NOS’ ArcIMS Portal to Real-Time Coastal Observations and NOAA

							                                    nowCOAST




              NOS‟ ArcIMS Portal to Real-Time Coastal
                Observations and NOAA Forecasts

  Micah Wengren, John G.W. Kelley, Matt Kennedy and Meredith Westington
                                  Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                                    NOAA/NOS/Office of Coast Survey



NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                            Why was a portal needed?
       Every coastal observing network and NOAA forecast product has its own web
        interface.
       No single site provides a map-based view of all real-time observing station
        locations and NOAA forecast sites.
         -   Result: lots of time spent navigating websites.




    An integrated web site was needed to view real-time coastal observations and
    NOAA forecasts using a dynamic map interface with live web links.


         NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
What is nowCOAST?
     An Arc Internet Map Server (IMS)
      based web mapping portal to
      improve access to real-time
      coastal information.

Goal:
                  Provide marine community with new means of access to all on-line,
                   real-time weather, ocean, and river observations and NOAA
                   forecasts for U.S. coastal areas.
How:
                  Provide live web links to the websites displaying this information
                  User-specified dynamic map views of station and forecast locations
                  Ease of use for broad user base: GIS and non-GIS experienced

                           *nowCOAST was first available online in August 2002

    NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
     nowCOAST‟s Navigation Capabilities:
           Using the Jumpbar

Quick access to information in
4 steps:

1)Specify a location–
  divided by coastal regions, estuaries, lakes,
  or sea ports

2) Specify a type of information-
     observations data, forecast model
     guidance, and surface forecasts

3) Specify a variable

4) Specify time

5) Hit “Go” button




                                                   As depicted above, a user has selected to display weather/ocean observations
                                                   stations in the Chesapeake Bay with a highlight on those stations that provide air
    NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory   temperature values.
 nowCOAST‟s Links to Real-Time Observations:
           Spatially-referenced links to data from the following networks:



Weather and Ocean Observations:                         River Observations:         Surface Currents:
National Weather Service:                              USGS River Stations        CODAR networks from
      NWS/FAA/DOD Airfield Observations                                             several universities
        (ASOS/AWOS)
National Climate Data Center                           Weather Radars:             Upper Air Data:
      US Climate Reference Network (CRN)                NWS Doppler Radar Sites   Radiosondes
National Data Buoy Center:                                                         Boundary Layer Profilers
      Data Buoys                                       Water Quality:
      C-MAN Stations                                   EPA EMPACT
National Ocean Service:                                USGS River Network
      PORTS                                            Maryland DNR
      NWLON – Water Level

Many land mesonets and regional observing systems:
     UMD’s CBOS                       NEOCO
     Texas A&M’s TABS                 PWSN
     GoMOOS                           SEAKEYS-CREWS
     LISShore Network                 USF COMPS
     Rutger’s LEO-15                  TCOON
     CORIE                            WAVCIS
     Caro-COOPS                       GLERL Network
     ICON                             SABSOON
      LUMCON




    NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                 nowCOAST‟s Links to Forecasts
                      and Predictions:
      Spatially-referenced links to data from the following forecasts:


National Weather Service Forecasts:
 County Forecasts
 Surf Zone Forecasts
 Coastal and Offshore Marine Zone Forecasts
 High Seas Forecasts
NWS & NOS Forecast Model Point Guidance
 WaveWatch III
 Extra-Tropical Storm Surge
 Model Output Statistics (MOS)
 Estuarine Forecast Models

NWS River Forecast Guidance:
 Advance Hydrological Prediction Service (AHPS)
  River Forecasts

Astronomical Tidal Predictions:
 NOS Tidal Predictions



NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                           HTML ----- JSP

New nowCOAST viewer design based on the ArcIMS Java
  Connector and server-side Java code (Servlet/JSP):

JSP Viewer Advantages:
        Better customization: easier, more powerful
        Less computational load on client: more stable
        Lightweight viewer: less code to download, quicker access




 NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
        Java Connector vs. Servlet Connector




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
        Java Connector vs. Servlet Connector
                                               jspForm.jsp:
                                                    Hidden form that is submitted to
                                                     server with information about map
                                                     request
                                                    Java code resides on server to
                                                     handle this input and generate
                                                     ArcXML
                                                    No ArcXML must be generated by
                                                     client: eliminates need to download
                                                     large JavaScript libraries present in
                                                     HTML viewer
                                                         Quick download for low-bandwidth
                                                         Fewer points of failure due to
                                                          client-side processing
                                                    Develop custom map functionality
                                                     using Java Connector API and
                                                     power of Java language
                                                         No need to directly write ArcXML
                                                    More stable client viewer

NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                  nowCOAST JSP Viewer Design




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                   nowCOAST JSP Viewer Design




Larger Map View
        Moved tools to bottom of map to increase space available for
         map



 NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                   nowCOAST JSP Viewer Design




New Frame with Interactive Map Tool Information
        Text with information about tool function
        Same space used for capturing user input for certain tools: Print,
         Zoom to Lat/Lon
        Button to link to separate window with more detailed
         instructions on how to use tools
 NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                  nowCOAST JSP Viewer Design




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                   nowCOAST JSP Viewer Design




Customized dbGroupTOC Table of Contents Interface
      Adapted from ArcScript by Dave Bollinger
      Popular TOC code used in many ArcIMS sites
      Highly customizable


 NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                  nowCOAST JSP Viewer Design
                                               Customized dbGroupTOC
                                                 Table of Contents Interface
                                                    Combines legend with layer list to
                                                     eliminate need to display standard
                                                     ArcIMS legend image
                                                    Customizations:
                                                         option for users to open separate
                                                          window with detailed description
                                                          of content of each layer
                                                         option for auto map refresh when
                                                          a layer’s visibility is changed




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                  nowCOAST JSP Viewer Design




nowCOAST „Jumpbar‟
        Works in unison with GIS tools to allow for control of map via
         either interface




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                            nowCOAST Databrowser
New feature to manage user interaction with nowCOAST
       Session-based ‘History’ object
              Stores record of websites linked to, select, identify, and query results
              Kept on server for session duration, accessed via a JSP interface
       Databrowser – JSP interface to access History:
              Familiar back, forward control mechanism similar to web browser
              Allows navigation of nowCOAST History – each new request made to the
               database is a new ‘Record’ in the History
              Display either hyperlinks to outside websites or nowCOAST database tables
               with results from select, identify, and query requests
              Designed as a data ‘companion’ to map viewer

Preliminary Design
       Limited by session timeout
       Possible improvements include ways to reload History for returning
        users




  NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                          nowCOAST Databrowser
                                                  Display hyperlink to
                                                   observation or forecast
                                                   website in second frame
                                                   below main navigation
                                                   frame




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                          nowCOAST Databrowser
                                                  Also display nowCOAST
                                                   database tables with results
                                                   from:
                                                       Query
                                                       Select by Rectangle
                                                       Identify

                                                  Option available in database
                                                   table to hyperlink to website
                                                   with observation/forecast
                                                   data for each feature
                                                       Allows use of Select by
                                                        Rectangle tool to highlight
                                                        several stations in an area
                                                        and choose which to view
                                                        data from based upon
                                                        information in database
                                                        table




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                          nowCOAST Databrowser




Navigation Frame
     Provides useful information about record:
            Record number
            Map layer that was active during request
            Station or forecast area name if it is a hyperlink
     Familiar Back/Forward browsing to move from record to record
     Buttons to return to nowCOAST map, print data or hyperlink page in
      bottom frame, and open hyperlink in another window




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
      Custom Tools for nowCOAST JSP Viewer



Several tools had to be built from scratch
 for JSP viewer
     Query Interface
     Zoom to Lat/Lon
     Print Page
     Zoom to Last Extent
     Link to Data




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                                Demonstration




NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory
                             Check it out!

                 http://nowcoast.noaa.gov

                   Additional information and materials available

                                            Contact:
                                     Micah.Wengen@noaa.gov
                                      John.Kelley@noaa.gov



NOAA/NOS/Coast Survey Development Laboratory