The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) requests information to help advance the “Arctic Spatial Data Pilot”. The Arctic Spatial Data Pilot is an OGC Interoperability Program initiative sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey and Natural Resources Canada. This recently launched initiative aims to help all Arctic stakeholders benefit from improved access to the expanding universe of online Arctic geographic information. The emerging Arctic SDI, an evolving technical and organizational network of diverse information resources and collaborating players, will play a key role in pan-Arctic science and monitoring as well as societal, economic, regulatory, and environmental decision support.

“It’s important that scientists, resource managers, decision-makers and our citizens can discover, access and use trusted data to conduct research, make informed decisions, and respond to emergencies in the Arctic,” said Kevin Gallagher, Associate Director for Core Science Systems, U.S. Geological Survey. “This pilot is meant to advance the understanding of best practices for the distribution of geospatial data.”

The value of data increases with the number of users and with the number of linked data sets. An open Arctic SDI will be essential infrastructure for widespread Arctic geospatial data discovery, sharing, integration and commerce to support many different communities of interest.

This OGC Arctic Spatial Data Pilot Request for Information (RFI) will help the U.S. Geological Survey and Natural Resources Canada collect information to demonstrate the diversity, richness and value of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) Web services that can be made available to Arctic SDI stakeholders. Information gathered and publicly reported by the initiative will expose opportunities for stakeholders to make better use of Web technologies for publishing, discovering, assessing, accessing, integrating, aggregating and analyzing geospatial data and related non-geospatial data.

The purpose of this RFI is to gain a better understanding of the full potential of an Arctic SDI to serve the Arctic community. What is it exactly? What data and Web services are available and what needed data and Web services are missing? What are the data sharing and data integration requirements of the different Arctic communities? What does the ideal architecture of an Arctic SDI look like? What key stakeholders need to contribute to a more concerted development process? What scenarios and use cases should be considered as part of this OGC Pilot? Readers of this RFI are encouraged to respond with recommendations for procedures, technology, data, or open standards that should be considered to be included in a recommended practice for Arctic SDI.

RFI responses will be discussed with an expanded set of sponsoring organizations that will review information interoperability and integration requirements and then outline funding opportunities for Arctic SDI standards technology developments planned for later this year. With consideration of active developments in OGC’s current Testbed 12 initiative and in its current work with ISO, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and other standards groups, OGC will document the needed interoperability and integration requirements in a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The RFQ will invite technology providers to describe work they offer to do to address those Arctic SDI interoperability requirements. RFI respondents will be considered in future Open Geospatial Consortium, Natural Resources Canada, United States Geological Survey, Academic funding bodies, or other opportunities. All RFI responses will contribute to Arctic SDI considerations moving forward.

Responses to the RFI are requested by March 18, 2016. The RFI includes instructions on how organizations can respond to and submit questions about the RFI.

[Source: OGC press release]

Fisheries and Marine Institute, a WOC Affiliate Member, Creates Master of Marine Studies in Marine Spatial Planning and Management

The Memorial University Fisheries and Marine Institute will inaugurate the new Master of Marine Studies in Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Management, the first graduate program of its kind in Canada, in September 2016.

“Marine spatial planning is an emerging and important field that is gaining prominence as global demands on our coastal spaces and oceans increase,” said Carey Bonnell, head of the Marine Institute’s School of Fisheries. “We want to position our graduates to apply technology-supported knowledge and expertise and provide the best advice to sustain and use our marine resources through responsible ocean economic activity.”

The program focuses on governance, policy/legislative, ecological, socio-economic, cultural, and technological elements of sustainable ocean and coastal zone development, planning and management. Students will study the mapping and analysis of human activities and environmental features as part of planning environmentally/economically sustainable use of coastal and marine environments. Students will also learn conflict management and facilitation to effectively engage coastal and ocean regulators and stakeholders.

The program has been developed with input from international MSP experts from western Canada, the USA, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, who also serve as key contacts for international internships and research projects. The WOC looks forward to engaging program participants as interns.

More information is available at www.mi.mun.ca/msp or by contacting Krista Sweetland at 709-778-0395 or Krista.Sweetland@mi.mun.ca.

[Source: World Ocean Council (WOC) news release]

Imagination is our window into the future. New travel posters from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, envision a day when the creativity of scientists and engineers will allow us to do things we can only dream of now.

You can take a virtual trip to 14 alien worlds, and maybe even plaster your living room with planetary art, via the new, futuristic space tourism posters. The posters are available free for downloading and printing at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/.

Last year, five posters depicting planets beyond our solar system were introduced as part of JPL’s Exoplanet Travel Bureau series. They are included in the latest set of 14 posters, which also show such locales as Mars, Jupiter’s moon Europa, Saturn’s vapor-spewing moon Enceladus, and the dwarf planet Ceres.

The posters are the brainchild of The Studio at JPL, a design and strategy team that works with JPL scientists and engineers to visualize and depict complex science and technology topics. Their work is used in designing space missions and in sharing the work of NASA/JPL with the public.

[Source: NASA press release]

Marine Policy, Volume 65, March 2016, Pages 85–96

By Stephen Jay, Fátima L. Alves, Cathal O’Mahony, Maria Gomez, Aoibheann Rooney, Margarida Almodovar, Kira Gee, Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Jorge M.S. Gonçalves, Maria da Luz Fernandes, Olvido Tello, Sarah Twomey, Inmaculada Prado, Catarina Fonseca, Luis Bentes, Guida Henriques, and Aldino Campos

“Highlights

• Marine spatial planning requires a transboundary approach.
• Differences between institutional systems and practices complicate joint-working.
• A stronger understanding of governance frameworks is needed.
• Project experience points to the importance of fostering multiple inter-linkages.

“There is broad agreement that marine spatial planning (MSP) should incorporate transboundary considerations, reflecting the cross-border nature of marine and coastal ecosystem dynamics and maritime resources and activities. This is recognised in the European Union’s recent legislation on MSP, and experience in transboundary approaches is developing through official processes and pilot studies. However, differences between institutional systems, priorities and practices may not easily be overcome in transboundary initiatives. This requires a stronger focus on understanding the governance frameworks within which MSP operates and fostering interlinkages between them.

TPEA data viewer for the southern pilot area.

“This article discusses a European-funded project in which emphasis was placed on joint-working in every aspect, based on principles of equity and mutual trust. This led to the development of inter-relations, not just of the geographies and maritime resources and activities of the marine areas concerned, but also of the systems of data management, governance and policy-making and of the participants involved as officials or stakeholders, including their means and cultures of exchange. It is suggested that transboundary initiatives in MSP would benefit by complementing current resource management-focused understandings with governance and policy-related perspectives, drawing on experience in other fields of territorial cooperation.”

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