Management and Visualization of Interdisciplinary Research Data with Arcgis Server

Centralized data storage and data exchange is a key issue in many interdisciplinary research projects that focus on environmental field studies and regional modelling on various scales. Furthermore, the overall success of such projects depends on a well organized and prepared graphical representation of spatial project data within web mapping applications. In this contribution, we introduce the data management system with focus on the management and visualization of spatial data of the interand multidisciplinary research project “Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 32: Patterns in Soil-VegetationAtmosphere Systems: Monitoring, Modelling, and Data Assimilation” funded by the German Research Foundation. The data management design is a combination of file management, database, and online-interface including web mapping applications. Management, visualization, and analysis of spatial data are realized with ArcGIS Server connected with ArcSDE, PostgreSQL, and the ArcGIS Server Image Extension. Therefore, the huge amount of spatial data has to be organized well. The established map services are used internal for analysis in ArcMap Desktop clients and external as OGC WMS or WCS. Map services are also used in a Java Web application and in combination with Microsoft Virtual EarthTM as a mashup. * Corresponding author.