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Framework Data: Giving Canada's geography an online personality
Framework data is the bedrock of the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) being built through GeoConnections' partnerships. The Framework Data program has defined framework data for Canada and will develop such data through the integration of geospatial information from federal, provincial and territorial databases. The goal is to make this information accessible to Canadians at school, work and home through the Internet.
Categorized into seven layers of geospatial information, framework data serves as the foundation for users to integrate and analyze information to gain insight into an issue.
Canadian Spatial Reference System
Imagine having no measurement systems. How would you describe your height, the speed limit, or the amount of sugar to put in a recipe?
To avoid similar confusion with geospatial information, scientists developed and adopted a standard measurement system called the "Geodetic Reference System," which ensures the framework data layers can be accurately compared and integrated. In Canada, this system is called the "Canadian Spatial Reference System" (CSRS).
Imagery
If you've ever peered out of an airplane window on take-off or landing, you'll know that on a clear day, your vantage point offers a unique perspective. From a distance, you can see patterns and relationships impossible to detect from the ground.
Framework data employs images from satellites to gain a similarly revealing view of Canada. Equipped with advanced image sensors, these satellites circle overhead and take pictures of the country's geography. The resulting images allow us to accurately see how Canada's landscape appears and how it has changed over the years-a vital perspective for environmental research. As well, utility and construction firms and resource-based companies can use these images to plan for development-matching infrastructure requirements to population growth.
CGDI Data Alignment Layer
Figuratively, we can look at our world from various angles. Someone might collect data on administrative boundaries, such as where a city's limits start and stop; someone else might have data on lakes, rivers and roads; and yet another person might gather data on the spread of a tree-eating insect.
The CGDI Data Alignment Layer (CDAL) enables these people to match their data using common reference points. The CDAL is a set of points across Canada that mostly represent intersections or landmarks visible from the air (e.g., the intersection of a bridge with a stream or that of a road with a railway).
By enabling different types of information to share a common set of known coordinates, the CDAL gives scientists and organizations the ability to fit their data with that of other organizations. The CDAL Web site (http://cdal.cgdi.gc.ca) describes the points and how to extract them.
Road network
Knowing about our roads-what condition they're in, whether they're paved, how many lanes they comprise, and so on-can improve safety and transportation efficiency.
Knowing where we are on those roads can be just as useful. For example, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) provide drivers with their exact location and portray this information on in-vehicle screens-an excellent tool for navigating in unfamiliar cities. GPS can also help transportation companies dispatch their fleets more efficiently. For example, their trucks can be directed to pick up loads on return trips instead of coming back empty.
Hypsography-The third dimension
Two-dimensional maps offer no intuitive way to differentiate valleys from hills or mountains. If you were to see this terrain in the third dimension, however, you'd gain an immediate appreciation for its depth and scale.
Hypsography is a way to present the third dimension. It portrays geography as it is, revealing what the Earth's surface looks like. Telecommunications companies who need line-of-sight clearance for communications towers and scientists who need to understand slopes are among the prime users of third-dimensional data.
Hydrography
We have all, at some point, consulted a map to identify or locate a river or lake. Imagine combining this hydrographic information with that of another layer. The addition of road network information, for instance, would enable transportation planners to determine the best location for a new bridge. And third-dimensional data would allow you to tell in which direction a given river flows-invaluable for planning your next canoe trip. There are countless other potential combinations and benefits.
Administrative boundaries
Integrating administrative-boundary information (e.g., municipal limits, legal surveys and national parks) with data from the other layers can make finding and using geospatial information easier. For instance, companies could integrate marketing information with administrative-boundary information to more efficiently target a certain demographic. And people querying databases for information about cities and towns would have access to a host of valuable geospatial data.
The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts
By tying together diverse geospatial databases, framework data offers Canadians, through the Internet, a more complete, revealing and accurate picture of their environment. It also enables federal, provincial and territorial departments to operate more efficiently by avoiding duplication and by sharing geospatial information.
For more information:
Natural Resources Canada
Mapping Services Branch
615 Booth Street, Room 750
Ottawa ON K1A 0E9
CANADA
Tel. (613) 947-4244
E-mail:
info@geoconnections.org