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The Caribbean Marine Atlas
Acronym: CMA
Period:
 Institutes 
Institutes (2)  Top 
Abstract
Atlas Purpose
The purpose of the Caribbean Marine Atlas (CMA) is to identify, collect and organize available spatial datasets into an atlas of environmental themes for the Caribbean region, under the sponsorship of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s (IOC) International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) and Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) Programmes. The CMA will, through its products and services available at the national level, contribute to the sustainable development and integrated management of marine and coastal areas in the region.

Distinguishing features

  • Focused on the Caribbean, download capability of many of the datasets, wide variety of marine, terrestrial and atmospheric datasets

Target Audience

  • General Public
  • Coastal/Environmental Managers
  • Researchers/Scientists
  • Government/Public Bodies
  • Decision Makers
  • Students
  • NGOs

Atlas design and usability

  • Focus:

    • Map content

  • Documentation:

    • Thematic text
    • Metadata : Database/Flat files, single format
    • Illustrations, images, charts
    • Help page(s)

  • Design

    • Clear navigation and instruction
    • Access text from maps/maps from text

  • Map Page

    • View limited layers
    • View data independently/by theme
    • Separate legend & layer list
    • Links to internal/external pages


Technology used

  • Mapping Software

    • Open Source: Minnesota MapServer

  • Database Management System:

    • No

  • Data Storage

    • Locally: Flat files
    • Distributed Network

  • Server Operating System

    • Apache


Functionality/tools available

  • Level:

    • Moderate

  • Search Capability

    • Search for data
    • Search for thematic information

  • Mapping Tools:

    • Zoom, recentre and full extent
    • Identify features
    • Layer list control
    • View by theme
    • Query attributes
    • Download geospatial data


Data/cartographic information included

  • Geographic Area: Caribbean Region
  • Number of Datasets: Over 40
  • Topics:

    • Physical Environment
    • Management
    • Conservation
    • Infrastructure
    • Fisheries, Aquaculture & Agriculture
    • Coastal Habitats
    • Biology
    • Human Impact
    • Environmental Monitoring
    • Natural Resources
    • Tourism & Recreation


Data Issues

  • IPR/Cost

    • Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
    • Data use restrictions

  • Accessibility

    • Poorly managed, inaccessible data
    • Limited GIS-ready data
    • Distributed network not yet feasible

  • Quality

    • Variable/inconsistent data quality
    • Inappropriate data scales
    • Poor/non-existent metadata

  • Management

    • Balance of development and updates
    • Manual upload of data to atlas
    • Resources to source/acquire data

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Institutes