developments related to our project and put forward issues on which we would like to get your views.

We hope that our discussions will come together at the international conference that we are organising this Autumn. The results will be published in a book (in English).

Henk Scholten, Rob van de Velde and Niels van Manen

SPINlab, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Using GIS to predict the spread of bird flu

Check out this example of how GIS can be used by health scientists to predict the spread of a virus – in this case the effects of a potential outbreak of bird flu in the USA.