Added value:
The Environment Agency’s (Thames Region) specialist survey unit have an archive of river channel and topographic surveys that date back over 2 centuries. Outline details of these have been recorded in an Access database which holds over 8,400 records.
Though the archive exists, there was currently no consistent method of being able to identify the locations at which surveys have been carried out, or the extents that they cover. The Agency recognised the benefit in being able to retrieve survey information by reference to a known location.
Innovation:
This scoping study was undertaken by Halcrow to identify mechanisms of spatially referencing the archive information using ArcGIS (Geographic Information System) software, and developing easy ways of querying and retrieving information from the archive.
Team work:
Halcrow’s GIS unit researched the currently employed methods for management and retrieval of data from the archive, and proposed and designed mechanisms to allow current practice to be incorporated within an enhanced IT framework. A key component of this was the use of ArcGIS to link dynamically to an expanded Access database.
The main deliverables for the scoping study were:
A review of current archive referencing methods, and derivation of spatial referencing techniques
Demonstration of a prototype GIS interface to the archive
A costed programme for the staged implementation of a more functional archive catalogue
