Published by ESRI Press © 2002
Edited by Dawn Wright, Oregon State University
Foreword by Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence
(and keynote speaker at the 1999 User Conference Special
Exhibition on Ocean GIS)
ISBN: 1-58948-016-3
Humankind has made more progress during the past 20 years in mapping the
surface of neighboring planets than during the past 500
years in mapping the final frontier of Earth: the
oceans. Indeed, we still know more about the dark side
of the moon and the topography of Venus and Mars than we
know of our own ocean floors. For example, it was widely reported in early 2000
that the NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
mapped 80% of the Earth's surface, when in reality this was 80% of Earth's land mass.
Although a spectacular mission, the submerged portions of our planet
(71% of the Earth's total surface) were
still out of reach to the space shuttle's sensors. And yet the development in the last 10-20 years of
sophisticated technologies for ocean data collection and
management, including GIS, hold tremendous potential for
mapping and interpreting the ocean environment in
unprecedented detail. And for geographers, as well as the general public,
maps still come to mind as the foundation of geographic inquiry.
Undersea With GIS focuses on recent
technical advances in mapping the deep oceans, coasts, and estuaries with GIS,
as well as nautical charting and scientific visualization. Also included
is a special section on Internet delivery of these products,
as well as a CD-ROM with GIS tools and extensions for oceanographic applications.
So many advances have been presented in excellent form at
recent ESRI User Conferences that the book includes
papers from the "Coastal, Ocean, and Marine Resources"
track at the 1999 and 2000 ESRI User Conferences, as well as selected
projects featured in past ESRI Map Galleries and at the 1999 User
Conference Special Exhibition on Ocean GIS.
Royalties from the sales of Undersea With GIS were donated
to the Oregon chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and the
Oregon State University Diversity Internship Program in Marine Sciences.
The book is in now out of print from ESRI Press but you can obtain a free download of the entire book HERE.
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