Earth Data Analysis Center

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With support from the ESIP Federation EDAC developed a basic conversion capability that allows for the automated generation of KML (viewable in Google Earth and other KML clients) from the service metadata for an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Map Service (WMS) that provides access to the map layers advertised by that service. This conversion service requires only a link that points to the service metadata advertised by a WMS (a WMS GetCapabilities request), with the information extracted from the metadata providing the information needed to generate a KML file that makes use of the service. This capability streamlines the delivery of any WMS into clients that implement support for the KML standard. 

This service was demonstrated at the Winter ESIP Federation Meeting as part of their poster session. The presented poster may be downloaded from here. The service may be accessed from here. The conversion is based upon standard XML processing tools, and makes use of an XSL stylesheet to define the mapping from the WMS service metadata into corresponding KML elements. The XSL stylesheet is also available for download from here. This stylesheet is shared under the GPLv3 Open Source license and can provide the foundation for a similar service that is customized to meet the specific needs of other applications. 

EDAC, using digital aerial imagery, produced housing unit counts in ten of the most historically undercounted counties in New Mexico.  EDAC, in collaboration with UNM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) and under contract to the NM Department of Finance and Administration, addressed the population undercount in the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Program used to update and improve the U. S. Bureau of Census Master Address File.  EDAC used digital aerial imagery in the interpretation and counts of housing structures within 3,500 Census blocks.  These blocks were selected to provide the greatest impact upon areas that are historically the most undercounted due, in large part, to the poor addressing found in these regions.  Overall, the program provided an additional 131,283 housing units not previously identified by the Census Bureau of enumeration.  New Mexico may benefit by as much as $11 million per year in increased federal funding once these additions are accepted by the Census Bureau.

On behalf of the University, EDAC applied for and received a Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant.  The grant provides funds for pre-disaster mitigation planning and projects. The mitigation plan is a demonstration of the commitment to reduce risks from natural hazards and serves as a guide for decision makers as they commit resources.

EDAC, in cooperation with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), continues the partnership among state and Federal agencies, local communities, tribal entities, and professional associations to assess, inventory, acquire, and distribute data supporting coordination, planning, and development of floodplain mapping, as stated in New Mexico’s Map Modernization Management Support (MMMS) business plan.  EDAC provides the State with an ongoing coordinated floodplain mapping program.  In light of the Flood Map Modernization Mid-Course Adjustment greater focus has been placed on compliance with FEMA’s 2005 Floodplain Boundary Standard, which includes providing access to the most current and accurate digital data layers. The digital data will be accessible to engineers, local communities, and citizens of New Mexico thus providing officials information required for accurate assessment of risk-based mapping priorities.  These mapping activities are now in their final stages as the Map Modernization Program winds down.

In 2008 the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) completed the second year of a five-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cooperative agreement to develop an Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) program. The CDC program’s purpose is to provide state health departments with resources to implement statewide networks that integrate data sets, tools, and standards to allow the state EPHT network to be an interoperable component of the National EPHT Network. The National EPHT program addresses the Environmental Health and Public Health Infrastructure focus area of “Healthy People 2010.” Outcomes of the program will align with the National Center for Environmental Health goals: Prevent or reduce illnesses, injury and death related to environmental risk factors; and increase the understanding of the relationship between environmental exposures and health effects. The NM EPHT Network, in support of the National EPHT Network, is used to identify potential relationships between exposure and health conditions that either require intervention to prevent disease, disability, and injury or indicate the need for investigation.

EDAC continues to develop and has implemented the Web-based New Mexico EPHT System, a key component of the state and national networks. This interactive application provides researchers, public health authorities, healthcare practitioners, policy makers, and the public with tools to understand the possible associations between environmental hazards and adverse health effects. These tools allow data discovery, download, visualization – especially mapping, and analysis. EDAC has also designed and created the New Mexico EPHT Project Web site. The Project site is publicly accessible and provides information on environmental exposures and health effects through narratives and data displays (tables, maps, charts, and graphs). These two Web sites, the EPHT System and EPHT Project sites, complement each other through interactive and static approaches to learning about environmental public health in New Mexico. EDAC further supports the EPHT program through national and state demonstrations and presentations for the Web sites and for FGDC-compliant metadata creation.

In 2008, the five-year NASA-funded REASoN project known as PHAiRS entered its fifth and final year. This project is unique in that it has successfully modified a dust forecast model for conditions in the southwest United States and improved the model’s performance by using NASA Earth observation data as input parameters.  Furthermore it has engaged the public health communities in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in all phases of the project.  Significant progress has been made in developing a demonstration web client, the standards-based service based architecture on which it depends, and incorporation of EPA in-situ particulate matter concentration data. Most significant is the availability of forecast dust data via Open Geospatial Consortium web services, allowing users to quickly acquire data using time-enabled WMS requests, both through direct requests and through an online KML generation tool for streamlined visualization in desktop virtual globe applications such as Google Earth. In the final months of the project, the PHAiRS capabilities and products will be incorporated into the Syndrome Reporting and Information System (SYRIS) and tested by the City of Lubbock Department of Health and the Texas Department of Health District 1.

Demonstration Movies:

• Interactive Mapping Client: Quicktime | Flash
• Animation Client: Quicktime | Flash
• Google Earth Visualization: Quicktime | Flash

In collaboration with the Center for Rapid Environmental Assessment and Terrain Evaluation (CREATE) EDAC has developed a system for the rapid post-processing and delivery of true-color MODIS (Terra and Aqua) images for the display of recent conditions over the entire state of New Mexico. The current full-sized file provided by CREATE is available here.

The New Mexico Resource Geographic System (RGIS) is the statewide clearing house for geospatial data for New Mexico. It is funded by the NM Legislature, and currently makes over 42,000 data products available for download through its web site (http://rgis.unm.edu).

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