Web-basiertes GIS als Informationssystem interdisziplinerer Forschungsprojekte

Interdisciplinary research projects with environmental focus need an information technology which is capable of describing the flow of minerals and other substances with respect to space and time. Especially time dependencies are of great interest in many environmental studies, where changes can often be shown only via trend analysis of time series. A suitable technology must also supply methods for processing of information in order to present project data and project results in graphically as well as in numerically meaningful ways. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are the tools that meet these requirements best. In the DFG-funded interdisciplinary project SFB 299 (Land use concepts for peripheral regions) we implemented successfully such web-based GIS (also known by the terms “Internet GIS”, “Online GIS”, “Distributed GIS” or “Internet Mapping”). Especially Open GIS standards such as “Web Map Service” (WMS) or “Web Feature Service” (WFS) are used in the development of Web GIS techniques. They facilitate the finding of highly portable solutions which are mainly based on open source technologies. In the project several web-GIS systems are in development currently, ranging from tools for the simple depiction of maps to interactive connection of SFB data with personal data of local users.