Page 33: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2012)

experience. Oceanographic measurements from a growing list of public sources include NASA GHRSST model data, NASA Aquarius salinity data, NOAA NDBC stations, GTS buoys and drifters, Argo ß oats, and Liquid Robotics wave gliders. Focus on design and visualization The Þ rst thing that grabs the attention after diving into Marinexplore tool is the design. While most map-based ocean data tools are similarly designed, MarinexploreÕs tools incor- porate the latest technology; the simplicity and look & feel of todayÕs web applications. The menu is minimalistic and the interface is dark, bring- ing the map and data thereon to the focus. Sternfeld conÞ rms that was intentional, adding, ÒWe just wanted to eliminate all unnecessary to save space for what users are looking for Ð ocean data. Design, usability and data quality are key to our approach, because ultimately we are designing a process, not a tool.Ó The ocean community has so far relied on traditional data serving solutions, like FTP servers and other data access pro- tocols, which in the usability terms mostly means the data can be accessed as a list of Þ les. MarinexploreÕs solution is based on visual search. Each oceanographic measurement comes with coordinates indicating the depth and location, so each data point can be tied to a GIS system. Sternfeld explains, ÒIt is much more intuitive for the humans to search geographic measurements using a map rather than browsing an endless table consisting of numbers.Ó The system includes four Þ lters for Þ nding the necessary data on the map Ð location, parameter, data source and device type. ThereÕs also a dynamic time Þ lter that can be accessed with a slider or calendar. Besides default locations, a polygon tool can be used to choose any custom area according to the users preferences.After Þ ltering desired dataset, one can switch to the table view, which lists all the selected devices, allowing checking any necessary details related to the measurements. The Þ ltered dataset can be downloaded with one click, CSV and NetCDF formats can be chosen. In addition, Marinexplore has the ability to display simulta- neously satellite product overlays and in-situ devices. The data tool has graphs. Clicking on a device on the map opens a popup in the screen. This popup contains data about the device, but it also plots graphs for a number of parameters. Data graphs enable easy pre-screening of the data a user is interested of, which helps to avoid unnecessary downloads. Everything Aggregated Sternfeld states that the most powerful feature of Marinex- plore is streamlined data aggregation. This allows a user to ß exibly select a combination of oceanographic data sources to work with, creating uniÞ ed datasets literally within seconds. Up until now, assembling a custom marine dataset was very time-consuming. For example, an aquafarming operator look- ing to extend to a new location needs broad spectrum of data. Each Þ sh species has speciÞ c ranges for key oceanographic parameters, which support its habitats, like temperature, salin- ity, and chlorophyll. With Marinexplore, these data can now be analyzed in a fraction of time it used to take. This also means, if the polygon tool is used for selecting speciÞ c area on the map while all data sources are switched on, the system is able to aggregate both in-situ and satellite sources. As one of the main issues for people working with ocean data is the quality, Sternfeld tells they plan to introduce automatic validation rules and data quality checks that will be collaboratively improved together with the ocean community relying on Marinexplore. Bringing all ocean data sources together raises the question of access and data rights. Although huge amount of oceano- graphic measurements are collected with the help of public funding, many researches still resist making the datasets free- ly available due to ongoing researches or copyright concerns. According to Sternfeld, Marinexplore has a solution for that: ÒWe are working on private data management layer and the data owners will have full control over their rights and inter- ests.Ó External Pressure Housing s%XTREMEWEIGHTTOSTRENGTHPROPERTIES s%LECTRICALLYINSULATING s'OODANTI CORROSIONPROPERTIES Carbon? bre/Epoxy Composite Rating 4000m0HONE(AREID.ORWAY WWWWINDTECNOOFlCE WINDTECNO #AMERAHOUSINGs&LASHHOUSINGs%LECTRONIC0ODS"ATTERYCANISTERs%M4RANSPONDERs0IPES4UBES (YDRAULIC#YLINDERSs!CCUMULATORSs"UOYANCYwww.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 33MTR #9 (18-33).indd 33MTR #9 (18-33).indd 3311/29/2012 11:18:53 AM11/29/2012 11:18:53 AM