Functional Demonstration of the National Urban Database and

Access Portal Tools (NUDAPT)

Torrin Hultgren Computer Sciences Corporation

Jason ChingARL/NOAA –NERL/USEPA

Research Triangle Park, NC

David WilliamsNERL/USEPA

Research Triangle Park, NC

Overview and Rationale• Urban air quality models are increasing in complexity

Number and type of input parameters Methods required to derive inputs

• Desktop GIS good for these types of data, but most modelers don’t need a full GIS – just a few key tools

• A new, web-based system has been developed that delivers desired tools (clip, project, resample, reformat) on-demand

• Source data is stored with daughter Urban Canopy Parameters (UCPs) in a centralized repository for easy comparison and download

• Parallel website facilitates discussion, collaboration and partnerships

Two Portals, One Whole

• Quickplace Powerful, flexible collaboration suite Built-in security controls, file sharing ability Leverages existing EPA Lotus Domino technology

• Data Download Portal Delivers server-side data processing, minimizing or

eliminating the need for desktop GIS Responsive map viewer for data exploration Relies on ESRI’s ArcGIS Server technology

Quickplace Welcome

Quickplace Pages

Quickplace

Page Editor

Quickplace Summary

• Collaboration tool – what the group gets out depends on what the group puts in

• Easy to share documents, smaller datasets (less than 20MB), presentations

• Available calendar/task management tools

• Help build consensus on UCP methods and strategies

Data Download Portal

• Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Technology ESRI’s ArcGIS Server

• Map viewer AJAX for smooth dragging and zooming Built-in identify, measure, and magnify tools Dynamic table of contents

• Data repository Quickly import data, add to map, publish to web Tightly integrated with windows security GIS tools allow fast, easy data pre-processing if

necessary

Data Download Tool

• Server-based geoprocessing

• Geographic Information System (GIS) functionality without need for desktop GIS

• Simple, readable Python script links out-of-the-box tools into one seamless process

• Clip – Reproject/Resample – Reformat – Zip

• Extensible Could connect to other web services

Could be used to derive UCPs

Input Raster or Shopping BasketInput

Raster(s)

Input Raster(s)

InputExtent

OutputCoordinate

System

ResamplingMethod

Output Cell Size

OutputFile Format

Clip Raster

ProjectRaster

ConvertRasterFormat

Zip

• Dropdown box• Corresponds to layer

names listed in the table of contents

• Baskets match groups in table of contents

Input Process

Clip ExtentInput

Raster(s)

Input Raster(s)

InputExtent

OutputCoordinate

System

ResamplingMethod

Output Cell Size

OutputFile Format

Clip Raster

ProjectRaster

ConvertRasterFormat

Zip

• Draw extent

directly on the

map or specify

using coordinates• Tool uses bounding box

envelope• Envelope projected into spatial

reference of raster and output

Input Process

Output Coordinate Reference SystemInput

Raster(s)

Input Raster(s)

InputExtent

OutputCoordinate

System

ResamplingMethod

Output Cell Size

OutputFile Format

Clip Raster

ProjectRaster

ConvertRasterFormat

Zip

• Initially contains only four systems, all NAD83 Geographic Latitude/Longitude UTM Zone 15N USGS Albers Equal Area South Central Texas State Plane

(Feet)

• ESRI Library contains hundreds, custom projections are also possible

• Also have option of leaving all rasters in source projection

Input Process

Resampling MethodInput

Raster(s)

Input Raster(s)

InputExtent

OutputCoordinate

System

ResamplingMethod

Output Cell Size

OutputFile Format

Clip Raster

ProjectRaster

ConvertRasterFormat

Zip

• Nearest Neighbor

• Bilinear Interpolation

• Cubic Convolution

Input Process

Output Cell SizeInput

Raster(s)

Input Raster(s)

InputExtent

OutputCoordinate

System

ResamplingMethod

Output Cell Size

OutputFile Format

Clip Raster

ProjectRaster

ConvertRasterFormat

Zip

• All rasters will be resampled to user-specified output cell size

• If no cell size specified, all rasters will remain at source resolution

• Regardless of input, no output will have smaller cell size than the minimum output resolution cutoff (15m)

• Minimum resolution determined by security restrictions

Input Process

Output File FormatInput

Raster(s)

Input Raster(s)

InputExtent

OutputCoordinate

System

ResamplingMethod

Output Cell Size

OutputFile Format

Clip Raster

ProjectRaster

ConvertRasterFormat

Zip

• Available formats are: NetCDF ASCII Floating Point Imagine Image GeoTiff

• All output files (rasters, header files, metadata) are zipped for download

• Binary results “key” allows you to pick up output later

Input Process

Issues and Path Forward

• Metadata Issue: for researchers, accurate information on data (metadata) is essential No metadata reporting standard exists Project stakeholders and collaborators

must take this task on

• Data portal enhancements issue: major development work is complete minor portal enhancements can be done

Issues and Path Forward

• Hosting Issue: data portal currently is on internal EPA network, not open to public Soon the portal will be hosted by UNC CEP

for open, controlled access Continuation of the data portal will require

investment by the community• EPA funded prototype system development

under GEOSS grant. System web hosting maintenance not supported by the grant

Path Forward

• The NUDAPT data portal prototype has demonstrated the feasibility and utility of providing data for researchers The future of the portal relies on community

participation and investment Development work is complete. System

needs a host and the minimal funding for operation

Summary

• Urban air quality modelers frequently work in parallel but have difficulty sharing daughter products

• NUDAPT Quickplace facilitates collaboration and discussion

• NUDAPT Data Portal allows exploration, extraction, transformation, and download of source and derived datasets

Disclaimer: The research presented here was performed under the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and under agreement number DW13921548. This work constitutes a contribution to the NOAA Air Quality Program. Although it has been reviewed by EPA and NOAA and approved for publication, it does not necessarily reflect their policies or views.

Thanks to all NUDAPT collaborators for contributions and feedback!