Big Open Data for Environmental Information Systems

The frequency of extreme weather events has accelerated, an apparent outcome of progressive climate change. Excess water is a significant consequence of these events and is now the leading cause of insurance claims for infrastructure and property damage. Governments recognize that plans for growth must reflect communities needs, strengths and opportunities while balancing the cumulative effects of economic growth with environmental concerns. For such a process to be effective it will be necessary to develop and operate cumulative effect decision support software (CEDSS) tools, and to work closely with all levels of government including watershed management authorities (WMAs) that supply environmental data. Such cooperation and sharing will require a new open and big data information-sharing platform, which is described in this paper as an open and big data platform for environmental analysis and management.