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Project Goal
The Southeast Alaska Hydrography Database Project (SE AK Hydro) is an effort to reconcile local hydrography-related datasets across natural resource management agencies within Southeast Alaska; and synchronize those geometries to the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). SE AK Hydro is a collaborative effort between the USDA Forest Service, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey, and University of Alaska Southeast (UAS). Each agency recognizes the need for a single source authoritative hydrography dataset capable of meeting local business needs, as well as the need to contribute to the improvement of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) through the NHD.Business Problem Solved
In contrast to other regions of the U.S., unification and stewardship of hydrographic geospatial data in Alaska has remained unresolved. Consequently, agencies in Alaska regularly use and maintain their own agency-specific hydrographic datasets which address their respective requirements. This situation has resulted in multiple hydrographic datasets across similar extents with conflicting spatial geometries and attributes. SE AK Hydro resolves these issues by 1) distilling and fusing the hydrography data business needs of key local natural resource management agencies; 2) developing a scalable infrastructure that is collaboratively maintained and widely accessible; 3) implementing a work-flow that integrates with existing business practices; and 4) satisfying NSDI requirements through the stewardship of NHD in southeast Alaska.
Technology Implemented
The SE AK Hydro database is contained within an instance of ArcSDE for Microsoft SQL Server 9.3.1 SP2 (running on Microsoft SQL Server Database 2008). The SE AK Hydro database is accessible to collaborating agencies via Virtual Private Networking connectivity, whereby the parent database is replicated into each of the collaborating agencies GIS environments and edited by their agency personnel. The operational administration, coordination, posting, and synchronization of agency edits are carried out by a hydrography technical data steward at UAS. The functional mechanism involves the transfer of XML change messages between the parent database at UAS and child replicas within the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and the Forest Service. Updates to the NHD are achieved by 1) transforming the Southeast Alaska Hydrography dataset into a NHD-compatible format using an Esri configured model in ArcGIS Desktop; and 2) through the use of USGS NHD GeoEdit and Conflation tools.
Development Team Biography
•Erik Johnson – Geographic & Resource Information Systems Group Leader, USDA Forest Service, Alaska Regional Office
•Mike Plivelich – GIS Coordinator, Southeast Alaska GIS Library, University of Alaska Southeast
•Jim Schramek – GIS Coordinator, Tongass National Forest, USDA Forest Service
•Jeff Nichols – Habitat Biologist, Sport Fish Division of Alaska Department of Fish & Game
•Hank Nelson – NHD Point of Contact for the state of Alaska, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center, United States Geological Survey
•Wendy Kallio – GIS Database Specialist, Professional Services, Esri