Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
the Internet is the primary source of information
from federal and state agencies.
A limitation in creating richer applications is
the lack of bandwidth for Internet access.
Bandwidth is the rate at which information can
be transferred on a given transmission path
(Miller et al ., 2004). As internet-based applica-
tions become larger and provide more features,
the need for high-speed Internet access will
increase, especially for server 'thick client' appli-
cations. While high-speed access is increasing,
applications should target users with broadband.
Thus, challenges exist for increasing application
functionality while keeping applications availa-
ble to the majority of Internet users.
Security is always a concern in Internet envi-
ronments, and reports of security breaches are
frequently documented (Grandison & Sloman,
2000; Palmer & Helen, 2001). If Internet-based
applications are going to be integrated into the
decision-making process, precautions need to
taken to assure application security. Secure appli-
cations can lead to users trusting the design and
architecture of the application; conversely, users
are unwilling to expose themselves to unneces-
sary risks. With land managers storing data in
central data warehouses used in Internet applica-
tions, data ownership questions arise. For exam-
ple, does the data placed in a government data
warehouse by a watershed group composed of pri-
vate citizens belong to the private citizen, or
become public property? These issues can be
argued and must be recognized when using infor-
mation technology in soil conservation.
training companies (see the Erosion Control
Magazine, Erosion Control Technology Council
for potential vendors), and there is even an ero-
sion control information clearinghouse site
with an Erosion BLOG (Erosion Control Forum).
There are numerous websites supported by fed-
eral and local government agencies or non-profit
organizations that provide information on ero-
sion control practices (e.g. US EPA - Polluted
Runoff, Natural Resource Conservation Service;
California Department of Transportation;
Tennessee Department of Environmental &
Conservation; Center for Watershed Protection).
Most of the traditional erosion models
(standalone versions), and supporting infor-
mation (e.g. documentation), are available for
download from websites. Examples of models or
modelling support tools used in erosion and water
quality assessment currently available from
websites include the Universal Soil Loss Equa-
tion (USLE), Revised USLE (RUSLE; Ouyang &
Bartholic, 2001), Water Erosion Prediction Project
model (WEPP; Flanagan et al ., 2001), Geo-spatial
interface for WEPP (GeoWEPP; Renschler, 2003;
Renschler et al ., 2002), Wind Erosion Predic-
tion System (WEPS; Hagen, 1991; Wagner,
2001), European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM;
Morgan et al ., 1998), Soil and Water Assessment
Tool (SWAT; Arnold & Fohrer, 2005), Automated
Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool (AGWA;
Miller et al ., 2007), and US EPA's Better Assess-
ment Science Integrating Point and Non-point
Sources (BASINS) water quality tools and models
portal (EPA, 1998; Di Luzio et al ., 2009). Several
of the websites also provide support data for the
different models or links to access data from
other websites. Most websites also provide tuto-
rials on using the tools and lists of available
publications.
Most of our commonly needed datasets can
now be found from source agency websites,
including terrain (US Geological Survey), soils
(Natural Resource Conservation Service) and land
use/land cover (US Geological Survey). There are
also data portals available where users can find
different sources of geospatial data (e.g. NRCS
Geospatial Data Gateway; GIS Data Depot).
17.5
Examples of Internet Applications
17.5.1
Data, information and model sharing
The common Internet-based applications being
used today support the distribution of data, infor-
mation and software. Websites (see Table 17.1)
have been developed for professional societies
(e.g. European Society for Soil Conservation;
International Erosion Control Association; Soil
and Water Conservation Society), individual sites
for erosion control equipment, installation and
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