Geographical Information System database of the availability of historical data in the nearshore zone of the Gulf of Alaska

We have compiled a metadata base that includes >13,000 entries representing one or more nearshore resources (from physical attributes such as water and air, to birds and mammals). Each entry is viewable in three formats, 1) a geospatial explicit format (ArcView 3.3), 2) a spreadsheet format (Excel 2002 and within ArcView, and 3) A Procite database of references included in 1 and 2 above. The metadata base includes more than 1,100 independent references dating from 1896 to 2003 that are sorted into one or more of 15 ArcView themes, with associated areas of inference that can be sorted and displayed through any one of up to 24 fields that include location, author, metric, year, taxa, and method. The hierarchical GIS data base contains the following layers: 1) A base map of the GOA, 2) 15 files (ArcView themes) with resource specific references (e.g. algae, invertebrates, fishes, seabirds, and sea otters), and 3) buffer files for each resource that provides spatial reference to the area of inference for each reference. Attribute data (location, taxa, metrics, methods...) for each reference are accessible through the ArcView tables and the Excel spreadsheet. All references included in the metadata base, plus references such as review articles without geo-spatial reference can also be accessed through a Procite database. The metadata set and the ArcView themes will aid the EVOS Trustee Council members with their decision-making regarding the long-term monitoring and restoration plans for nearshore environments in the Gulf of Alaska. The metadata base and the ArcView themes will allow informed decisions regarding selection of species, methods, and locations for inclusion into the nearshore component of the EVOS GEM program. This component of Project 03687 provides documentation of the process and method used to create the metadata base, and provides instruction for accessing and using the databases.

Publications: Bodkin, J. L., and T. Dean. 2003. Alternative Sampling Designs for Nearshore Monitoring (Gulf Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Project G-030687), US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska.