Archives
30/04
Written By: Rick Hill, Assistant Director, Technical Services Indiana Geological Survey, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
History
IndianaMap began in 1999 as the “Southwestern Indiana GIS Atlas,” a cooperative project involving the Indiana Geological Survey (IGS), Bernardin Lochmueller and Associates, Inc. (BLA), and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). The IGS was contracted to gather geologic and other spatial data from numerous state and federal agencies and other public sources, and enter it into a GIS system for analysis by BLA, INDOT, and others. The data, together with detailed metadata for 173 layers, were distributed to the public on CD-ROMs that were provided to 26 county libraries in southwestern Indiana and as an Interactive Mapping Services Web site, named the “GIS Atlas of Southwest Indiana.” The Web site soon became very popular.
In 2003, the Indiana Geological Survey submitted a proposal to INDOT to expand the Atlas to include GIS data covering the entire state. The contract was approved, the project moved forward, and a new Web site named the “GIS Atlas for Indiana” was created. In 2009 the Indiana Geographic Information Council, the State Geographic Information Officer, the IGS, and INDOT agreed to rebrand the GIS Atlas for Indiana to “IndianaMap.” Typically, IndianaMap serves about 12,000 unique visitors every month, including representatives of businesses, consulting firms, government agencies, academia, and the general public.
IndianaMap Technology
IndianaMap and its predecessors were developed by the staff of the IGS and is a custom JavaScript application using ESRI’s Internet Mapping Services. IndianaMap accesses more than 230 GIS layers from three sources—the Indiana Geological Survey SDE Database, University Information Technology Services SDE Image Database, and ESRI’s Geometry and Geocoding Services.
Additionally, IndianaMap Internet Mapping Services and Web Mapping Services are also available and include: Indiana Historical Aerial Photos, Framework-Government Boundaries, Framework-Cadastral, Framework-Elevation, Framework-Geodetic Control, Framework-Hydrography, Framework-Orthoimagery, and Framework-Transportation.
Updates
IndianaMap is updated the first Tuesday of the month (TFTOTM, pronounced “tuff-toe-tum”) as newer data become available. Many of the data stewards that contribute to IndianaMap contact the Indiana Geological Survey to make arrangements to provide updated GIS layers. As GIS layers are updated, so are their metadata. Nearly all the GIS data that have metadata are available for download.
Staffing for IndianaMap
There are numerous staff members from the IGS and University Information Technology Services, Indiana University that maintain, develop, and update applications, databases, high-performance networks, disk farms, servers, metadata, and numerous data sets for IndianaMap and associated mapping services. Job positions such as Oracle Database Administrators, SQL Database Administrators, SDE Administrators, System Analysis Programmers, Server Administrators, High-Performance Network Administrators, Web Administrators, and more all contribute to the successful operations of IndianaMap.
The Future
IndianaMap is currently being rewritten by the staff of the IGS as an ESRI ArcGIS Server application using Microsoft’s Silverlight development platform. There are many challenges that must be considered and addressed as part of a full application rewrite—things such as image caching, design, layer management, features, and performance, just to name a few. In addition, other IndianaMap products and services are being discussed to broaden the use and availability of Indiana’s GIS data.
History
IndianaMap began in 1999 as the “Southwestern Indiana GIS Atlas,” a cooperative project involving the Indiana Geological Survey (IGS), Bernardin Lochmueller and Associates, Inc. (BLA), and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). The IGS was contracted to gather geologic and other spatial data from numerous state and federal agencies and other public sources, and enter it into a GIS system for analysis by BLA, INDOT, and others. The data, together with detailed metadata for 173 layers, were distributed to the public on CD-ROMs that were provided to 26 county libraries in southwestern Indiana and as an Interactive Mapping Services Web site, named the “GIS Atlas of Southwest Indiana.” The Web site soon became very popular.
In 2003, the Indiana Geological Survey submitted a proposal to INDOT to expand the Atlas to include GIS data covering the entire state. The contract was approved, the project moved forward, and a new Web site named the “GIS Atlas for Indiana” was created. In 2009 the Indiana Geographic Information Council, the State Geographic Information Officer, the IGS, and INDOT agreed to rebrand the GIS Atlas for Indiana to “IndianaMap.” Typically, IndianaMap serves about 12,000 unique visitors every month, including representatives of businesses, consulting firms, government agencies, academia, and the general public.
IndianaMap Technology
IndianaMap and its predecessors were developed by the staff of the IGS and is a custom JavaScript application using ESRI’s Internet Mapping Services. IndianaMap accesses more than 230 GIS layers from three sources—the Indiana Geological Survey SDE Database, University Information Technology Services SDE Image Database, and ESRI’s Geometry and Geocoding Services.
Additionally, IndianaMap Internet Mapping Services and Web Mapping Services are also available and include: Indiana Historical Aerial Photos, Framework-Government Boundaries, Framework-Cadastral, Framework-Elevation, Framework-Geodetic Control, Framework-Hydrography, Framework-Orthoimagery, and Framework-Transportation.
Updates
IndianaMap is updated the first Tuesday of the month (TFTOTM, pronounced “tuff-toe-tum”) as newer data become available. Many of the data stewards that contribute to IndianaMap contact the Indiana Geological Survey to make arrangements to provide updated GIS layers. As GIS layers are updated, so are their metadata. Nearly all the GIS data that have metadata are available for download.
Staffing for IndianaMap
There are numerous staff members from the IGS and University Information Technology Services, Indiana University that maintain, develop, and update applications, databases, high-performance networks, disk farms, servers, metadata, and numerous data sets for IndianaMap and associated mapping services. Job positions such as Oracle Database Administrators, SQL Database Administrators, SDE Administrators, System Analysis Programmers, Server Administrators, High-Performance Network Administrators, Web Administrators, and more all contribute to the successful operations of IndianaMap.
The Future
IndianaMap is currently being rewritten by the staff of the IGS as an ESRI ArcGIS Server application using Microsoft’s Silverlight development platform. There are many challenges that must be considered and addressed as part of a full application rewrite—things such as image caching, design, layer management, features, and performance, just to name a few. In addition, other IndianaMap products and services are being discussed to broaden the use and availability of Indiana’s GIS data.
21/04
The following is a summary of the monthly reports submitted by Chris Dintaman and Denver Harper on behalf of Dr. John Steinmetz and the other contributors to the IndianaMap Viewer.
Updated Map Layers:
The four layers that provide county-provided framework data (including address points, street centerlines, land parcels, and governmental boundaries) have been updated. The layers were compiled from data maintained by various county agencies in Indiana, as part of the IndianaMap Data Sharing Initiative between Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC), Indiana Office of Technology (IOT), Indiana Geographic Information Office (GIO), Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), Indiana Geological Survey (IGS) and participating Indiana counties.
- The layers named "Address Points (IDHS)" and "Street Centerlines (IDHS)" can be found in the following folder: INFRASTRUCTURE > Roads.
- The layers named "Land Parcels (IDHS)" and "Government Boundaries (IDHS)" can be found in the following folder: DEMOGRAPHICS > Political & Other Boundaries.
Statistics:
* 85 of 92 Counties have committed to participate in this initiative
* 68 counties have been harvested
* Current published data counts:
Updated Map Layers:
The four layers that provide county-provided framework data (including address points, street centerlines, land parcels, and governmental boundaries) have been updated. The layers were compiled from data maintained by various county agencies in Indiana, as part of the IndianaMap Data Sharing Initiative between Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC), Indiana Office of Technology (IOT), Indiana Geographic Information Office (GIO), Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), Indiana Geological Survey (IGS) and participating Indiana counties.
- The layers named "Address Points (IDHS)" and "Street Centerlines (IDHS)" can be found in the following folder: INFRASTRUCTURE > Roads.
- The layers named "Land Parcels (IDHS)" and "Government Boundaries (IDHS)" can be found in the following folder: DEMOGRAPHICS > Political & Other Boundaries.
Statistics:
* 85 of 92 Counties have committed to participate in this initiative
* 68 counties have been harvested
* Current published data counts:
2,571,867 Land Parcels
2,017,387 Address Points
3,043 Jurisdictional Boundaries
450,773 Street Centerlines Segments
2,017,387 Address Points
3,043 Jurisdictional Boundaries
450,773 Street Centerlines Segments
NOTE: All four layers are also NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD in ESRI Shapefile format from the IndianaMap Viewer.
NOTE: These new layers represent the seventh monthly set of data harvested through the ongoing Data Sharing Initiative program by IDHS from local government sources on March 31, 2010. These layers are provided "as-is" and have not been quality control checked for completeness, accuracy or content, and should not to be used for any official or business purpose. Be sure to read the metadata for each layer.
NOTE -- SCALE DEPENDENT VIEWING: These datasets are not viewable at the full statewide extent. The intended scale of viewing for these data is approximately at the level of county, and trying to view these high-resolution layers at full statewide extent would greatly affect the performance of the map.
- The layers "Address Points (IDHS)" and "Street Centerlines (IDHS)" are only viewable on the map at a scale of 1:200,000 or smaller.
- The layer named "Address Points (IDHS)" is only viewable on the map at a scale of 1:100,000 or smaller.
Outreach
During the period of March 16 through April 15, a total of 20 service requests were answered by personnel of the IGS. These involved responses to comments or questions received from the public by email, telephone, or personal visits. Eight (8) of the requests dealt with interruptions of service.
As of April 16, there were approximately 709 subscribers to the INDIANAMAPVIEWER-L listserv.
NOTE -- SCALE DEPENDENT VIEWING: These datasets are not viewable at the full statewide extent. The intended scale of viewing for these data is approximately at the level of county, and trying to view these high-resolution layers at full statewide extent would greatly affect the performance of the map.
- The layers "Address Points (IDHS)" and "Street Centerlines (IDHS)" are only viewable on the map at a scale of 1:200,000 or smaller.
- The layer named "Address Points (IDHS)" is only viewable on the map at a scale of 1:100,000 or smaller.
Outreach
During the period of March 16 through April 15, a total of 20 service requests were answered by personnel of the IGS. These involved responses to comments or questions received from the public by email, telephone, or personal visits. Eight (8) of the requests dealt with interruptions of service.
As of April 16, there were approximately 709 subscribers to the INDIANAMAPVIEWER-L listserv.
12/04
The Indiana Department of Administration has announced that AECOM has been selected for contract negotiations to develop the Local Resolution National Hydrography Data for the State of Indiana. The new hydrography data will improve the positional accuracy from the existing USGS 1"=2,000' scale high-resolution NHD data to new 1"=200' scale local-resolution NHD data (10 times better). The new local-resolution NHD data will be aligned to available orthophotography and digital elevation model data no older than that available from the 2005 Statewide Ortho project. This new local-resolution NHD data will replace all of the existing high-resolution hydrography features, many of which were mapped over 25-35 years ago, as well as providing significant more detail with much more consistent hydrography densities (based on 6-acre drainage catchments) than previously available. All existing attributes from the high-resolution NHD (e.g. Names, Reach Indexes, etc...) will be conflated to the new hydro graphics data. The new hydrography data will also incorporate updated and corrected stream and lake names from IGIC's current ongoing GNIS update project.
If the contract negotiations are successful, two Indiana businesses--Cripe Architects + Engineers and Pinnacle Mapping Technologies--will be assisting AECOM as subcontractors on the project . Phase One of the project will be to complete the upgrade for 9 sub-basins within the Great Lakes Initiative Area in northern Indiana. Other phases will be addressed when funds are available. Please see http://www.igic.org/committees/waters/NhdUpgrade_20100223.pdf for a brief synopsis of the project.
If the contract negotiations are successful, two Indiana businesses--Cripe Architects + Engineers and Pinnacle Mapping Technologies--will be assisting AECOM as subcontractors on the project . Phase One of the project will be to complete the upgrade for 9 sub-basins within the Great Lakes Initiative Area in northern Indiana. Other phases will be addressed when funds are available. Please see http://www.igic.org/committees/waters/NhdUpgrade_20100223.pdf for a brief synopsis of the project.