Legacy product - no abstract available

Geoscience Australia (GA) produces geoscientific and geospatial data for the benefit of the Australian government and community, to inform public policy, to promote development of Australia's economy, to assist environmental management and to help manage and mitigate natural hazards. Users of GA's data want to know that data are produced to known standards using open and accountable processes and come from a unique and reliable source. Single Point of Truth (SPOT) is Geoscience Australia's standard for processes that produce data. The SPOT methodology describes a consistent approach to transforming an existing data theme into a SPOT. The same methodology can be used for developing a SPOT for a new data theme.

Legacy product - no abstract available

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands Geographic Information System (CocosGIS) is a collection of spatial data, viewing and analysis tools dealing with the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The data include orthophotography, topographic, cultural and environmental features both of the islands and the ocean immediately surrounding them.

The love affair geoscientists have had with their PCs leads many to think that a do-it-yourself approach can carry us into the dotcom era. However, the secret to the success of major online businesses is their mastery of the `backend' the logical, physical and human infrastructure that forms the foundation to their web sites. These businesses know that their customers are best served by focusing on the hard bit, the backend. Attractive web pages get customers in, but what keeps them returning is the quality, quantity and timeliness of the content behind the web site. Most successful dotcom companies have restructured, or built from the ground up, to provide the best possible backends. Geological surveys must do likewise to survive.

GSA Abstracts

This was the fifth in the series of successful Forums on geoscience information management that have been held in Canberra since 1993. With the growing use of the Internet for access and delivery of data and services, it was timely to address issues relating to the provision of geoscience online. 2001 will see the implementation of the Federal Government's online policy. AGSO along with state geological agencies will present their online data delivery initiatives. The Forum included a range of speakers dealing with the online delivery of spatial geoscience data, from geoscience-related vendors through to the latest developers in web technology. The geoscience sector is on the cusp of taking full advantage of the potential of online delivery. Over the past 5 years most government agencies have been improving their data management practices and cleaning up their datasets, leading to a situation where the "backend" is in good shape. Some have begun to implement online delivery and eCommerce systems (GIS, image processing and database access) but uptake is uneven across the sector and such systems generally only deliver the lower volume, less commercially sensitive datasets. In the private sector we have begun to see the emergence of commercial data management consultants who are providing web based access to their clients, and, within the larger companies, some sophisticated intrAnet solutions have been put in place. A small number of players are looking at providing online value-added services for clients like share market investors (mining/petroleum shares). This Forum provided the opportunity to find out the latest trends and developments in the exciting and growing area of internet and web technologies for the delivery of online information.

Digital technology and the Internet have contributed to the information explosion and in part the widespread increase in the use of spatial information. In this regard community needs for geoscientific information has extended beyond the traditional area of mineral and petroleum exploration. Geoscience is now recognised by society as having a part to play in the achievement of social wellbeing and environmental outcomes. This paper examines whether the geoscience data providers are playing their part in the data explosion. It looks at how geoscience can be applied to real world problems and questions whether the data providers are up to the mark in satisfying the immediate expectations of users as well as initiating new areas of application. The discussion incorporates issues of price, accessibility, formats and data assemblage in relation to a hierarchy of need for decision making.

No abstract available

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands Geographic Information System (CocosGIS) is a collection of spatial data, viewing and analysis tools dealing with the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The data include orthophotography, topographic, cultural and environmental features both of the islands and the ocean immediately surrounding them. Compilation of data and its organisation into a GIS together with documentation was undertaken by the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) at the request of the Territories Office, Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTRS). The data are presented in both ESRI ArcView and ArcExplorer projects. The ArcView projects require a licensed copy of ArcView. ArcExplorer is a free viewer and is distributed with the Cocos GIS CD-ROM. Data are stored as ESRI shapefiles and therefore readily useable with most modern GIS applications. Data were received from a variety of custodians and in many cases had no accompanying documentation. Lack of documentation made it increasingly difficult for AGSO with interpretation, translation and documentation of data. AGSO has attempted to include metadata for all datasets to ANZLIC core metadata standards, but the value of this is limited by the poor initial documentation. In addition to limited documentation, many datasets had inconsistent spatial accuracy. The CocosGIS comprises four main CD-ROMs with additional CD-ROMs containing full-colour orthophotography. A hard-copy user guide is distributed with the main CD-ROM set.