GEOINFORMATICS APPLICATIONS TO DISASTER RESPONSE M. Lee Allison Governor’s Office of Science and Energy Policy (Kansas), Jeremy Bartley K ansas Geological Survey, Abstract Many of the elements of geoinformatics are well suited for a new way to facilitate more rapid, comprehensive, and effective response to disasters: web-services, distributed data base interoperability, real-time global sharing of information, among others. In the immediate aftermath of a major disaster, natural or man- made, information is often the most valuable commodity and the least available resource. Increasingly, responders to disasters are using computers and the internet to catalogue information and share it among local users. By placing that data on the web however, we can use newly developed geoinformatics capabilities to link them to baseline information accessible from throughout the globe, link and integrate all the various responders, and provide a synoptic view of the situation in near-real time to the rest of the world. With more accurate and timely assessment of the extent and nature of damage, aid can be more effectively identified and delivered. “Mapdex” ( is a prototype component of the emerging 4-D search engine essential to geoinformatics. Mapdex creates an index of publicly available ArcIMS services built on the Google premise. Mapdex harvests geospatial data globally, by command or automatically, without having any prior knowledge of the datas existence or location. Mapdex allows the user to map multiple map services simultaneously from within one Web-based application. Mapdex currently indexes over 1,400 servers, 24,600 map services, containing over 350,000 GIS layers, covering more than 3.25 million columns. Testing this following the recent Indonesian earthquake and tsunami, we readily created automatically geo-referenced maps comprised of various layers of infrastructure (e.g., population distribution, hospitals, roads, airports) overlain by satellite images before and after the events, local aerial photos, and mapped data being posted daily by local agencies responding to the disaster. Existing geoinformatics capabilities can be deployed and employed now at minor cost to facilitate global disaster response. Enhancements to geoinformatics will be wise investments with huge societal benefits relative to costs. I. Disaster Aftermath Information is the most valuable commodity and the least available resource IV. Application in the Indian Ocean Tsunami Real-time, seamless integration of responder data and baseline information VI. Conclusions Integrated computing environment that provides access to information, models, problem solving capabilities, and communication Cyberinfrastructure elements: knowledge base (digital libraries) links to measurement, monitoring, and verification (MMV) links to process models (data/model integration, model coupling) links to higher-level integrative models (system dynamics) links to decision support (analysis, visualization..) II. Geoinformatics Attributes are Well- suited for Disaster Response III. A Geoinformatics Example: Harvesting Geospatial Data Globally Create a real-time index of internet map services V. The Future Geoinformatics-cyberinfrastructure will be an integral component of disaster response efforts expand initial web-based data access and GIServices (Mapdex et al...) to build a complete global cyberinfrastructure that integrates all elements of disaster response, science, and decision support ensure coordination with national and international efforts (Geospatial One-stop, National Map, IGO, GEOSS,...) build an integrated mapviewer that can view multiple layers from multiple servers in realtime create infrastructure to build dynamic targeted portals that package mapserver layers from multiple mapservices such as USGS DEM, landcover, & local data Mapdex: a near-global index of 1,432 servers, serving 24,647 map services, containing over 350,000 GIS Layers, covering more than 3,250,000 columns (as of April 25, 2005)! web-based access to distributed map services, including data and tools Give managers the ability to build targeted geographic portals for responders queries across globally distributed databases geographic information services (GIServices) include online tools for visualization and analysis (map viewer…) Mapdex reprojects the various layer envelopes to a common projection (geographic-latitude/longitude) Now we can query mapservice layers by geographic location (all layers within state, county, zip code, etc.) Many groups have tried to build catalogs of spatial data. State Clearinghouses Federal Government Initiatives They all rely on manual publishing of metadata They are similar to early web search engines that took submissions for websites Spatial Data Engine Web Server Map Server Data Warehouse Field Worker Public Analyst Model Warehouse Decision Maker Knowledge Base Field Measurement Measurement, Monitoring, & Verification (MMV) GIS as the "glue" For effective response, we must search all available map services with or without the owners permission and/or knowledge avoid reliance on the owners of the data to “publish” metadata about the mapservices and the underlying data to the portal Example Problem: East Asian tsunami, resulting from 9.0 earthquake, Observations/Tools Needed: Tsunami gauges (buoys, tide gauges, seismometers, etc.) in Indian Ocean High resolution topography and bathymetry in coastal areas Common alerting protocol and system Outcomes/Benefits: Relevant and timely forecasts and warning to mitigate future loss of life The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is a long-term effort Developing close co-ordination of global observation strategies for the next 10 years; identify new observations Building on existing work to produce data products on atmosphere, land, fresh water, oceans and ecosystems Improving world-wide reporting and archiving of data and filling observational gaps of coverage in existing systems Emphasize interoperability and reciprocal data-sharing Developing an implementation plan to achieve these objectives by the next ministerial conference Data management issues: Current systems are already being challenged New observing systems may generate 100-fold increases in data Need to develop access, transmission, and archiving systems Geoinformatics will be a critical component of global disaster response measures. Geoinformatics can be deployed immediately in a rapid response mode to complement the permanent, global system. Establishing a map portal: 1.Search, using Mapdex, for keyords or locations 2.Add layers to theme 3.Set geogrpahic extent, using map or gazeteer 4.View theme on map viewer Adapted from Paul Rich, Los Alamos National Lab