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2007 Ground Water Summit |
Monday, April 30, 2007 : 1:40 p.m.
Internet-based Hydrologic Data Distribution at the University of Delaware
Researchers at the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) and Department of Geography at the University of Delaware (UDDG) have been developing and implementing Web-based datasets and data services containing raw and value-added climatic, hydrologic, and hydrogeologic information. The area covered by the data primarily focuses on Delaware and the upstream portions of Delaware’s drainage basins in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Though the development of the hydrologic and climatic components were originally developed independently there has been increasing recognition of the need to more closely integrate the way in which the information distribution functions are provided.
The DGS has long collected, interpreted, and distributed ground-water data including water levels, water quality, geophysical logs, stratigraphy, geologic maps, and aquifer properties. These data are in wide use by the consulting industry and government agencies to help solve ground-water problems. To this point all of these data are available as GIS-ready, discrete, downloadable file sets. Recent advances in aquifer mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) now allow Internet distribution of grids of regional piezometric surfaces, and grids, points, and polygons describing geologic units, aquifer geometries and hydraulic properties. Services are being developed to distribute datasets to GIS users through an Internet Map Service and to allow non-GIS users to select and view data through a Web-browser based system.
UDDG researchers developed the Delaware Earth Observation System (DEOS), a system that incorporates climate and streamflow data collection with data transmission to a central database system and near real-time web-based data access. Originally developed for climatic research, it now also functions as part of a flood-warning system for local and state emergency management agencies. Recently, ground-water level sensors have been installed at several DEOS stations, which in turn has promoted efforts to better integrate the two data distribution systems.
The DGS has long collected, interpreted, and distributed ground-water data including water levels, water quality, geophysical logs, stratigraphy, geologic maps, and aquifer properties. These data are in wide use by the consulting industry and government agencies to help solve ground-water problems. To this point all of these data are available as GIS-ready, discrete, downloadable file sets. Recent advances in aquifer mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) now allow Internet distribution of grids of regional piezometric surfaces, and grids, points, and polygons describing geologic units, aquifer geometries and hydraulic properties. Services are being developed to distribute datasets to GIS users through an Internet Map Service and to allow non-GIS users to select and view data through a Web-browser based system.
UDDG researchers developed the Delaware Earth Observation System (DEOS), a system that incorporates climate and streamflow data collection with data transmission to a central database system and near real-time web-based data access. Originally developed for climatic research, it now also functions as part of a flood-warning system for local and state emergency management agencies. Recently, ground-water level sensors have been installed at several DEOS stations, which in turn has promoted efforts to better integrate the two data distribution systems.