Coupling Cyberinfrastructure and GIS for Natural Resource Management Applications in Hawaii

Linda Koch
Jennifer Ho
Cory Yap
Mike Kido
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI

Natural Resource Management Monday
March 5, 2012 - 10:45 am to noon

Cyberinfrastructure (CI), viewed as the coordinated aggregate of computer hardware / software and other technologies which change data into knowledge systems, has great potential for connecting science with policy by facilitating rapid, effective delivery and integration of information to decision makers about the dynamic state of human-environment systems at global scales. Coupled with GIS, CI is enhanced with adding functionality for spatiotemporal database management, spatial analysis and modeling, visualization and extended support for virtualized problem solving applications such as Spatial Decision Support (SDS). We will present an overview of such an end-to-end platform, The Research Cyberinfrastructure Core (RCC), developed through NSF EPSCoR funding to the Center for Conservation Research and Training at UH Manoa. Housed on a high-performance, distributed computing server cluster managed by The Pacific Biosciences Research Center, the RCC integrates the use of wireless sensor technologies for environmental monitoring, Grid computing with 3D geospatial data visualization / exploration, GIS-based Spatial Decision Support and a secured Internet portal user interface which is being applied to enhance natural resource management activities in the Hawaiian Islands.