July 2005 Newsletter
July INGISI Meeting
Mark your calendars! The next INGISI meeting will be July 21, 2005 10:00-3:30 at the IUPUI University Library.
Check our
calendar for details and directions.
Website Renovations
The INGISI website was designed to be a resource for GIS professionals, the general public, and everyone in
between. Based on the amount of traffic we're seeing, it appears to be working: over
half a million hits per
month from more than 37,000 individuals! This has prompted us to begin renovations, adding more information,
making it more user-friendly, and easier on the eyes. Some of the work has already been completed. New features
allow you to view presentations from past conferences and seminars, access the data viewer and map services,
and see how people around the state are using GIS to benefit their communities.
Next up is increasing functionality and updating the layout. We hope to have everything completed by the end of
the summer. If you find any problems or something you'd like to see that isn't there, just let us know.
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Web Map Services
The Indiana Geological Survey (IGS) has now released the IndianaMap Framework Map Services. Visitors can
download data and metadata for the seven framework categories that make up the base map, including elevation,
transportation, governmental units and more.
Catering to the more advanced GIS user, the service also allows you to stream data from the website to your
desktop like a virtual server (running OGC open web map services). This is a fantastic new service, especially
for large data sets like orthophotography, or for data that change often. The site will be managed through a
partnership between IGS and IGIC. A demonstration will be given at the July 21 INGISI meeting. Or
click here to see for yourself.
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2005 Orthophotography Project Update
The State of Indiana is sponsoring a project to take statewide aerial photos in 2005. There will be many
deliverable products, but the major ones are color photo tiles (4,000 ft. x 4,000 ft.) in state-plane coordinates,
and county-based photo mosaics.
The aerial photo acquisition vendor, EarthData, completed capturing the photos in mid-April for all of Indiana.
On several days, there were as many as five airplanes in the air. For most of the state, EarthData took pictures
representing 12-inch ground resolution. In thirteen counties, the pictures are at even higher 6-inch ground
resolution.
On June 16, Indiana received a pilot area including 34 orthophoto tiles to review. All the photos met basic
technical specifications (right coordinate system and geographic location, good feathering and mosaicking,etc).
We were especially pleased with the color and tone balance of the photos, with bright colors and crisp edges.
Part of the delivery includes an elevation model of the ground surface. This is used to adjust (stretch) the
photos to the earth's surface so the photos can be used like a map.
We're very excited to see the first of the images for this massive project. The amount of hard work and effort
that has gone into (and still does) making this a success are being rewarded with tiles like the one shown here,
where I-65 crosses the Ohio River.
The next step has been to hire a vendor to perform the Quality Assurance review of each of the 70,000 tiles
which EarthData will be sending us. After a complex proposal review, the State selected Dewberry & Davis for
contract negotiations.
As soon as we are finished reviewing the sample photos and elevation models, EarthData is ready to begin
delivering tiles for the rest of Indiana. We anticipate that all of the photo tiles will be delivered to the
State before December 1, 2005.
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Fifty States Initiative
The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and the National States Geographic Information Council
(NSGIC) have approved a new national action plan. The Fifty States Initiative …"outlines a fundamental
change in the way all governments will work together in the future to build the National Spatial Data
Infrastructure (NSDI)."
"It identifies the criteria, characteristics and activities that will identify effective {statewide GIS]
coordination councils in the future. In addition, it lays out several implementation steps that the Federal
government and other entities need to undertake to establish more formal statewide coordination councils
that will take an active roll in completing the NSDI."
Click here to get the full story on this exciting new initiative.
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Homeland Security
Geospatial Needs Assessment
The federal Department of Homeland Security has released its unrestricted (i.e. public) version
of the National Geospatial Preparedness Needs Assessment.
Click here to download a copy.
New Technology and Universities
The transition to the Daniels administration has brought a lot of new faces to State government.
Read an article in the
Indianapolis Star by the new Director of Homeland Security, Eric Dietz, on using new
technology to combat terrorism.
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In Brief
Officer Resignation
Roger Koelpin has resigned his position as Secretary of IGIC. Executive Director, Jill Saligoe-Simmel,
will be coordinating a mid-term election to take place at the INGISI meeting on July 21st. We all
wish Roger the best in his new position as GIS Coordinator for Homeland Security, and thank him for the
immense effort and hard work he has contributed to IGIC over the years.
Data Clearinghouse Temporarily Unavailable
The Data Clearinghouse, hosted by IUPUI, was hit by a virus earlier this month. IUPUI staff are taking
this opportunity to update software and make improvements to the site. They have been working hard to
rebuild the server and expect to have everything back on line by mid to late July.
Kokomo Road Show
The June 17th seminar in Kokomo was a great success. You can view presentations or give feedback from
the one-day event at our website
www.igic.org/class/index.html.
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