OGC project to target Arctic spatial data

The Open Geospatial Consortium has announced a new pilot program, which will address the establishment of a web-based data infrastructure, to make available spatial data relating to the Arctic. The U.S. Geological Survey and Natural Resources Canada are sponsoring the program.

OGC is an international consortium of more than 515 companies, government agencies, research organizations and universities with a mission of developing publicly available geospatial standards. The concept behind the organization is that appropriate standards will enable technology developers to make geospatial information and services readily available through the Worldwide Web, wireless services and other information technologies.

The pilot Arctic program, called the Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure Standards and Communication Pilot, has a goal of demonstrating to Arctic stakeholders the value of having a spatial data infrastructure, based on web services and using standard data exchange formats, when addressing critical issues impacting the Arctic, OGC said in a Jan. 4 press release. Stakeholders include national and pan-Arctic science and monitoring organizations, as well as decision makers engaged in Arctic research, in social and economic policy, and in environmental management, OGC said.

Phase 1 of the pilot program began in early December and consists of a concept development study. Project planners are currently assembling an inventory of current Arctic geospatial data and web services, and they are also defining the architecture of the Arctic spatial data infrastructure. The project team will publish a request for information in January, to seek further ideas, experiences and projects, OGC said. Information gleaned in phase 1 will also feed into another OGC initiative that is designing interface and encoding standards.

The findings from phase 1 of the Arctic program will be used in the program’s phase 2, a pilot project involving the application of OGC standards in operational systems in support of Arctic policy scenarios, OGC said.

- ALAN BAILEY