Case Study: Geologic Database
Observera was awarded a contract under a 2003 Innovations in Geospatial Intelligence BAA program to develop a Prototype Geologic Database for use within the US DoD and Intelligence Community. This shared geologic layer was designed to enhance the ability of analysts to perform hard target analysis, detect and characterize underground facilities, and improve other applications such as infrastructure analysis, site selections, water supply analysis, soils analysis, trafficability studies, broad area searches, road construction analysis, and natural resources assessments.
The geologic data model follows the North American Data Model Concept 1 (NADM C-1), which was developed as a result of a congressional mandate known as the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 that called for a national database of geologic data and information. The architecture of the Prototype Geologic Database (its schema, vocabulary, etc.) is based on a subset of this internationally recognized and utilized concept standard. Other industry and government standards implemented include Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) compliant metadata and Open GIS Consortium (OGC) compliant methods for data transfer and distribution. Web-based access and analysis tools for the Prototype Geologic Database were made available through the ESRI ArcIMS application.