Marine Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI)

Ian Williamson, Abbas Rajabifard, Lisa Strain & Sheelan Vaez

The ability for data custodians and data users to have ready access to data which is reliable, complete and current is already becoming available within the terrestrial environment through the development of Spatial Data Infrastructures. Within the marine environment however, this is far from reality. Recently, ANZLIC – Australia’s spatial information council, recommended that the Australian SDI concept be extended to cover the marine environment. This has also occurred in several other nations including Ireland and the USA. The intention of this area of research is to analyse the components of current SDI models and attempt to extend, modify and test these principles in an offshore environment. The ultimate aim is to design an SDI model that seamlessly covers both land and sea, creating an enabling platform for the use and spatial information and services.