DESIMA: Decision Support for Integrated Coastal Zone Management

The basic information about the DESIMA project:

The Project aims to support Coastal Zone Management applications through an improved integration and use of various information sources and information providing tools. In this context the project intends to increase and broaden the use of existing and future Earth observation data.

• MATRA Systems & Information (France)
• Mecanique Appliquee et Sciences de l'Environnement/ACRI (France)
• HR Wallingford (United Kingdom)
• Satellite Observing Systems/SOS (United Kingdom)
  

The main objectives of DESIMA project:

The main objective of DESIMA is:

• to design and develop a prototype version of an information system facilitating the integrated use of various sources of geographically related data and information using Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques and tools.
  

The functionality and performance of the prototype version will be demonstrated and evaluated by developing and executing two application scenarios (case studies) related to coastal zone management. This will be undertaken in close collaboration with potential users.

The basic design and system architecture will then be used and further developed to support both the services of the Commission and other authorities and institutions involved in coastal zone management issues.

DESIMA main innovative features are:

• on-line access to data, with user interface allowing catalogue query
• on-line data retrieval and transfer to the user
• on-demand data processing, application dependant, allowing to deliver high level information suited to the user needs rather than low level sensor information
• distributed architecture with remote data sets and remote processing.