http://www.pasda.psu.edu PSLS 2015 Conference January 12th, 2015 Hershey, PA Presenters    Maurie Caitlin Kelly Ryan E.

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Transcript http://www.pasda.psu.edu PSLS 2015 Conference January 12th, 2015 Hershey, PA Presenters    Maurie Caitlin Kelly Ryan E.

http://www.pasda.psu.edu
PSLS 2015 Conference
January 12th, 2015
Hershey, PA
Presenters
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Maurie Caitlin Kelly
Ryan E. Baxter
James F. Spayd
Overview of Today’s Presentation
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About PASDA
PASDA Services
Using PASDA
PASDA Online Mapping
Trends and Future Plans
Questions…
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How many of you have used PASDA before?
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What do you use it for?
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What data do you use most often?
About PASDA
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PASDA was developed by the Pennsylvania State University. It
was originally funded by the PA DEP.
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PASDA is a cooperative project of the Governor's Office of
Administration, Office for Information Technology and Penn
State Institutes for Energy and the Environment.
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Funding is now provided by the Pennsylvania Office for
Information Technology.
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Penn State provides additional substantial support to PASDA for
system administration and computing infrastructure through
the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the PSU High
Performance Computing Center.
PASDA Background
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Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access, the official public
geospatial data clearinghouse for the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, marked its 19th year in 2015.
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PASDA, which has grown from a small website offering
35 data sets in 1996 to the expansive user-centered data
clearinghouse that it is today, has become a key
component in the data infrastructure in Pennsylvania.
PASDA Staff
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The PASDA staff include:
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Maurie Kelly, Director
Ryan Baxter, Information Technology Coordinator
James Spayd, Database Systems and Data Specialist
Scott Dane, Data Manager
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Purpose of PASDA
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The purpose of PASDA is to serve as a comprehensive
geospatial data clearinghouse by providing free access
to geospatial data and information by, for, and about
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The data made available through PASDA is provided
by our data partners to encourage the widespread
sharing of geospatial data, eliminate the creation of
redundant data sets, and to further build an inventory
(through the development and hosting of metadata)
of available data relevant to the Commonwealth.
What is a clearinghouse?
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Geospatial data clearinghouses began appearing in the
mid to late 1990s, driven in large part by the creation
of the Federal Geographic Data Committee, advances
in digital data creation, widespread access to the
Internet, and the growth of the GIS software industry.
Clearinghouses are repositories of data that provide
access via the internet.
Other similar terms are portal, geoportal, distributed
data network, data library, etc.
PASDA is also Pennsylvania’s Node on the National
Spatial Data Infrastructure.
PASDA Services
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PASDA serves as a resource for locating data throughout the
Commonwealth through its data storage, interactive mapping
applications, and metadata efforts. Services are provided free of charge
to all users and data providers.
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Data Storage and Access--PASDA works directly with state and federal
agencies, local and regional governments, non-profit organizations, and
academic institutions to access to the widest variety of data possible.
Inventory and Documentation (Metadata)--PASDA creates FGDC
standard metadata free of charge for data providers.
Data Liaison Activities--PASDA works directly with data creators to
identify, document, and provide access to agency data.
Metadata Training--PASDA provides metadata training and training in the
use of PASDA for organizations and groups.
Presentations & Seminars--PASDA offers seminars and presentations at
meetings, conferences, and schools.
User Assistance--PASDA is committed to providing excellent and timely
user assistance with the PASDA website and the data available through
PASDA. PASDA receives from 5-15 inquiries via email and phone per day.
PASDA Activities
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PASDA provides support numerous statewide efforts including:
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PA GIS Day
PA GIS Conference
NW PA GIS Conference
USGS NHD Update Survey
PennsylvaniaView Program
PennShare—provided metadata training
FEMA Region III efforts
The Giant Map of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Geography Bee
PASDA staff have also presented and supported regional efforts
including:
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Western PA URISA, the Ohio Headwaters Resource Committee, the Trust for
Public Lands
Giant Map of PA
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There are four Giant Maps of Pennsylvania which
travel around the state. One is permanently housed at
the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.
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The traveling maps can be used by any non-profit
organization.
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It is 20’x30’
Metadata
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Metadata is the who, what, why, when, and where of
data.
PASDA creates metadata for all of the data sets
available through the site.
Why is metadata important?
Data
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The data on PASDA is provided by federal, state, local
and regional government agencies, non-profit
organizations, and academic institutions throughout
the region.
PASDA does not have any specific data requirements.
For example, data can be in any format (shapefile,
geodatabase, jpeg, tiff, etc) based on the needs of the
provider.
Data
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Data updates to existing datasets come to PASDA at
different intervals and are based on the update
frequency of our data partners.
Monthly, quarterly, and annual updates are the norm
though any update interval is acceptable.
There is no charge to serve data through PASDA or to
access data through PASDA.
PASDA currently hosts approximately 60+TB of data.
How do organizations share data?
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Step 1: Contact PASDA at [email protected] or 814-863-0104
Step 2: PASDA will discuss with you the data you wish to share-for example, roads, land use, parcels, aerial photography, etc. and
if/how often you might be updating this data.
Step 3: PASDA will also review any metadata you have for
compliance and work with you to update or complete existing
metadata.
Step 4: Send a DVD, external hard drive, or FTP your data and
metadata to PASDA.
Step 5: PASDA will place your data and metadata on the PASDA
FTP site, and integrate it into our search and retrieval utilities
and create a map service of your data if applicable.
Step 6: PASDA will notify you when your data is made available
to the public.
Examples of Data Providers
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PA Agencies: PennDOT, DCNR, DEP, PEMA, Fish & Boat
Commission, Game Commission
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NOTE: We receive data from multiple bureaus and programs
within these agencies.
Intergovernmental Organizations: Susquehanna River
Basin Commission, Delaware River Basin Commission
Non Profits: Natural Lands Trust, Eastern PA Coalition for
Abandoned Mines, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
Federal Agencies: FEMA, USGS, Census, NASA, NOAA,
Academic Institutions: Allegheny College, Penn State
Local Governments: Allegheny County, Lancaster County,
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Chester
County, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
Imagery & LIDAR
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Aerial photography and LIDAR are some of the most
heavily used data on PASDA.
Aerial photography is available from multiple providers—
PAMAP Program, local governments like Allegheny County
and Lancaster County, regional governments like the
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, and Federal agencies
like the National Geospatial Agency USDA, and USGS.
LIDAR for Pennsylvania is available from PASDA and was
created by the PAMAP program.
Some local and regional governments have also or a
planning to create new LIDAR.
Imagery & LIDAR
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Available aerial photography ranges in date from the 19931999 black and white DOQQs to 2013 Allegheny County
imagery and 2013 NAIP imagery.
New imagery from Allegheny county should be available
this summer.
There are no current plans to acquire statewide imagery.
The latest PAMAP imagery was flown in Fall, 2010 and
Spring, 2011 and is available via PASDA as PAMAP Spatial
Energy data.
We expect to get some regional updates to imagery by
county over the next few years.
Historic imagery is available via the PennPilot project:
http://www.pennpilot.psu.edu
The latest round of LIDAR acquired by the state was in
2008.
PASDA Users
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Users come from a broad spectrum of organizations and
backgrounds, from teachers and citizens to businesses and
government agencies--PASDA provides free access to data,
applications, and customization tools to meet the needs of
every user.
PASDA has seen a dramatic increase in use over the last 5-7
years.
This has been driven by many factors such as Marcellus
Shale exploration, environmental conservation, economic
development initiatives, expanded use of geospatial data in
universities, non profits, and the private sector, and the
increased interest from average citizens who are able to
access geospatial information via PASDA’s data previewer
and KML files without the need for specialized GIS
software.
Sample of PASDA Statistics FY 2013/2014
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Hits (includes website, applications, services): 71, 633,
331
Total Number of Datasets Downloaded: 1,990,989
GB of Data Downloaded: 36, 563
Map Service Hits: 57,017,915
Imagery Navigator: 6,033,630
Searching for Data
Searching for Data
Downloading Data
Map Services, Previewer, Google
Map Services
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Map services are basically data that are consumed by
users via the Internet.
These services can be consumed or presented in
several ways.
Many users pull maps services into their GIS software.
Others consume map services in their own
applications.
PASDA creates a map service for almost all data sets
that we host.
Data Previewer
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The Data Previewer function was created to provide
access to data hosted by PASDA for individuals who do
not have access to GIS software.
It allows users to view data sets and do a simple
identify of attributes.
In addition, it allows users to see what they are
downloading.
Just click on the Map Services link in the metadata
summary and then click on Preview Data.
PASDA Resources: Data Previewer
Google Integration
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Google Earth and Google Maps have become
extremely popular.
To integrate data hosted by PASDA with Google Earth,
PASDA creates KML files.
KML, or 'Keyhole Markup Language', is an XML file
format that stores geographic features such as points,
lines, images, and polygons.
Users can just click on the Map Services link in the
Metadata Summary and then click on View in Google
Earth to view the data.
PASDA Resources: Online Mapping
Pennsylvania Imagery Navigator
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The PA Imagery Navigator was created to provide easy
access to the thousands of imagery, elevation, and lidar
data sets available through PASDA.
Pennsylvania Imagery Navigator
Pennsylvania Atlas
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The PA Atlas was created so users could easily visualize
dozens of data sets available through PASDA without
having to download each data set.
Pennsylvania Atlas
Pennsylvania Atlas
Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas
Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas
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The Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas is an initiative of the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) and PASDA.
The PA Mine Map Atlas allows residents and
stakeholders to see detailed underground mine maps
that were once only available in hard copies.
It not only allows users, in particular homeowners, to
view previously unavailable mine maps, but also allows
them to see their home’s proximity to the nearest
underground mine.
Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas
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The idea for this project began almost 10 years ago when the DEP
approached PASDA about the possibility of providing public
access to their underground mine maps. This was, in part, a
result of the Quecreek Mine Rescue that occurred in Somerset
County.
On July 24, 2002, 18 miners accidentally tunneled into an
adjacent abandoned mine and nine of them became trapped by
the millions of gallons of water that proceeded to rush in. After
78 hours of desperate escape attempts and hopeless notes
scrawled for loved ones, the miners were finally found and pulled
to safety.
The accident led to a strong push at the DEP to provide access to
the underground mine maps, which were primarily in paper. By
September 2012, the DEP had scanned thousands of these maps
into digital form and were ready to provide them to PASDA.
Mine Map Data
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By May 2013 the California, Pa., office of the DEP
provided PASDA with the first 15,000 digital maps, and
PASDA began providing public access to downloadable
versions of the maps.
This project, which is ongoing, will eventually provide
access to approximately 100,000 underground mine
maps.
Functionality
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The Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas — launched May 6
2013 — includes features such as address search,
latitude and longitude search, measurement tools and
a transparency setting that allows viewers to see mine
maps on top of aerial photos, road maps, topographic
maps or terrain maps.
In addition, the PA Mine Map Atlas has been
integrated into the Pennsylvania Historic
Underground Mine Map Information System—
PHUMMIS hosted by the PA Department of
Environmental Protection.
PHUMMIS Integration
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This database contains information relevant to past
and present underground mining within the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including, but not
limited to:
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maps, indices, locations of mines, and other pertinent data
contained in various collections held or obtained by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s
(Department) Office of Active and Abandoned Mine
Operations.
PA Mine Map Atlas
Where do we go from here?
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Approximately every five-six years the PASDA staff
undertakes a benchmarking effort to research current
trends and advances in GIS data clearinghouse
development.
In late 2014 the PASDA staff embarked on such an
effort.
The goal was to identify best practices in the field as
well as examine and evaluate alternatives and
enhancements for the PASDA clearinghouse.
The four areas of focus for the effort were:
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Data search and retrieval functionality
Applications and visualization tools
Open data portal capabilities
Available data, in particular imagery and LIDAR
Best Practices—User Interface
Best Practices—Imagery & Lidar
Open Data
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Open data is a term that is becoming more popular.
As part of the PASDA benchmarking activity, we
decided to look at open data sites.
It’s a trendy term, with a social media vibe but what
exactly does it mean?
No one could really answer our question completely so
we decided to research this trendy new phenomenon.
Open Data
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We found that there is no single correct definition for open
data.
Sometimes open data is:
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data in “open formats” meaning not software specific formats.
code that created an application, model, or data is open for other
uses who can download and alter the code.
data that can be edited or added to through crowdsourcing—like
adding to a data set of fire hydrants by sending in the coordinates
of your local hydrant.
is just cool to say but it actually is just a new term for something
that already exists.
The one common denominator and most often discussed
qualification for open data is “data must be freely accessible
to the public”.
Benchmarking Results & Recommendations
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Update the PASDA website (minor update to graphics, text, etc).
Improve performance—possible use of VMs.
Upgrade the PASDA computing infrastructure.
Integrate new resources such as Story Maps.
Expand data formats—full KML files (for some data), json formats.
More outreach efforts to educate users about new data and resources.
Update tutorials and help.
Explore potential mobile apps that support data access.
And finally--PASDA is a leader in the field. Few of the state GIS data
clearinghouses are comparable to PASDA in terms of amount of data,
applications, services, and capabilities.
Why?
Why is PASDA Still a Leader in the Field?
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Pennsylvania has greater integrated cooperation
among state agencies and other members of the data
community who share data than other state. Our data
providers are committed to providing access to their
data!
Pennsylvania has had a long term commitment to the
PASDA clearinghouse, with no interruptions in service
or funding. We are going into our 20th year in 2016!
There is a depth and breadth to the types of users in
Pennsylvania and their ongoing support for
maintaining the PASDA clearinghouse.
Thank You!
Questions?