2007 March 22

This issue sponsored by

Professional Surveyor Magazine

If, for some reason, you cannot read this document, please visit:
http://www.gismonitor.com/news/newsletter/archive/archives.php?issue=20070322

Editor's Introduction

This week I bring you news of two big recent acquisitions and report on how an employee of a small Texas municipality built a GIS for the town's residents, leaders, and staff from scratch. Plus, more details on an upcoming conference and a full load of press releases.

Please note: For the past two weeks in a row, I forgot to remove "TEST!!!" from the subject line before sending out GIS Monitor to the whole list. Both times I then immediately removed "TEST!!!" and sent the issue out again, fearing that most of the first batch had ended up in recipients' trash bins or spam filters. I will make sure it does not happen again. MY APOLOGIES!!!

Also, I just noticed that in our archives the link to the March 15 issue actually pointed to the March 8 issue. I fixed that. When you see errors, large or small, please point them out, by clicking on my name, below. Thanks!

—Matteo Luccio

Pitney Bowes Buys MapInfo, GeoEye Buys M.J. Harden Associates

Last Thursday, Pitney Bowes announced its agreement to acquire MapInfo for approximately $408 million to strengthen its growth in the location intelligence market and GeoEye announced its acquisition of digital aerial imagery provider M.J. Harden Associates. Here are excerpts from the respective press releases:

Pitney Bowes: "Pitney Bowes Inc. … has entered into a merger agreement to acquire MapInfo Corporation for approximately $408 million in cash, net of expected cash on MapInfo's balance sheet at the time of closing. MapInfo is [a] provider of location intelligence solutions. In the next seven business days, Pitney Bowes will commence a tender offer at a price of $20.25 per share in cash for the outstanding common shares of MapInfo.

MapInfo's location intelligence solutions tools and services are utilized by more than 7,000 organizations worldwide in virtually every industry. MapInfo generated $165 million in revenue for its fiscal year 2006. The company, established in 1986, is headquartered in Troy, New York and has approximately 940 employees worldwide with locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Continental Europe, Australia and Asia. …

This acquisition strengthens Pitney Bowes' position in the growing location intelligence market and enhances its ability to deliver added value to customers worldwide, according to Michael J. Critelli, Chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes. 'At Pitney Bowes we have long understood the importance of location in connecting the right information with the right recipient. … This transaction extends our global reach, enriches our location intelligence offerings, and builds upon the growing software platform that we established with the acquisition of Group 1 in 2004. …'

According to Mark Cattini, CEO and President of MapInfo, '…We have created a market leadership position in location intelligence from a product, data, services, and industry expertise perspective. The combination of Pitney Bowes and MapInfo will dramatically expand our access to critical resources needed to further increase market awareness and our distribution capabilities around the world. In addition, from a long-term perspective, we believe there is a significant opportunity to cross-sell our respective solutions across our blue-chip base of more than 7,000 customers and the over two million Pitney Bowes customers worldwide. …'

The transaction is subject to the completion of customary conditions, and is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2007. It is anticipated that MapInfo will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes within its software segment. …

MapInfo is a global company and the leading provider of location intelligence solutions, integrating software, data and services to provide greater value from location-based information and drive more insightful decisions for businesses and government organizations around the world. Its solutions are available in multiple languages through a network of strategic partners and distribution channels in 60 countries. …

Pitney Bowes is a $5.7 billion global provider of integrated mailstream management solutions headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company serves over 2 million businesses of all sizes in more than 130 countries through dealer and direct operations."

GeoEye: "GeoEye, the world's largest operator of commercial imagery satellites, today announced the acquisition of M.J. Harden Associates, Inc. from General Electric Company. M.J. Harden is [a] provider of digital aerial imagery and geospatial information solutions. GeoEye completed the acquisition of M.J. Harden's outstanding stock on March 15, 2007, and will operate the company as a wholly owned subsidiary.

M.J. Harden, located in Mission, Kansas, has about 60 employees. As part of the agreement, GE will continue to own and operate the pipeline GIS consulting, software, and data management business under GE's PII Integrity Services Division. M.J. Harden will continue to work together with PII to provide photogrammetry and geospatial services to support PII's Pipeline Integrity Services business.

The acquisition gives GeoEye access to M.J. Harden's digital aerial imagery capture capability, photogrammetry services, mobile and geographic information system technology, and implementation services, field data collection and other related services that provide customers with asset-mapping and corridor management solutions. Customers include utilities, engineering companies, developers and federal, state and local government agencies, among others.

'This acquisition enables us to provide satellite and aerial imagery along with geospatial solutions to our resellers and customers,' said Matthew O'Connell, GeoEye's president and chief executive officer. 'Since most of M.J. Harden's customers are in the commercial segment, we think we can help them do more in the federal government sector. At the same time, we hope to expand the products they offer their customers. The addition of M.J. Harden's expert staff and services to the processing capabilities already offered by GeoEye is a logical extension of our goal of providing the highest quality geospatial information to our customers.'

The deal will give GeoEye's customers access to M.J. Harden digital aerial imagery where customers may need higher resolution imagery than what is available from GeoEye's satellites. Digital aerial imagery is extremely complementary to GeoEye's imagery and is especially useful to geospatial professionals working for state and local governments, corridor mapping, as well as the utilities sector. …

Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, GeoEye is the world's largest operator of commercial imaging satellites. GeoEye was formed as a result of ORBIMAGE's acquisition of Space Imaging in January 2006. The company is the premier provider of geospatial data, information and value-added products for the national security community, strategic partners, resellers and commercial customers. GeoEye operates a constellation of three Earth imaging satellites, possesses an international network of regional ground stations, a robust image archive, and advanced geospatial imagery processing capabilities. …

… MJH, an ISO 9001:2000 certified business, offers a wide-range of high quality photogrammetry and geospatial technology services. Services based on 50+ years of experience include: image acquisition, photogrammetric mapping, GIS consulting and implementation, and mobile data solutions. … Founded in 1956, MJH is located in Mission, Kansas."

Building a GIS for a Small Town

When she was hired four years ago as GIS Administrator for the City of Highland Village, Texas—a municipality with 14,000 residents in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex—Marikka Williams' only tools were a masters degree in applied geography, a couple of years of experience working with GIS, her intelligence, and her initiative. She had no support from more experienced GIS analysts because she was the only one on staff with GIS training and no plan to follow because it had not yet been created. So she started from scratch—by installing GIS software on her computer and then beginning to gather data. Two weeks ago, at the 30th Annual Conference of the Geographic Information & Technology Association (GITA), Williams described the process she followed to set up what is now a complex and growing GIS serving Highland Village's residents, city council, and staff.

Williams is responsible for maintaining a GIS, performing geospatial analysis, developing applications to facilitate geographic information delivery, and providing GIS services to all the departments in the city. She created a variety of databases; representative, analytical, and digital interactive maps; and exhibits for asset management, infrastructure maintenance, emergency management, recreational event coordination, economic development, and community outreach.


Marikka Williams (click on the image to enlarge it)

Her paper —which "outlines the structural design of a GIS tailored for a small municipality, illustrates how the GIS is utilized to facilitate municipal operations, addresses the challenges involved in the process of creating a comprehensive system, and proposes avenues for future improvement"—reads like a GIS Day presentation, listing all the desirable components and features of a municipal GIS. That's because, Williams told me, what inspired her to write it was the fact that when she started she did not have any guidelines. Writing the presentation helped her "stay focused" and she thought that it might help others who were just starting to build a local government GIS. Several such people, in fact, attended her GITA presentation, which was very thorough and articulate.

A needs assessment, she points out, should be done as early as possible in the process of building a GIS—both because it is more efficient and because it helps to generate support among staff. "I have found that it is better to meet with departmental representatives, individually," she says, "to discuss their needs and GIS products and to propose viable solutions." Once the assessment is complete, "it is possible to more effectively prioritize tasks, gather data, and develop an organizational scheme to house the data."

On the basis of her needs assessment, Williams came up with the following goals for the city's GIS:

  • Enhance communication
  • Ensure accountability
  • Improve service delivery
  • Track municipal assets
  • Strategize maintenance
  • Perform geospatial analysis
  • Distribute interactive information
  • Integrate with business practices
  • Increase organizational intelligence
  • Provide decision support

Williams is in the process of creating the following digital interactive solutions to provide city staff a means to query maps and their attribute data in a structured environment:

  • Master incidents (dynamically activated combination)
  • Public works (streets, utilities, animal control, code enforcement, inspections)
  • Streets (streets, signs, lights)
  • Utilities (water/wasterwater system)
  • Animal control (unleashed, lost or expired animals)
  • Code Enforcement (code breaking incidents)
  • Inspections (building inspection and permits)
  • Police incidents (citations, warnings, accidents, crimes, vacation watches, special event coordination)
  • EMS (calls for service, special event coordination)
  • Parks (special events/work orders)

"Each solution," she explains, "has different limitations but offers sufficient functionality to meet the needs of each particular project." One such system she created distributes information to upper management and city council members. It includes a self contained mapping system that hyperlinks users to maps via a centralized index portal and offers GIS interactivity. She built another self contained digital mapping system for the fire department that hyperlinks users to hydrant address maps, preplans, landmarks, and mutual aid territories through a Web interface. Yet another self-contained, interactive mapping system she built to coordinate emergency operations includes hyperlinks to a variety of maps. Another custom application that she created provides a city-wide interface for call takers and "provides a means to store information, generate data, interact with a map interface, route requests and generate reports associated with calls for service." "In an ideal situation," Williams says, "all municipal operations would be integrated into a GIS environment through customized applications."

All of the city's GIS systems are still in development. "Currently," says Williams, "the GIS data is logically organized and intuitively accessible. I can perform a variety of analyses and create any map but I am still working on refining the dynamic activation and interactive delivery aspect. While I have created some interactive solutions to deliver information these solutions lack the level of integration and interactivity that I desire to deliver."

Unlike those working for large municipalities, Williams explains, small town GIS professionals are often hired by the public works or planning departments but wind up serving all of the departments in the city, so they need to "be broad minded and maintain a generalized knowledge base."

I asked Williams to clarify a few aspects of her work.

  1. How is the build-out of your GIS progressing?

    "Over the past four years it has matured a great deal and a lot has been accomplished in terms of laying the foundations for the GIS. Needs assessment is something ongoing. We still need to develop more of a consensus in terms of having the city actively use the tools that GIS has to offer. One of the challenges that we face is having people utilize the resources that are available to them."

    Which systems are fully operational?

    "I have three systems in place—one for the fire department, one for the staff and the city council, and one for emergency operations coordination (EOC). The fire department is the one most actively involved in the process; their application is fully functional. The staff have the technology at their fingertips to access all of the basemaps in the city, but they don't use that system very often; they would rather ask me to print out a physical copy. The EOC system is used only in an emergency."

  2. What were your first steps in developing the GIS?

    "First I needed to talk to the Council. They needed to see what GIS had done so far and I wanted them to have that information about the city. So that system was mainly a bunch of PDF maps that they could zoom in and out of, hyperlinked to through an index. Then I gave them access to ArcReader, including instructions on how to use it, but I don't think that many people have used it."

  3. What was the next step?

    "To more actively incorporate GIS with people's business practices, I began to customize products. The interactive map that I created for the fire department had limitations: they could not type in on the computer that is on their engine, they needed to have complete touch-screen capability. The prior system that I had built for the city council and staff would have allowed them to have touch-screen capability but it would have been very difficult for them to navigate through Adobe. They want to be able to access the data fairly quickly. So I came up with another solution, using Microsoft FrontPage. The whole system is hand-built; it is a combination of images of every part of the city and close ups of every address. It integrates the pre-plans for the businesses and it also has two kinds of index maps, where they can touch a polygon and go to the location or they can click on a letter and find the street and go that way."

  4. How do you deliver data to staff?

    "They don't like to have to dig for information, they'd rather it be delivered to them. That prompted the application on which I am currently working, which is a Microsoft Access database with ArcReader embedded. I chose that route because we don't have a lot of funding for map distribution, so I have to find free ways to distribute my maps. Staff wanted some means of inputting and tracking citizen calls, so the system provided a database aspect and it also enabled the integration of a free ArcMap reader (enabled by ArcPublisher) that was also interactive."

  5. What do you fear most about implementation?

    "One of my fears is that I am not sure how the technology is going to respond from the network point of view and as multiple people are trying to access it. Also, if you make people dependent on an application that you built, you are then in charge of support 24/7."

  6. What kinds of analyses have you done?

    "Most of the GIS development I have done thus far has been in data collection, to form a solid data foundation. I have performed surface analysis to delineate the floodplain, to calculate distance from the fire station to all the intersections in the city, and to calculate impervious surfaces. I have also utilized statistical analysis in combination with surface analysis results to evaluate proposed methodologies for the drainage fee assessment and to develop algorithms that predict driveway coverage in areas that were obscured in the aerial photo. I plan to conduct advanced analyses, such as water modeling and storm drainage pattern analysis, in the near future."

  7. What are some of your strongest sources of support?

    "I have a lot of upper management support. The city manager and the city council are very supportive of GIS. Typically there are one or two people in a department who see the utility of GIS. They will come talk to me and we will create a project. There is usually one person who will get other persons in their department involved. We will start a project and then, once they start to see an example, they give me feedback and it grows from that."

  8. What about resistance?

    "There is resistance by some people who no longer need to do something they were comfortable doing. For example, if we are going to have a zoning change or something like that, you have to send out a notice to people within a 200-foot radius of that location. People were used to using the hand compass and making a circle and then writing down all the addresses. With GIS you can buffer and select all the addresses within it and export them to an Excel spreadsheet and mail-merge them. You can do in ten minutes what used to take maybe a couple of hours. So there is that general fear that technology is going to come in and make their job less important than it was—when really all it does is free up time so that they can do their job better. It is more of a support system in my mind than a replacement."

  9. How do you overcome resistance to change?

    "I bring people in and show them what I am working on and how I've listened to what they've already told me and incorporated that into my program. Then I ask them, 'What am I missing?'"

  10. Overall, how do you feel about your work so far?

    "No matter whether this becomes fully deployed or just serves as a rough draft, it will have served a useful purpose to integrate everything that we need in an example application. Where I would feel most confident with this is if were in a Web environment, because then people can access it remotely. People like using the Web a lot more than they like opening up an application."

NSGIC 2007 Midyear Conference

NSGIC's 2007 Midyear Conference will take place next week, March 25 to 29, in Annapolis, Maryland. A few weeks ago I wrote that "The program for this conference consists mostly of meetings."

Although, I'm told, "it is true that NSGIC has a reputation for its packed meeting agendas that last well into the evening and beyond," the organization sent me a more substantive description of its conference:

The National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) is an organization of member states committed to advocating efficient and effective government through the prudent adoption of geospatial information technologies. Members of NSGIC include state GIS coordinators and GIS officials from across the country. Other members

include representatives from federal agencies, local government, the private sector, academia, and professional organizations. A small yet diverse group, the NSGIC membership includes nationally and internationally recognized experts in computer mapping and analysis, GIS data production and program management, and geospatial information policy.

NSGIC uses its conferences to bring together its members from various stakeholder communities with an interest in developing and promoting the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Attendees discuss existing federal programs and seek to identify

solutions for common problems. The agenda consists mostly of plenary sessions that engage the whole audience. This is not a conference for those interested in deeply technical issues. Instead, the Mid-Year meeting in Annapolis provides a forum to discuss matters affecting national geospatial policy, especially coordination issues that

impact state GIS programs. It also provides an opportunity for interested members to visit with their congressional staff on Capitol Hill the final day of the conference.

News Briefs

Please note: I have not verified the content of these press releases.

  1. CONTRACTS & COLLABORATIONS

    1. DMTI Spatial Fuels High Precision Marketing Programs at Terasen Gas

      Markham, Ontario, Canada — March 16, 2007. DMTI Spatial, a leading provider of location intelligence solutions, has been selected by Terasen Gas, Canada's third largest gas utility, to enable more targeted direct marketing campaigns through the application of neighborhood level postal geography.

      Terasen Gas Inc. is a leading provider of energy and utility services, delivers natural gas and piped propane to homes and businesses throughout British Columbia. With over 900,000 customers in 125 communities throughout British Columbia, it is the largest gas utility in the province, the third largest in Canada and the largest distributor of natural gas in the Pacific Northwest.

      "Purchasing Platinum Postal Suite has made a significant difference to our business planning and serving the needs of our customers. It has enhanced our business capabilities resulting in cost savings that benefit both the company and our customers," said Piet Nooij, Production and Process Manager.

      The Platinum Postal Suite is a bundled solution containing the most comprehensive and detailed collection of Canadian postal geography products available that include enhanced Forward Sortation Areas (FSA) boundaries and enriched Postal Code Points. Platinum Postal Suite is the first solution to include Local Delivery Units (LDUs) explicitly represented as block group service areas, delivering unsurpassed precision down to the neighborhood level.

      About DMTI Spatial: DMTI Spatial has been providing industry leading location intelligence solutions for more than a decade to Global 2000 companies and government agencies. DMTI's world-class Location Hub platform uniquely identifies and cross-references a universe of location-based data. DMTI is the creator of the CanMap suite of geospatial data products, including CanMap Streets and RouteLogistics, the gold standard for location data in Canada. DMTI also provides professional services and software tools bringing full solutions to the marketplace. For more information see: www.dmtispatial.com

    2. ESRI to Support IBM DB2 9 for z/OS on System z

      Spatial Data Management Functionality to Be Delivered Enterprise-Wide

      Redlands, California—ESRI, the world leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, announced today that it will provide ArcGIS spatial data management solutions to IBM DB2 9 for z/OS on System z. This support for a centralized, location-aware DB2 database on System z will enable ESRI's enterprise customers to extend GIS-based business solutions, applications, and Web services throughout their organizations.

      "With ArcGIS spatial data management solutions, core business systems across the company can tap into the same corporate geodatabase," said Jack Dangermond, ESRI president. "This eliminates the cost and time of redundant databases for each department."

      Support for DB2 9 for z/OS on System z enables ESRI and IBM to offer a premium spatial information management solution with unmatched scalability, multilevel security, and system reliability. This support also provides a geospatially enabled information management solution for users who are moving toward centralization and virtualization, facilitating the move away from increasingly expensive and difficult-to-administer networked and distributed server environments.

      "The ability to analyze and access geospatial data is critical to rapidly extract insight from your business data," commented Bernie Spang, director, IBM Data Servers. "ESRI and DB2 9 for z/OS provide our clients with unique data analysis capabilities."

      With 80 percent of the world's corporate data on System z, demand for spatial data management and spatially enabled service-oriented architectures (SOAs) on System z is growing. By integrating ArcGIS spatial information management, as well as ESRI ArcGIS client solutions and Web services, the world's most reliable and secure computing platform becomes the strongest, most accessible enterprise-class application server for insurance, retail, banking, and government customers.

      About ESRI: Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.

    3. CARIS Selected for UKHO Hydrographic Database Solution Contract

      Fredericton, New Brunswick — EDS, as a prime contractor, and CARIS, as the sub-contractor, today announced their selection for the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) Hydrographic Database (HDB) Project.

      Through the HDB Project, EDS and CARIS will Workflow Management technologies together with Bathy DataBASE and Hydrographic Production Database (HPD) software to manage and create paper and electronic chart products. This combined solution will represent an enterprise production environment where multiple products are created and updated from a centrally managed source.

      The United Kingdom is the nineteenth nation to adopt HPD in their hydrographic production workflow, indicating further industry acceptance of CARIS' unique database-driven approach to data management and production.

      About CARIS: Established in 1979, CARIS is the leading developer of geomatics software for hydrographic and marine industries. Its products are selected number one by esteemed military agencies, survey companies, port and waterway authorities and academia among others. Professional Training, Consultancy and Technical Support services offered by CARIS differentiate them in the industry and this is reflected in the success and satisfaction of their customers. www.caris.com.

    4. Sirius Computer Solutions and Network Appliance Help Leading Mapping Company Chart New Storage Strategy: Pinnacle Mapping Technologies Addresses Client Requirements for Comprehensive Digital Records

      Indianapolis, Indiana — Mar 20, 2007 — Pinnacle Mapping Technologies, Inc. (PINNACLE), a company providing state-of-the-art digital aerial photography, cartography, and 3-D data for Geographic Information Systems (GIS), turned to Sirius Computer Solutions and Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) to develop a highly available solution that delivers on-demand storage capacity for their technology-rich, data-intensive business requirements. Sirius worked with PINNACLE and NetApp to accommodate demanding business growth and address explosive storage needs.

      "Our business seemed to grow overnight," said Brenda King, president of PINNACLE. "Our sales increased ten times over, significantly increasing data storage requirements. We had a bottleneck we had to unplug."

      When PINNACLE originally started, it relied on film-based cameras. With the widespread adaptation of high resolution, mapping-grade digital cameras, PINNACLE's project capacity and business volume took off, creating both opportunities and challenges. One key challenge was that PINNACLE's storage capabilities had not kept up with its business demands. Pinnacle searched for a new storage system and considered solutions from several vendors.

      "Our projects are customized to meet the long-term needs of the client," said King. "Sirius approached us in much the same way as we looked for a new storage system. Sirius considered the implications for the proposed solution looking at our requirements now as well as in five year to ten years."

      Using PINNACLE's current data points and future projections, Sirius designed a solution using the NetApp® FAS3020 storage system. The NetApp storage solution provides PINNACLE with the ability to rapidly provision storage, as well as clone, backup and recover data. In addition, the NetApp solution allows Pinnacle to scale their storage infrastructure to quickly and efficiently respond to changing business needs. Both NetApp and Sirius provided implementation support and training to help PINNACLE seamlessly transition to its new storage solution.

      "The hallmark simplicity built into NetApp solutions is very attractive to our organization," commented King. "Within the first few weeks, we estimated our network throughput has increased by approximately 30%. With our old storage solution, we once had four or five machines processing and our system slowed to a crawl. Now we have 20-30 processors working concurrently with no degradation in performance. It has allowed our employees to be more innovative without negatively affecting the project schedule."

      "A valuable NetApp partner, Sirius provides customers like PINNACLE with complete solutions for their data storage needs," said Leonard Iventosch, vice president of Channels at Network Appliance. "Combined with NetApp storage systems, PINNACLE can better protect their intellectual property and solve their data management challenges with a scalable, flexible, and available storage solution while lowering their IT management costs."

      "As a NetApp STAR Partner, Sirius is committed to providing customers with certified, experienced storage experts who help clients solve real business needs with leading products and best practices," said Chris Lusk, vice president of open systems and storage at Sirius. "We don't just 'sell' storage now - we build storage solutions that are often complex in design but designed for simplicity on the front end. That's our challenge - making the often complex world of storage hardware and software easy for customers to learn and manage."

      About Pinnacle Mapping Technologies: PINNACLE was formed in 2002 in Indianapolis, Indiana by Brenda King and Robert Armstrong to provide all aspects of photogrammetric mapping for a wide range of GIS applications. Focused on providing superior digital mapping products and services that serve as the foundation for our clients' geographic information systems, PINNACLE's staff has over 107 years combined experience in their fields of expertise. PINNACLE has invested in state-of-the-art technology (hardware and software) and follows a rigorous quality control process with a thorough review and documentation throughout all stages of projects. By providing day-to-day project management, quality assurances, and a single point of contact for each client, PINNACLE has the ability to provide superior mapping solutions to a wide range of industries. For more information, visit www.pinnaclemapping.com.

      About Sirius: Sirius is a national IT solutions provider, and IBM Premier Business Partner and NetApp STAR Partner, dedicated to helping customers implement Advanced Infrastructure Solutions that provide them with a competitive advantage and a positive return on investment. Backed by 26 years of IT experience, Sirius is nationally-recognized with a certified team of sales and technical professionals who have the skills, product knowledge, and commitment to help customers develop and implement the right solution to solve their business needs. For more information, visit Sirius Computer Solutions at www.siriuscom.com.

      About Network Appliance: Network Appliance is a world leader in unified storage solutions for today's data-intensive enterprise. Since its inception in 1992, Network Appliance has delivered technology, product, and partner firsts to simplify data management. Information about Network ApplianceT solutions and services is available at www.netapp.com.

    5. Skyhook Wireless Powers First Wi-Fi-Based Location Finder Plugin For AOL's AIM Users

      Wi-Fi Positioning System Enables AIM Users to Pinpoint and Share Their Location with Buddies

      BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 20, 2007 — Skyhook Wireless today announced that it is powering the next-generation location-based plugin for users of AOL's AIM service, the largest instant messaging community in the U.S. The Wi-Fi-based AIM Location plugin, available as a free download at www.aim.com, allows desktop AIM users to set and share their current or future location with AIM buddies using Skyhook's Wi-Fi Positioning System(TM) (WPS).

      The AIM Location plugin powered with Skyhook's WPS technology delivers rich location-based presence data to users of the popular AIM instant messaging service. AIM users can share their location at any given time, and also quickly see the locations of friends on their AIM Buddy List feature who are also using the AIM Location plugin. AIM users who download the AIM Location plugin will also find a new "Near Me" group on their Buddy List identifying those buddies who opt to share their location and who are within a set distance from the AIM user. Whether trying to connect in-person with peers at the campus library or trying to track down co-workers to address an urgent issue face-to-face, the Skyhook-enabled AIM Location plugin has the power to better facilitate meaningful face-to-face interactions.

      "Rich presence brings additional flexibility and creativity to user interactions. The Skyhook-enabled AIM Location plugin takes this even further by integrating the user's physical location, thereby giving greater and more meaningful context to how people communicate," said David Ferris, president and senior analyst, Ferris Research, a research firm focused on messaging and collaborative technologies. "This is the first 'tipping point' feature in the much-hyped area of social networking to deliver on the promise of connecting - and even re-connecting - people in our increasingly mobile and digital society."

      The AIM Location plugin is an intuitive, easy-to-use extension that provides AIM users and their buddies with a straightforward visualization of the locations of friends and colleagues on their AIM Buddy List. The "Get Location" feature, for example, clearly displays the location and distance of AIM buddies on an easy to read MapQuest map. In addition, users can customize their location, based on where they are or what they are doing for example, 'Work' or 'Library' - adding even more meaningful context beyond just location.

      "Adding location-based presence to AIM allows users to easily bridge the gap between the digital and the physical," said Jed Rice, vice president of market development for Skyhook Wireless. "Working with a leading innovator like AIM, we are helping to take instant messaging beyond a communications platform to enable richer and more meaningful face-to-face connections, interactions and exchanges."

      "By working with Skyhook on this next-generation AIM Location plugin, we are expanding the social networking capabilities available to our AIM users. At any given time, AIM users can now see where their buddies are, map their location and quickly find out how far they are from each other so they can meet in person," said Marcien Jenckes, senior vice president, messaging & social media, AOL. "This new Skyhook-enabled plugin will provide AIM users with a unique location-based experience."

      System Requirements: The enhanced AIM Location plugin requires that AIM users have the AIM 6.0 software, which is available as a free download at www.aim.com. AIM 6.0 requires Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000. To access the Skyhook WPS technology in the updated plugin, AIM users must opt in when downloading the plugin and access AIM from a Wi-Fi-enabled computer.

      About Skyhook Wireless: Founded in 2003, Skyhook Wireless has pioneered the development of the first-ever metro-area positioning system that leverages Wi-Fi rather than satellites or cell towers to deliver precise location data supporting the growing market for location-based services. The Skyhook Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) requires no new hardware, works indoors and outdoors, provides an instant location and is more accurate than current technologies in congested downtown areas. WPS is currently available in 70% of the US population and a majority of the Canadian Population. Skyhook Wireless is headquartered in Boston, MA and is privately held. Investors include Bain Capital and Intel Capital. For more information visit www.skyhookwireless.com, send email to [email protected] or call 617-314-9802.

      About the AIM Service: The AIM service (http://www.aim.com) is at the center of one of the largest and most dynamic online and mobile communities. It provides developers with an open and modular platform for development and access to millions of Americans at http://developer.aim.com. The AIM service is where users go to find their friends and manage their social lives through instant messaging, email and mobile texting as well as robust voice and video services.

    6. North West Finalizes Western Canadian LiDAR DEM Program

      March 21, 2007, Calgary, Alberta, Canada - North West Geomatics Ltd. today announced that it has completed all planning and logistic requirements for its previously announced western Canadian LiDAR acquisition program. The control work, being undertaken by Point Geomatics of Calgary, has commenced and the acquisition program will commence immediately once snow cover has left the region, expected to be April 1 in some areas.

      The entire program will result in the collection of approximately 700,000 square kilometers of high accuracy LiDAR data using the most advanced technology available in the industry. The new Leica ALS50-II system will be utilized for all data collection. This technology provides much higher data collection rates and efficiencies than previously realized with other, less capable systems. The areas of coverage include the balance of NE British Columbia not previously acquired by North West and the majority of the province of Alberta.

      Priority collection areas have been selected in conjunction with a number of oil and gas industry partners who have pre-subscribed to the program. These areas will be collected and delivered first and cover in excess of 500,000 square kilometers. Subject to weather, the complete acquisition of these regions is expected in 2007. The balance of the entire program will be completed in 2008 if necessary.

      In making this announcement, North West Vice President, Tim Crago stated "This program has been in the making for over 10 months and is the result of a specific industry need for a high accuracy, homogeneous digital elevation model for Alberta and NE British Columbia. Our past proprietary LiDAR acquisition campaigns have focused on large scale regional operations but it became clear the market demanded a much larger scale program that addressed the high accuracy and coverage requirements in a more complete manner. We are particularly pleased that our investment in this program has been recognized by a number of major exploration companies by their committed early participation in the program. We believe this confirms our conclusion that other less accurate technologies are not acceptable to the industry and that a full scale LiDAR approach is the only acceptable method."

      The DEM data and a number of derivative products will be housed and distributed through partnership with Valtus Imagery Services using Valtus' suite of web delivery products.

      About North West: North West Geomatics Ltd. is a leading aerial photography and remote sensing firm based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It owns and operates 6 aircraft, including a Lear 25 and 3 Cessna 441 Conquests and it conducts aerial photography and LiDAR operations throughout North and South America. In 2006 North West became a totally digital imagery acquisition shop employing the latest Leica ADS40-II digital sensor. It is one of the primary acquisition contractors to the US government and is the owner of the largest private ortho imagery data base in Canada. This imagery data base is Internet distributed through its Valtus Imagery Services subsidiary which serves up to 100,000 images per day. North West is an ISO9000 registered firm and employs over 50 staff.

      For information regarding this release, please contact Tim Crago ([email protected]) at (403) 461-2235 or (403) 295-0694 ext. 245.

    7. Networks In Motion's Location-Based Service Software Tools Now Available to Sprint Developers

      Agreement Provides Sprint Software Developers with Award-Winning Location-Based Service Platform from Networks In Motion

      Irvine, California, Feb. 12, 2007 — Networks In Motion (NIM), te award-winning wireless navigation and location-based services (LBS) company, today announced that its NAVBuilder Developer Program is available to Sprint independent software vendors through the Sprint Application Developer Program, which offers an array of developer resources that make it easy to create, test and deploy innovative wireless applications for Sprint's CDMA and iDEN networks.

      NIM's NAVBuilder Developer Program and related products provide software developers with a sophisticated platform for the integration of LBS into their applications. NIM's NAVBuilder platform

      provides a rich set of Java, BREW° and Web Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that enable developers to quickly and easily integrate NIM's core location, content and navigation capabilities into their applications and business processes.

      The NAVBuilder Developer Program includes a complete software development kit, support and ongoing services that speed development, lower cost, and provide the reliability carriers and customers demand. NAVBuilder is designed to operate on devices with BREW 2.1.3 or greater or J2ME MIDP 2.0. "We are proud to provide wireless developers with tools to quickly, easily and cost-effectively build LBS applications for the Sprint network," said Steve Andler, vice president of marketing for Networks In Motion. "Location awareness is a key driver motivating consumers to adopt new wireless applications for their GPS-enabled mobile phones. NAVBuilder helps developers cut their time to market and reduce design and development costs."

      For more information about the Sprint Application Developer Program visit http://developer.sprint.com/site/global/home/p_home.jsp. For more information about Networks In Motion, visit http://www.networksinmotion.com.

      About Networks In Motion: Networks In Motion° (NIM) is an award-winning wireless navigation and LBS Company, with products that are built on a foundation of strategic patents, scalable and extensible server network, advanced mapping technology and integration with emerging wireless and positioning technologies.

      Founded in 2000, the company is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. More information is available at http://www.networksinmotion.com.

    8. Canadian Differential GPS Service Secures Funding

      March 13, 2007. Canada's Differential GPS (CDGPS) correction service received a timely commitment from federal, provincial and territorial government sponsors to continue its nation-wide broadcasts improving GPS accuracy until at least 2010. CDGPS typically improves mobile GPS horizontal accuracy to about one metre at 95% confidence across the entire Canadian land mass and adjacent offshore as far north as 75 degrees. It is the only such service covering Canada from coast to coast to coast.

      Like weather reports from Environment Canada, time signals from Canada's National Research Council and GPS itself, this improvement to GPS accuracy generated by Natural Resources Canada is free — a public service of the sponsoring governments. CDGPS corrections are broadcast using communications satellites that were first conceived in Canadian government labs and subsequently developed and operated as a private satellite phone service by Mobile Satellite Ventures Canada. The free broadcast corrections can be accessed by GPS receivers that have been designed to receive and apply the CDGPS corrections. A developer's toolkit for OEM's is available at no charge to efficiently decode the openly-specified, CDGPS Air Protocol. For end users no additional equipment, licenses or subscription fees are required to access the correction service.

      This commitment to continue service is welcomed by NovAtel Inc., the Calgary-based GNSS manufacturer who recently announced their OEMV family of receiver engines including models that are CDGPS enabled. NovAtel is recognized as a leader in developing GNSS equipment that combines GPS and L-Band into a common receiver capable of accessing CDGPS signals to provide positioning results in the national spatial reference frame, NAD83. NovAtel CDGPS capable products are currently integrated in a number of commercially successful end-user systems marketed in industries including agriculture, GIS, survey, marine and unmanned systems.

      According to Farlin Halsey, VP Marketing for NovAtel, "We recognized the potential benefits of CDGPS correction services for our customers and integrated this service onboard specific models in our OEMV product series. Our CDGPS enabled products eliminate the need for additional hardware required in rover and base station systems, thereby reducing the physical size, cost and complexity of end-user systems."

      By extension, system integrators and manufacturers such as Beeline (AGCO), Kodiak, Nav Solutions, Raven and Sokkia offer CDGPS capable products through their use of NovAtel GNSS receivers.

      With the certainty of continued funding of CDGPS as a free public service for the next three years, the focus for Canada's GPS correction service will turn to marketing to supply chain intermediaries, and through them, ultimately to end-users. Imminent improvements to service area, accuracy, availability and continuity that were on hold until the funding was resolved are expected to resume this spring.

      For more information, visit http://www.cdgps.com/e/index.htm or contact [email protected]

    PRODUCTS & SERVICES

    1. WeatherBug Launches First GIS-Based Data Feed Incorporating Real Time Weather Information for Enterprise and Government Customers

      WeatherBug, the leading provider of live, local weather information, today announced immediate availability of a new service in its suite of professional products. WeatherBug's GIS Data Services enable enterprise and government customers to integrate live weather information from WeatherBug's Network of 8,000 WeatherBug Tracking Stations into existing GIS-based decision support systems. Integrating live weather data into GIS-based platforms helps centralize asset management, improves command center operations and enables critical decisions to be made quickly, efficiently and confidently.

      WeatherBug's GIS Data Services are currently available for integration through ESRI platforms, including ArcGIS and ArcIMS, the de facto standard in the GIS industry.

      Specific components of WeatherBug's GIS Data Services include:

      • Current Surface Weather Plots
      • Current Surface Weather Contours
      • Forecast Surface Weather
      • Radar and Satellite
      • Tropical Weather
      • Severe Weather Alerts

      GIS asset management systems are used by thousands of organizations and agencies worldwide to manage information that has geographical locations associated with it. Integrating real time, local weather data from WeatherBug is a key component for managing and solving a variety of issues such as planning transportation routes and labor schedules and dispatching utility crews when severe weather hits. For instance, the State of Colorado is currently implementing WeatherBug's GIS Data Services, delivered as an ESRI Web service, at its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located in Centennial, Colorado. They also plan to integrate WeatherBug's GIS Data Services into their Web based common operating picture viewer, based on the Palanterra technology used by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

      As a result, they will be able to monitor and track live weather conditions as they impact local communities across the entire state. WeatherBug's GIS Data Services will also enable them to pinpoint severe weather events at their exact location and display alerts on the electronic wall display at the EOC. Additionally, they will be able to provide the same common operational picture of weather related events and ensure local emergency response teams outside of the EOC and state agencies such as the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the National Guard and the Colorado Department of Transportation all have the information.

      "When it comes to planning and coordinating emergency response activities, weather can be a vital element to the overall picture. If the emergency is weather-related such as snowstorms or flooding, or is impacted by weather such as wildfires, or an airborne dispersion of any sort, knowing what the weather is in real time can be absolutely critical," said Jon Gottsegen, State GIS Coordinator for the State of Colorado. "WeatherBug's GIS Data Services will allow us to get the true picture of the situation on the ground. It gives us an opportunity to plan ahead and to efficiently communicate that information with multiple parties."

      WeatherBug GIS Data Services. WeatherBug's GIS Data Services offer a wide range of weather data, including observational and forecasting parameters, as well as enhanced tools to better analyze local weather risks. Live weather and other key operating information can be centralized and easily implemented into a customer's existing operating system. WeatherBug's GIS Data Services also leverage the company's real time location based alert notification service, WeatherBug Protect, for severe weather events such as heat index, lightning and wind speed.

      "WeatherBug's GIS Data Services are one more way for WeatherBug to offer a value-added service to our enterprise and government customers," said Christian Solomine, business development manager, WeatherBug. "WeatherBug manages an average of 20 thousand requests per second to our WeatherBug servers. No other company has ever taken this much content, updated it this frequently and served it up in a real time GIS environment."

      About WeatherBug: WeatherBug (http://www. weatherbug.com ) maintains the largest weather network in the world. The live, local weather conditions are delivered to millions of consumers via the Internet and mobile devices; to more than 100 state and local government agencies, including the National Weather Service; and to broadcast television stations, schools, and businesses. WeatherBug is a brand of AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc.

      For more information on WeatherBug Professional, please visit WeatherBug at the ESRI Worldwide Business Partners Conference, booth number 503, or go to http:// www.weatherbugprofessional.com.

    2. Delorme Unveils Versatile New GPS With Dual Bluetooth And USB Connectivity For Both Pdas And Laptop PCs

      Yarmouth, Maine, March 21, 2007 - DeLorme, the company that pioneered GPS for laptops and PDAs, has now introduced the Earthmate GPS BT-20, a uniquely versatile solution for deploying GPS navigation on either Bluetooth-enabled PDAs and touch-screen phones, and on USB laptop PCs.

      "The Earthmate GPS BT-20 provides the broadest spectrum of hardware-GPS compatibility on the market," said DeLorme Marketing Director Caleb Mason. "It supports both Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices, and laptop PCs with or without Bluetooth. Even if you have a Bluetooth-enabled laptop, there are still going to be times when you'd prefer a USB connection. The Earthmate GPS BT-20 gives you that flexibility."

      The Earthmate GPS BT-20 features cutting-edge GPS technologies from STMicroelectronics and DeLorme, with fast satellite acquisition times and superior performance when dealing with reflected GPS signals—a frequent occurrence in urban settings.

      The receiver comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that holds an 8-hour charge. A/C and 12-volt (lighter jack) chargers are included. The receiver can be used in-vehicle while charging, via either USB or Bluetooth connection.

      Comes With Premium Delorme Map Software: DeLorme Street Atlas USA PLUS DVD software is included with the Earthmate GPS BT-20, for high-end mapping, navigation, and data management capabilities. The PC-based software is approved for use with Microsoft Vista (as well as Windows 2000 and XP). It also includes a handheld device application at no extra charge.

      Street Atlas USA 2007 PLUS DVD software offers beautifully detailed, extensively updated street and road maps for both the U.S. and Canada. There are also more 4 million places of interest including restaurants, lodgings, fuel stops, attractions, exit services, businesses, and much more.

      The software's GPS capabilities include voice-guided navigation that calls out street names and exit numbers, spoken responses to questions or commands, back-on-track routing (in case of detours or unplanned side trips), and GPS Radar to locate upcoming places of interest (fuel, lodging, restaurants, businesses) while on the road. It also enables user-defined GPS settings.

      With the software's unique XData capability, an unlimited number of database listings can be imported from programs such as ACT!, Microsoft Excel, and others. The listings can be individually edited, and globally located by address. Once located, the program can generate automatic routes among the various stops for use with the Earthmate GPS BT-20 receiver.

      Street Atlas USA 2007 PLUS DVD also includes 120 million residential and business phone listings in the U.S. and Canada. Address locations for phone listings can be displayed, and easily incorporated into driving routes. Yellow Page keyword and SIC searching are also available for business listings.

      Links for photos, documents, and Web URLs can be inserted into the maps for high-impact presentations, and large-format printing is also enabled. Users can even download available aerial imagery to their laptops, PDAs, or phones. The imagery can be used for real-time GPS tracking, and is ideal for identifying landmarks, determining land use (e.g., residential, agricultural, or open space), and much more.

      The Earthmate GPS BT-20 is available wherever electronics and software are sold. It also can be ordered from DeLorme at www.delorme.com, or by phone at 800-561-5105. The suggested retail price is $149.95, with Street Atlas USA 2007 PLUS DVD software included in that price.

      About Delorme: DeLorme is the longtime leader in innovative mapping and GPS solutions for both consumer and professional markets. The company's trailblazing Street Atlas USA and Topo USA consumer software and Earthmate receivers have set the standards for GPS, routing, and travel planning capabilities. DeLorme XMap software is expanding the GIS market through its advanced capabilities, affordable pricing, and ease of use. Today, the innovation continues with the Earthmate GPS PN-20 handheld receiver, the Earthmate GPS BT-20, and the DeLorme GPS2056 Receiver Module for OEM electronic systems. Located in Yarmouth, Maine, DeLorme is home to Eartha(tm), the world's largest rotating globe.

    3. Pharos Delivers Windows Mobile Powered GPS Phone 600 Series to North American Market

      Award-winning,* new smartphone packs navigation, productivity and entertainment features into a sleek handheld device

      Torrance, California — March 21, 2007 — Pharos Science & Applications, Inc., a leading provider of location-based information and services, today launched the Pharos GPS Phone 600 and GPS Phone 600e to customers throughout the United States and Canada. Both GPS Phone 600 phones are available today at Newegg.com. The GPS Phone series will be available at Amazon.com, Costco.com, Dell, Datavision, Fry's, Mobile Planet, Office Depot/Tech Depot, and other retailers in late March.

      "With the GPS Phone 600, we set out to create the ultimate smartphone for busy mobile professionals," said James Oyang, Ph.D, President of Pharos Science & Applications. "By equipping the GPS Phone 600 with a cross section of navigation, productivity and entertainment features, we've built a hardworking smartphone that makes both your business and your travel more efficient, productive and fun."

      "Windows Mobile brings a familiar experience to a small screen, helping mobile professionals stay connected to important data wherever they are," said Chris Hill, group product manager of Mobile and Embedded Devices at Microsoft Corp. "We're pleased to work with Pharos to offer mobile professionals the power of Windows Mobile and expand the range of experiences people can have with a single device."

      GPS Phone 600 The GPS Phone 600 is a sleek new smartphone that combines advanced navigation, entertainment and mobile versions of Microsoft Office Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint in a single, portable device. With a two mega-pixel camera, FM radio, Windows Media Player Mobile and a large color touch-screen, the GPS Phone 600 is an ideal for personal entertainment in addition to conducting the regular business of e-mail, text messaging, and phone calls. The GPS Phone 600 provides comprehensive navigation in real-time via preloaded maps of the US and Canada, Pharos' Ostia navigation software, and a free trial subscription to Pharos' web-based Smart Navigator services. Manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) for the GPS Phone 600 is $699.95.

      GPS Phone 600e For customers who want a cutting edge smartphone that includes positioning capability, ample multimedia options and a complete mobile office that can seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Exchange Server, Pharos offers an enterprise version, the GPS Phone 600e. This smartphone includes the same powerful features of the GPS Phone 600 but without navigation software, maps, and car kit. MSRP for the GPS Phone 600e is $599.95.

      Product Specifications for the GPS Phone 600 and GPS Phone 600e: Windows Mobile 5.0 Microsoft Office Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint Mobile. Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz cellular modem; GPRS, EDGE. Bluetooth® version 2.0 class 2+EDR; and WiFi 802.11b/g. Tri-band FM radio and voice recorder. Unlocked SIM card slot easily accepts user's existing SIM card. Digital camera with 1200x1600 pixel resolution; GPS location stamping capability for future "navigation by image" function.

      Built-in microphone and speaker for hands-free operation; supports external stereo and Bluetooth headset. Bonus EZdial and Spb Mobile Shell for one-hand operations, world clock, and global weather forecast. Bonus Spb Full Screen Keyboard for text messaging. Sleek design L = 4.4 in./113 mm, W = 2.3 in./59.5 mm, H = 0.6 in./15.5 mm Lithium-Ion Polymer rechargeable battery: up to 5 hours talk time; 15 hours PDA use; 160 hours standby.

      On the GPS Phone 600 only: Pharos' award-winning Ostia navigation software. Pre-loaded maps of the US & Canada. Free three-month subscription to Pharos Smart Navigator Web-based location services. Free trial subscription to WorldMate Professional Edition travel services. Includes flight schedules, global weather forecasts, currency exchange rate service, world clocks, and many other useful features for frequent fliers and business travelers. Bonus Microsoft Streets & Trips for trip planning on PC.

      *The Consumer Electronics Association named Pharos' GPS Phone 600 an Honoree for the CES Innovations award for outstanding design and engineering in wireless communications. About Pharos Pharos Science & Applications, Inc. is a leading provider of GPS navigation solutions and location-based services for mobile devices. The company is a charter member of Microsoft's Partner Advisory Council, a Qualcomm BREW Developer, and a member of ITS America and CTIA. Pharos products are sold through a network of leading national retail locations and online stores. For more information, visit www.pharosgps.com.

  2. CONFERENCES & TRAINING

    1. GITA 2007—Despite Growth in Several Categories, GITA Working to Identify, Address Decline in Overall Annual Conference Attendance

      12 Weeks to Annual Conference Giveaways end with $250 Grand Prize Drawing

      Aurora, Colorado, March 21, 2007—The Geospatial Information & Technology Association's (GITA) Annual Conference 30, held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas, March 4-7, 2007, featured an expanded program that resulted in an increase of 14% in seminar registrations and a 10% increase in first-time attendees. A total of 1,520 attendees participated in this year's event (down from 1,855 in 2006). GITA realizes the decline and has already begun reinventing the 2008 Annual Conference to be more consistent with the changing geospatial industry. Of the overall decrease of 335 people, 202 were exhibitor booth personnel. While GITA certainly values the participation at the conference of its exhibitor personnel, this decrease is attributable to vendors bringing smaller sales contingents to the conference and a corresponding reduction in booth size on the part of some vendors. The increase in consolidations/acquisitions has also led to fewer vendor exhibits.

      A Plan for the Future: The actual number of conference attendees was 966, and did not include exhibitor booth personnel, guests, or other miscellaneous categories. This figure compares with 1,040 from 2006, a decrease of 74. These figures do include "VIP exhibit-only " guest passes. The decrease in this category accounted for 48 of these 74 people. GITA is mindful of these decreases and committed to expanding and improving efforts to provide exhibitors and conference attendees with the best, most beneficial event possible next year in Seattle—especially in light of plans to co-locate conferences and exhibit floors with the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.

      "The industry is changing, and GITA is absolutely devoted to taking on the challenge of addressing these changes on behalf of our members and constituents to accommodate all of the exciting shifts in geospatial technology," said Bob Samborski, GITA executive director. "We know we have work to do and we will be actively seeking the input of our exhibitors and conference attendees to help make this happen." To that end, GITA has initiated an extensive plan to revamp the 2008 event. Included in that plan is research to gauge exhibitor expectations, and a detailed survey of attendees' reactions to this year's educational content.

      GITA staff and members of the Board of Directors plan to meet with Seattle area GIS, utility, public sector, transportation, emergency response, co-op, health care, and other organizations, in May of 2007 to build a 'circle of champions' for developing a top-notch, relevant educational program, and spreading the word about the conference locally and regionally.

      Expanding and Diversifying Program Content: GITA's Annual Conference Committee will continue expanding program content and relevance. The increase from nine to 14 half-day seminars in San Antonio sparked a jump in seminar attendance, and the conference's educational program included 99 paper presentations—up from 71 in 2006. Attendees noticed the broad spectrum of topics covered by the sessions and the increase in Web applications content. MapQuest, Microsoft, and Yahoo! participated in sessions, seminars, and panels for the first time ever.

      Attendee feedback was highly positive. Jeffrey Poplin of Dewberry hadn't been to a GITA show in 10 years and said he was impressed with educational content. "I'm catching up on a lot of the latest technology with Google, the mashup technology, and enterprise architecture. It's been nice mix of sessions covering Web-based technology and enterprise and how that's all going to tie together in the future," Poplin said. "I went to a number of presentations this morning, and I thought they were very good—quite a broad spectrum of interests. Web and mobile were my two biggest interests, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the speakers," said Pat Drinnan, FortisAlberta.

      Tammy Nguyen, Natural Resources Canada, said, "GITA does a great job in picking top-notch speakers, and the different topics are really exciting this year—they're all really good." Four panel discussions addressed topics of growing interest to the geospatial industry as a whole: hot topics in the industry from the viewpoint of seven associations; interoperability; and the future of geospatial technology from the perspective of nontraditional Web services companies and traditional geospatial vendors.

      The conference's Opening Session featured a keynote from Howard Rheingold, the founding executive editor of HotWired, as well as opening remarks by GITA Executive Director Bob Samborski; Conference Chair Mary Ann Stewart of Mary Ann Stewart Engineering, LLC; and GITA President Brent Jones of ESRI. "The opening session was really great. I wish I'd either recorded it or taken notes on it—it was impressive," said "Paul" Laurence Greenlee of Delaware Electric Co-op.

      Celebrating GITA's New Web site: GITA launched a new Web site on Dec. 12, 2006—exactly 12 weeks before its Annual Conference 30—and created a giveaway promotion called "12 Weeks to Annual Conference." Each week GITA drew a winner of a $50 gift certificate to various companies. The grand prize winner, Mehrdod Mohseni, Enspiria Solutions, Inc., received $250. "I'm honored and very excited to win GITA's '12 Weeks to Annual Conference Giveaways' grand prize. I want to thank the Geospatial Information & Technology Association for the opportunity to participate in this giveaway and for their generous grand prize. Over the years, GITA has helped me to stay actively involved in the geospatial community, while keeping up with the ever-changing industry issues and trends," Mohseni said.

      High Quality Traffic on the Exhibit Floor: A total of 84 vendors showcased the latest in geospatial products and services on the exhibit floor. Representatives from first-time exhibiting company Automated Information Management said their time on the show floor went very well. "This is one of the best shows we've been to. We've only been here for four hours, and we've had so many people come by the booth that want our product—we could go home now. We'll be here next year," John Edgerton, Automated Information Management, said. "The show has just been fantastic. There's an unbelievable quality of customers," added Terry Edgerton. Karen Smith from long-time exhibiting company Infotech Enterprises America, Inc. said her experience at Annual Conference 30 was much better than previous conferences. "We've had the best, qualified prospects in several years," Smith said.

      Many exhibitors saw GITA's show as an opportunity to market new products and services to the geospatial industry. "The show is going very well. This is the first show for us introducing our GIS Web services offering to the utility as well as the GIS crowd—our first year doing GITA. We're very pleased with the response we've received," said Christian Solomine, Weatherbug Professional. Following the conclusion of GITA's Annual Conference, Oracle Spatial and Ten Sails Smallworld Consulting/Ubisense—conducted their own respective user conferences at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Thursday, March 8. Both reported strong attendance.

      Plans for Annual Conference 31: The Call for Papers deadline for GITA's Annual Conference 31 is July 6, 2007, and the conference is set for March 9-12, 2008, in Seattle, Washington. GITA plans to co-locate its conference with the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping's Annual Conference. More details will be available soon at gita.org/seattle.

      About GITA: The mission of the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) is to provide excellence in education, information exchange and applied research on the use and benefits of geospatial information and technology in business, utility and government applications worldwide. GITA's Annual Conference 30 will be held March 4-7, 2007, in San Antonio, Texas. Visit GITA on the Web at www.gita.org.

    2. URISA Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Award

      April 2, 2007 is the deadline for both the URISA Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Award and the first annual Student Paper Competition.

      1. Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Awards: Has your organization improved the delivery and quality of government services through the application of information technology? If so, that achievement should be recognized and shared with your peers. Nominate your organization for a prestigious URISA Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Award. Applications may be submitted in either category:

      A. Enterprise Systems: Systems in this category are outstanding and working examples of using information systems technology in a multi-department environment as part of an integrated process.

      B. Single Process Systems: Systems in this category are outstanding and working examples of applying information system technology to automate a specific SINGLE process or operation involving one department or sub-unit of an agency.

      2. First Annual Student Paper Competition: Calling All Students. Submit Your Work to the First Annual URISA Student Paper Competition. Are you an undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D. student? Are you interested in a career using geographic information systems, information technology, geospatial technology, planning or community development? If yes, your writing and research should be recognized and shared with your peers. Submit a paper to the first annual student paper competition. First Place (additional prize places are available) $500 cash. Free conference registration and recognition at the URISA 2007 Annual Conference, August 20-23, 2007 in Washington DC. Paper may be published in the URISA Journal. The URISA Student Paper Committee will review all papers and winners will be notified by June 2007.

      Scott Grams URISA Education Manager 1460 Renaissance Dr., Ste 305 Park Ridge, IL 60068 [email protected] [email protected] www.urisa.org 847-824-6300 F: 847-824-6363

      Mark Your Calendar - Geospatial Integration for Public Safety Conference - April 15-18, 2007, New Orleans GIS in Public Health Conference - May 20-23, 2007, New Orleans URISA's 45th Annual Conference - August 20-23, 2007, Washington, DC

    3. GIS Workshops Focus on Mapping and Analysis of Communities in Maryland, D.C., Virginia

      Portland, Oregon, 19 March 2007 — Mapping communities in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., will be the focus of three separate beginner-level workshops designed to teach the fundamentals of using GIS and Census data for community analysis. Presented by New Urban Research Inc. of Portland, Ore., the one-day workshops are designed for social service providers, academic researchers, urban planners and anyone who performs community demographic analysis for governmental or private organizations.

      Each workshop lasts one day and costs $399 per person. No previous GIS experience is necessary. Information and registration are available at www.urban-research.info. The workshop schedule is as follows:

      "Mapping Maryland Communities: Introduction to GIS & Community Analysis" will be offered in Baltimore on April 5 and 6, 2007.

      "Mapping Washington, D.C., Communities: Introduction to GIS & Community Analysis" will be offered in Washington, D.C., on April 5 and 6, 2007.

      "Mapping Virginia Communities: Introduction to GIS & Community Analysis" will be offered in Richmond, Va., on April 26 and 27.

      "Any organization that seeks federal funding to perform public health, economic or educational development is required to provide demographic analysis on populations within specific geographic areas," said Gina Clemmer, President of New Urban Research. "We teach students how to access Census data files online and then use the GIS to extract specific demographic information and map the results down to the neighborhood level."

      New Urban Research, a professional social research organization, customizes the GIS exercises and demonstrations in each class with geographic and mapping data relating to the state where the workshop is being held. During the class, participants will be shown how to download Census data relating to poverty, race, language, education and other variables for their communities and integrate these files with their own data sets for analysis in the GIS.

      Using ESRI ArcGIS 9.2 software, participants will leave the class with a thorough understanding of three core GIS applications:

      • Thematic Mapping — Learn how to easily create color-coded maps of their data that displays information trends.

      • Geocoding — Learn how to map the addresses of their projects, clients or incident areas.
      • Spatial Analysis — Learn how to extract and map subsets of variables from Census data. Workshop participants will also receive a free 30-day subscription to the Shapefile Warehouse, an archive of Census Bureau data in GIS-ready data files. For every county in the United States, New Urban Research has obtained the 20 most common geographies (Street Networks, Political Boundaries, Census Blocks/Tracts, Traffic, etc.) from 2005 Census TIGER files and converted them to ESRI shapefile formats ready to import into a GIS.

      Participants may also purchase ESRI ArcGIS 9.2 site licenses at reduced rates from New Urban Research following the workshop. Introducing more than 6,000 participants to GIS technology in the last year alone, New Urban Research receives high praise for its hands-on workshops. According to a Representative of the Women's Prison Association in New York City, "[The workshop provided a] very clear and comprehensive presentation on how to create analytically useful and aesthetical maps. I like the structure of the workshop, the relevance of the exercises and the additional materials and online resources."

      About New Urban Research Inc.: New Urban Research is a professional social research organization with an emphasis on geographic information systems (GIS). It specializes in offering one-day workshops for service providers, planners and researchers who want to analyze their communities with Census Data and GIS in the areas of health, poverty, housing, discrimination, and other advocacy work. Along with public workshops, New Urban Research offers customized workshops for agencies looking to train a large group of employees to map and analyze their own data. For more information, visit www.urban-research.info. Contact Gina Clemmer — 877-241-6576.

    4. Sixth Citation Program in Applied Geostatistics Now Accepting Students

      The 6th Citation Program in Applied Geostatistics will be held July 9-August 3, 2007 in Maptek's North American office located in Denver, Colorado. This accredited course involves theoretical and practical aspects, with the objective of providing knowledge in the theory and use of modern geostatistical tools, with emphasis in mining. The Geostatistics course combines academic knowledge with industry experience in a convenient four week format.

      Although held by Maptek, experience with VULCAN software is not required; this course is open to all individuals regardless of software background and is ideal for a wide range of mining professionals — from those running grade estimations to more experienced users that might need a deeper knowledge of theory and practice of geostatistics. Raul Roco, from Xstrata Chile, attended a previous course and comments, "The most modern methodological developments in applied mining geostatistics are now in my toolbox. To attend the classes is an intense and pleasurable learning experience.

      The course will be taught by Dr. Clayton Deutsch, Professor and director of the School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta and Eric Gonzalez, Regional Manager for Maptek Mexico and The Caribbean. Once the final project has been developed and approved, each student will be awarded a Citation in Applied Geostatistics from the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta, Canada. For more information or to register for the course, email [email protected] or visit www.maptekna.com. The registration deadline is June 1, 2007.

      6th Citation Program in Applied Geostatistics, July 9-August 3, 2007, Denver, Colorado. Registration Deadline: June 1, 2007

      To register, email [email protected]

      For more information, contact: Cherie LeDoux Phone: 303-763-4919 Fax: 303-763-4921 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.MaptekNA.com

  3. PEOPLE

    1. Maptek North America Restructures for Growth

      Maptek North America, located in Denver, Colorado, is growing rapidly in response to industry demand. A number of staff changes have occurred as a result.

      Robert Slade is now Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, tasked with building and maintaining a professional sales and marketing force to present all of Maptek's products and services. Robert has successfully led Maptek's product sales in this region for 10 years.

      Jon Larson has been promoted to Vice President and General Manager of Maptek, North America. A mining engineer, Jon is a long-serving member of the Maptek team and has, for the past few years, co-managed the technical services group in North America. Jon is now responsible for, and will oversee and develop, all facets of Maptek's business units in the USA and Canada, including strategic business planning for each of the business units.

      Todd Husak has commenced as Human Resources Director in Denver. Todd has an MBA in Human Resources, as well as extensive experience in employment conditions, benefits management, recruiting under challenging circumstances and employment law.

      Joseph Cao has joined the VULCAN Technical Services team as a Custom Application Specialist, to focus on paid lava scripting for clients and sales. Joseph has a degree in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics from Metropolitan State College of Denver, as well as qualifications in Psychology and Business Management.

      Cesar Carrasco has joined the VULCAN team as a Mining Engineer with a degree from the University of Utah. Cesar's work experience includes an internship in the Ore Control Department at Kennecott Utah Copper's Bingham Canyon Mine. He will provide training, consulting and technical support to clients.

      Thomas Chauncey has joined as an I-SiTE Service Technician. He will be responsible for creation and operation of the I-SiTE North America Service Center, performing annual maintenance and service of client scanners. Thomas has previously serviced electronic equipment.

      Bart Jordan will work as an Engineering intern while studying at the Colorado School of Mines until he graduates in May. Previously, Bart worked for the Chevron Center for Research Excellence, digitizing rock sections for integration into 3D models.

      Anthony Lowe has joined the VULCAN Technical Services group as a Mining Engineer. He comes to Maptek from Newmont, having worked at Lone Tree and Phoenix as a Short Range Planner and the Midas Mine as a Longhole Stope Ring Designer. He received his degree from the University of Utah.

      Nancy Paglione, who will receive her degree from the Metropolitan State University in May, has commenced as Accounting Assistant. She has a strong accounting and office management background.

      Garrett Whipp starts as a Mining Engineer while finishing his degree at the Colorado School of Mines. His experience includes an internship at an underground coal mine and working as a surveyor's assistant at an underground gold mine.

      John Zeise has joined VULCAN Technical Services as Geological Engineer. A graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, his experience includes highway and dam construction projects and industrial minerals exploration. In the Federal Government, John performed mineral exploration and evaluation on Indian lands. John will provide consulting, training and technical support. For further information, contact: Cherie LeDoux Phone: 303-763-4919 Fax: 303-763-4921 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.MaptekNA.com

  4. OTHER

    1. NAVTEQ Local Field Team Established To Accelerate Mapping Of Russian Federation

      NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, continues to expand its presence in the Russian Federation. Having opened its first Russian office back in the final quarter of 2006, NAVTEQ has now added a specially trained Russian team of geographic analysts. The move underlines NAVTEQ's commitment to the region and reinforces the localised mapping strategy employed throughout the company's mapping operations.

      "The new Moscow office is part of our overall strategy to be present locally wherever possible," explained Pavel Kozlov, Business development manager and General Manager NAVTEQ CIS. "Our experience shows that combining local knowledge and human expertise with our special data collection software and tools is the most efficient and effective way of accurately collecting map data and positioning the key attributes necessary for navigation."

      To provide accuracy, the company has over 600 geographic analysts strategically located around the world who drive the roads, verifying and updating information in the NAVTEQ database. The technology used is universal throughout the company resulting in data with one world-wide specification — very important to customers utilising the database around the world. An increasingly important advantage of the technology is its portability — it can easily be relocated and installed on the vehicles best suited to the local conditions.

      Developing any navigable digital map from scratch is always formidable and Russia is no exception in offering its own individual geographic and logistic challenges, not least of which include weather conditions and driving distances — the Federation is the largest country in the world, covering over 17 million square kilometres. Other examples include the raising and lowering times of St Petersburg's many bridges which are lifted each evening to allow night navigation on the rivers and canals. The inclusion of these bridges and times in the map data is imperative so navigation systems can route drivers accordingly at different times of the day. In Moscow the many small residential streets without names have to be represented in the database. Seasonal traditions can also play a role such as the practice in Moscow of moving vast quantities of snow to the side of the road which reduces the number of available lanes at certain times of the year.

      Current Russian Map Coverage. The NAVTEQ Russian map is available in Cyrillic, transliterated Russian (a representation of the official Russian Cyrillic alphabet in Latin characters — eg Sant-Peterburg) and Latin (e.g. Saint-Petersburg). It includes detailed coverage of the road networks of Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as major connector highways between the two cities and the neighbouring countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (via Kaliningrad) and Belarus and covers approximately 38,000 kilometres of road.

      There are over 5,000 POIs throughout Moscow and St. Petersburg in over 46 categories, including petrol stations, restaurants and commuter rail stations. Notable historic locations and tourist attractions are also identified on the map including the Kremlin, Lushniki Sports Complex, Moscow State University and all major railway stations. It also includes cartographic information for Moscow and St. Petersburg and two-dimensional building footprints for select landmarks in both cities. "With a permanent base in Moscow, we will be able to push forward with our plans for expansion across Russia," added Pavel Kozlov.

      Editorial contact: Sue Mather Stanhope Communications Tel: + 44 (0)1342 833313 Email: [email protected]

      About NAVTEQ: NAVTEQ is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. NAVTEQ creates the digital maps and map content that power navigation and location-based services solutions around the world. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 2,200 employees located in 144 offices in 27 countries.

    2. ScanEx R&D Center Demonstrated Real-Time Imagery Technique at GeoForm + 2007

      Mobile station for spatial data reception and processing of Earth images, delivered from space demonstrated its performance at the International Industrial Forum that took place on March 13-16, 2007 in the "Sokolniki" exhibition center, Moscow. The mobile complex, complete with the antenna system and a mobile lab for data reception and processing was deployed at the entrance to the Pavilion #17 exhibition.

      The complex was created based on the UniScan ground station technology, enabling to receive the images from 12 satellites of the world leading RS operators: Terra, Aqua (USA), SPOT-2/4 (France), IRS-1C/D/P5/P6 (India), RADARSAT-1 (Canada), ENVISAT-1 (Europe), EROS-A/B (Israel). UniScan technology urged the establishment of 26 departmental, educational and regional centers of Earth space monitoring in Russia and 7 off abroad.

      The real-time Terra/Aqua, SPOT-2/4 and IRS-1C/D data reception technique will be demonstrated using this mobile complex. The visitors will be able to see with their own eyes how the images of Russian territory are received and processed in real-time.

      We would like to invite all the interested persons to take part in the forum and to get acquainted with our mobile space data receiving station.

    3. LandNet Corp. Receives Second Patent for Online Mapping and Real Estate Archiving Tools

      Loveland, Colorado, 19 March 2007 — LandNet Corporation, a leading provider of Internet mapping solutions, has been issued a patent for its online PropertyArchive tool. On January 30, 2007, the U.S. Patent Office awarded patent 7,171,389 with 26 claims to the Property Archive tool entitled "identification, storage, and display of land data on a Web site." This patent dates back to June 1, 2001, when internet mapping was at its infancy.

      "Unlike the 'static' aerial photos that are seen on sites such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, Property Archives turns each ordinary map or aerial photo into a dynamic password-secure, site-specific personalized website allowing user interaction to upload photographs, e-documents, and important web links," said Craig Harrison, CEO LandNet. This patent issuance follows the May 30th, 2006 announcement when LandNet was issued its first patent 7,054,741 with 49 patent claims which relate to a multitude of online mapping and searching tools that are described as the "Land Software Tool."

      These tools enabled LandVoyage to be one of the first online mapping site in the highly competitive market that now includes Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, and DigitalGlobe's GlobeXplorer. With the second patent recently issued, LandNet Corporation is currently exploring the opportunity to sell the internet mapping platform along with its existing and five pending patents. The company is also interested in joint venture opportunities such as a strategic merger or technology/patent licensing. Interested parties should contact Craig Harrison, CEO at 970-612-4100 or [email protected].

      The Property Archive System: Property Archive was developed as an extension to the www.LandVoyage.com mapping solution. LandVoyage has successfully served over 50 million maps over the past six years. Property Archive simplifies real estate transactions and management by archiving critical data relating to individual pieces of property.

      Available at www.PropertyArchive.com, the unique property website aids marketing efforts, speeds due diligence and encourages centralized management of real estate information. "Real Estate has clearly emerged as the primary commercial application in the red hot online mapping market," said Harrison. "The recent merger of Stewart Title's GlobeXplorer site with DigitalGlobe underscores the value of property mapping in the market for online geospatial data."

      PropertyArchive uses the LandVoyage mapping solution to enable individuals with no online technical expertise to create a site-specific website in minutes to serve as the central archive for all maps, real estate documents and transaction information for any property in the United States. The tool offers both automated and customizable functionality in building websites. Once the boundary of a particular piece of real estate has been identified using LandVoyage mapping tools, the PropertyArchive platform automatically populates the created website with maps, imagery, web links, property details and local weather reports based on the geographic location of the property.

      The site-specific documents and information stored on the website can be customized to include buy-sell contracts, photographs, and host of other uploaded "e-documents," such as deeds, appraisals, financials, tax records, proof of insurance, inspections, surveys, etc. According to LandNet's Harrison, "A personalized PropertyArchive website essentially offers a 'digital fingerprint' for any real estate parcel, of any size, and in any location in the United States in under five minutes."

      Once stored, these "e-documents," plus any maps, photographs, and other information placed in the unique Property Archive can be made available to the general public, kept secure with password-protected access, and sent by email to third parties. Moreover, this living archive can be passed from one property owner to the next and can be structured to encompass the entire real estate life cycle of one, or an unlimited number of, specific real estate parcels. This aspect of the PropertyArchive platform makes it particularly valuable to real estate, oil and gas, timber and engineering users, and can be shared with brokers, title companies, mortgage brokers, and natural resource developers.

      Other potential users include real estate owners and investors, banks and other lenders, and potential equity investors, such as large insurance companies and REIT's. Because all of the information stored on a PropertyArchive website can be shared easily with third parties, real estate marketing, sales, acquisition, transfer, and development processes can be conducted more quickly, in a more streamlined manner, and, most importantly, in a "virtual" environment — from the user's computer screen. This makes any geographical distances between the parties involved irrelevant.

      The patented LandVoyage map drawing and measuring tools, advanced location search options, and extensive access to imagery and map data make the PropertyArchive platform possible. A LandVoyage user can quickly and easily create an information archive for any property in the U.S. by simply locating the parcel on a map, drawing a boundary around it, and then creating a unique website for it with a click of a mouse. The PropertyArchive platform saves time for all parties involved in real estate transactions. There is 24/7 access to the information online. Important real estate and transactional information is stored in one central location with capabilities for shared access. Users can view, print, and share property information with the document retrieval and delivery system without having to leave their computers.

      About LandNet Corporation: LandNet Corporation, located in Loveland, Colorado, is a leading provider of Internet mapping solutions. In "LandVoyage," the company has developed an unparalleled mapping system with aerial photos, USGS topographic maps, satellite images, aeronautical charts, and more of any location in the United States. LandVoyage.com offers an online subscription service that includes access to the entire mapping library, as well as patented drawing/measuring tools and advanced search methods. LandVoyage can leverage its unsurpassed expertise to offer superior custom consulting and enterprise solutions, as well. LandVoyage was developed by LandNet Corporation beginning in 1999 and has served more than five million users over the Internet to date.

    4. Predicting Coastal Vulnerability

      Narragansett, Rhode Island — A newly improved geographic information systems (GIS) technology, in development by the Rhode Island company Applied Science Associates, allows planners to better allocate resources and to publicize the risk to vulnerable areas while allowing the public to be proactive in preparing for flooding.

      Global mean sea level has been rising at an average rate of 1 to 2 mm/year over the past 100 years, a rate significantly larger than that averaged over the last several thousand years and severe weather patterns and tropical storm intensities are predicted to increase in conjunction with global climate change. Exacerbated by recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, many organizations, businesses and media outlets are asking the question of what our coastlines and low-lying cities might look like when impacted by storms and rising sea levels.

      Applied Science Associates (ASA) has become increasingly involved in mapping the impacts of storm surge flooding. The effort began in Boston, where the National Environmental Trust (NET) commissioned ASA to map the effects of a 100-year storm surge plus 100 years of sea level rise along the downtown coast. These images were used in a recently released EPA report, "Climate's Long Term Impacts on Metro Boston". ASA then mapped the effects of a Category II hurricane storm surge plus 100-years of sea level rise for Miami, Washington DC, and Manhattan. These images were released by NET in conjunction with the first Conference of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol in December 2005.

      The mapping and visualization of the impacts of coastal storms is extremely effective for communicating the vulnerability and risk associated with many coastal areas. Of the 10 costliest hurricanes over the last 50 years, 8 have occurred in the last 5 years. By mapping the flood zones of real storms, not just the 100-year FEMA design storm, property owners and officials alike can easily visualize the risks associated with actual events and determine how to reduce vulnerability. To make these tools more available to users and the public, ASA is conceptualizing an inundation module within the COASTMAP framework.

      The COASTMAP Inundation Module is planned as a Web-based system that connects to various storm surge models using the COASTMAP Environmental Data Server (EDS). The EDS imports real-time weather, oceanographic and other environmental data and will run inundation models to generate maps of areas at risk from predicted storm surges. These maps can easily be distributed to the public via a variety of websites, and also automatically emailed to interested parties, including local planners, emergency workers, and television networks. These maps would allow planners to better allocate resources and to publicize the risk to vulnerable areas while allowing the public to be proactive in preparing for flooding.

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