A Customization of the Arc Marine Data Model to Support Whale Tracking via Satellite Telemetry

摘要

The Arc Marine data model is a generalized template to guide the implementation ofgeographic information systems (GIS) projects in the marine environment. It devel-oped out of a collaborative process involving research and industry shareholders incoastal and marine research. This template models and attempts to standardizecommon ocean and coastal data types to facilitate data sharing and analytical tooldevelopment. In this study, Arc Marine is extended from its core model to fit theresearch goals of the whale satellite-telemetry-tagging program of the Oregon StateUniversity Marine Mammal Institute (MMI). The study sought the best customiza-tion of the generic Arc Marine data model to enhance the key advantages of satellitetelemetry for mapping the distribution and movement of endangered marinemammal species. It was found that three new groups of object classes were needed(Animal, Telemetry, and Operations). Further customization involved the develop-ment of a comprehensive framework for animal tracking with Argos satellite telem-etry data. A new multidimensional data cube model was also devised, showing howthis extension of Arc Marine serves as an appropriate target schema for the appli-cation of on-line analytical processing (OLAP) tools and spatial data mining ofsatellite telemetry tracking data sets.