ApplicAtions of Gis And dAtAbAse technoloGies to MAnAGe A KArst feAture dAtAbAse

Several Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based Karst Feature Databases (KFDs) have been established in many karst regions and countries (Cooper et al., 2001; Florea et al., 2002; Lei et al., 2001). However, the absence of comprehensive database models and standard metadata impeded the data compatibility and management (Gao et al., 2005a). A KFD has been developed in Minnesota in the past few years (Gao et al., 2002; Gao et al., 2005a; Gao et al., 2005b). The development, implementation, and data analyses of the Minnesota KFD are described in detail in the first author’s Ph.D. dissertation (Gao, 2002). This paper discusses the last two phases of the process to develop the Minnesota KFD: Building and Implementing Applications and Database Monitoring and Maintenance. Based on a survey from potential users of the Minnesota KFD, the applications built for the database need to have the following features: easy to use interfaces, compatible with Microsoft Access and ArcView GIS, reliable concurrency control and security, and network and Web accessible. In Minnesota, similar applications already exist in Minnesota Geological Survey’s (MGS) County Water-well Index (CWI) Database Management System (DBMS). These applications are used by many users to access and maintain information about Minnesota’s millions of water wells. The applications built for the KFD build on the lessons learned from MGS’s CWI project. One of the advantages of a relational database is the capability of data queries. Query languages can be used in a relational DBMS to modify the structures of a database, to update data ApplicAtions of Gis And dAtAbAse technoloGies to MAnAGe A KArst feAture dAtAbAse YonglI gao Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, [email protected]