Georeferencing: Collaboration and Automation

1
GeoreferencingCollaboration and Automation

• John Wieczorek1
• Reed Beaman2

1Museum of Vertebrate Zoology University of
California, Berkeley
2Center for Biodiversity Research University of
Kansas
2
CaveatIm going to over-simplify everything.
WarningApertem os Cintos
Fasten your seat belts
3
What is georeferencing?
4
Georeferencing is the expression of a
terrestrial spatial description in coordinates
within a frame of reference
5
Terrestrial Spatial Descriptions

• Bakersfield
• 10 mi E (by air) Bakersfield
• 5 mi from Bakersfield
• 2 mi E and 1.5 mi N of Bakersfield
• 13 mi E (by road) Bakersfield
• 10.2 mi E of Bakersfield
• E of Bakersfield T29S R29E Sec.34

6
Coordinates

• Points (have no spatial footprint)
• Shapes (have bounded footprint)
• Polygons
• Multipolygons

7
Coordinate Systems

• decimal degrees
• 35.3733 -119.0178
• degrees minutes seconds
• 35 22 23.88 N, 119 1 4.08 W
• degrees, decimal minutes
• 35 22.398 N, 119 1.068 W
• UTM
• Zone 11S 316695E 3916111N
• Innumerable other grid-based systems

8
Frames of Reference
Geodetic Datums

• Australian Geodetic 1984
• Japanese Geodetic Datum 2000
• North American Datum 1983
• South American 1969
• World Geodetic System 1984

• over 100 others

9
Why is the datum important?
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
What is an ideal georeference?
The answer depends on the questions you want to
address.

• I propose that it is a shape, with a frame of
  reference, which exactly describes the spatial
  extent of a terrestrial location.

The Shape Method
13
Davis, Yolo County, California
14
Davis, Yolo County, California
15
Is this method currently practical?

• Requires sophisticated software to capture these
  data.
• Requires database capabilities beyond the scope
  of many collections
• Requires baseline digital data that are neither
  freely, nor globally available.

The remedy is costly.
16
What is practical?

• Describe spatial extent using elements that can
  be captured and stored by anyone using current
  technology.

17
One possible solution

• Describe the locality using one set of
  coordinates, the datum, and a bounding radius.

The Point-Radius Method
18
Davis, Yolo County, California
19
Davis, Yolo County, California
Coordinates 35.32443 -119.32343 Horizontal
Geodetic Datum NAD27 Maximum Error Distance
8325 m
20
Advantages

• Describes the locality in a minimal element set.
• Obviates the need for investment in new
  technology.
• Establishes a maximum spatial scale of the
  locality.
• Does enable spatial visualization and a broad
  range of analytical applications

This remedy is relatively inexpensive.
21
Disadvantages

• This solution does not contribute toward the
  ideal solution.
• There may be future applications for spatial
  footprints that cannot be met by the data
  produced by the Point-Radius Method.

The remedy will remain just as costly as before.
22
Who is georeferencing?
Who isnt, and why not?
23
Who is georeferencing?

• MaNIS 17 mammal collections institutions in
  Canada, Mexico and the United States global
  holdings 1.4M specimens 284k localities 3
  years started Sep 2001.
• http//elib.cs.berkeley.edu/manis
• HerpNet 37 North American herpetological
  collections global holdings ca. 3M specimens 5
  years first georeferencing North and Central
  American localities starts 2003.

24
How are we georeferencing?
25
How are we georeferencing?
Collaboration http//elib.cs.berkeley.edu/manis/s
earch.shtml
26
Advantages

• Reduces overall cost of supplies no duplication
• Expands the pool of resources geographic
  expertise and reference material
• Increases georeferencing rates economy of scale
• Promotes standardization methods
• Increases skills in a community
• Increases exposure and awareness inside and
  outside of a community

27
Disadvantages

• Vulnerable to procrastinators, cheaters, and
  numbskulls.
• Can distance georeferencing process from useful
  primary resources (e.g., field notes).
• Introduces time sensitivity to the georeferencing
  process
• Requires project-level management

28
One way to improve upon the georeferencing
process will be to collaborate with a distributed
query mechanism already in place.
29
Reed will talk about another way we hope to
improve the georeferencing process.
30
Special Thanks
CONABIOBell MuseumKansas State UniversitySan
Diego Natural History MuseumA. Townsend
Peterson1
1University of Kansas Natural History Museum