Integrating Web-based GIS and image processing tools for environmental monitoring and natural resource management

The combined powers of Web-based geographic information systems (GIS) and on-line remote sensing tools can significantly reduce the high cost and labor associated with environmental monitoring and natural resource management. This paper introduces an integrated Web-based GIS architecture by combining three levels of geographic information services (GIServices): data archive, information display, and spatial analysis. A prototype Web site, WGAT (Web-based GIS and Analytic Tools), has been developed to provide easy access of geospatial information and to facilitate Web-based image analysis and change detection capabilities for natural resource managers and regional park rangers. The Web-based integration framework emphasizes user-oriented services, distributed network environments, metadata standards, communication protocols, client/server computation, and ubiquitous access.