South Florida Natural Resources Center
Data Management in your
National Parks
Erik Stabenau, PhD
Oceanographer & Coastal Ocean Modeler
Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortugas National Parks
Erik_Stabenau@nps.gov
Office: 305.224.4209
National Park Service Mission
“…conserve the scenery and the natural and historic
objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the
enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such
means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment
of future generations…”
-National Park Service Organic Act, 1916
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Yellowstone National Park
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Yosemite National Park
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Mount Rainier National Park
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Thomas Edison National Historic Park
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Dry Tortugas National Park
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
How Many National Parks Are There?
85 Ocean and Great Lakes Parks
with
11,000 miles of coasts
and
2.5 million acres of water
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
401
National Park Service Mission
“…conserve the scenery and the natural and historic
objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the
enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such
means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment
of future generations…”
-National Park Service Organic Act, 1916
At its core, it’s a clear, well-focused, mission.
Features:
• Unimpaired was interpreted as ‘unchanged’ (The Leopold Report)
• Balances preservation and access
• Recognizes significant of both natural and cultural resources
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
The Leopold Report’s Impact
1963 Leopold Report
Key feature:
2013 Leopold Revisited
Key feature:
“A national park should present a
vignette of primitive America…if the goal
cannot be fully achieved it can be
approached. A reasonable illusion of
primitive America could be recreated,
using the utmost in skill, judgment, and
ecologic sensitivity.”
“The overarching goal of NPS resource
management should be to steward NPS
resources for continuous change that is not yet
fully understood, in order to preserve
ecological integrity and cultural and historical
authenticity, provide visitors with
transformative experiences, and form the core
of a national conservation land- and seascape”
•
•
Snapshot, frozen in time
Illusion is acceptable, if needed
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
•
•
Provide for change
Recognize connections across park
boundaries
Resource management
• Primarily a data-related effort
– Balancing need of visitors, natural systems
– Recognizing climate change
– Recognizing connectivity
– Benefiting from the expertise of non-NPS
scientists and resource managers
• Goal oriented
– Support diversity and ecosystem function
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Environmental data-related items in
NPS FY14 Budget
INTERNAL PROGRAMS
Inventory and monitoring – NPS effort to systematically record environmental data,
managed in divisions by discipline and/or region
GIS support – improved GIS coverage for selected park units each year, data incorporated
into centralized GIS data catalog
Soundscapes, Water Resources, Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program
PROJECTS (examples)
UC-Berkley spatial data development related to carbon storage
Alaska – Interferometric synthetic aperature radar mapping data
Park-wide – improved GIS coverage of park assets in centralized GIS catalogs
CLIMATE CHANGE
New climate change adaptation data and decision tools relating to:
• predicting and anticipating wildland fire trends,
• predicting the spread or introduction of invasive species, and
• tracking changes in wildlife abundance and distribution;
• Integrated vegetation surveys representing the entire lower 48 states; and
• Creation of a web-based searchable database
FEDERAL PARTNERS
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
USGS, EPA, USACE, NOAA
Integrated Resource Management Applications (IRMA @ NPS)
Data storage and
retrieval with services
for machine-to-machine
query
Portal to access
multiple independent
data tools
Key feature: Data store
with both web search
and REST services
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
IRMA @ NPS REST services endpoint
{searchTerm}
GET
checklist/{unitCode}/{categories=null}
GET
advancedSearch
savedSearch/{id}
GET
GET
detaillist/{unitCode}/{categories=null}
GET
schemas/BasicSearchResult
GET
fulllist/{unitCode}/{categories=null}
GET
schemas/ReferenceFull
schemas/ReferenceProfile
updatedSince/{yyyymmdd}
urlOptions/detail
urlOptions/format
GET
GET
GET
GET
GET
schemas/SpeciesListItem
GET
urlOptions/categories
GET
urlOptions/format
GET
urlOptions/paging
GET
urlOptions/searchField
urlOptions/type
urlOptions/typegroups
GET
GET
GET
Supports HTTP ‘get’ requests and JSONP responses
Limited set of options but expanding based on user feedback
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
IRMA and the Aquarius Database
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
IRMA and the Aquarius Database
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
South Florida National Parks
Big Cypress
1974
Biscayne
1968
Dry Tortugas
1935
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Everglades
1934
Everglades Mission
“…shall be permanently reserved as a wilderness, and
[nothing] shall be undertaken which will interfere with
the preservation intact of the unique flora and fauna
and the essential primitive natural conditions now
prevailing in this area…”
-Everglades National Park Enabling Legislation, 1934
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
South Florida National Parks
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
South Florida National Parks
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration
Program (CERP) Data Integration Efforts
• Primarily document sharing services
(submit, check-out, update, return)
• Project based approach
– Each project has definite start/end dates
– Multi-year projects stored as separate
datasets
– Limited use of standards and those that are
used are often modified as-needed
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Comprehensive Evergaldes Restoration
Program (CERP) Data Integration Efforts
• USGS – primarily SOFIA (South Florida Information Access)
database and products
– Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) depth maps
• SFWMD – internal database with web based query
– Extensive use of DBKeys, breakpoint data, and aggregation for large
data requests
– Separate search routes for current vs. historic data
• USACE – funding and contract based data requirements
– Supporting others but has $ so influences data sharing and storage
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
S. Florida NPS Monitoring Network
Everglades National Park
Biscayne National Park
Big Cypress National
Preserve
Dry Tortugas National Park
(not shown)
… and, we are not alone.
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Partners involved in Everglades
Restoration Initiatives in South
Florida:
NOAA
USGS
SFWMD
(Water management)
Miami-Dade County
(Environmental Quality)
Universities
Non-profit organizations
State FWC
Federal FWS
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Data Collection Platforms, Marsh
• Primary emphasis on data
to ‘get the water right’,
meaning…
– Quality, quantity, and timing
of freshwater
– Mostly 2 parameter stations:
stage and rain
– Sustainability
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Data Collection Platform, Marine
• Expansion of management
effort
– Recognition of management
influence on coastal regions
– Multiple parameters:
• stage, rain, conductivity,
temperature, pH, dissolved
oxygen, chlorophyll A, turbidity,
wind….
– Remote data transmission
(GOES, RF, cellular)
– Sustainability
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
NPS - Data Management at EVER
GOES (timed):
Marine Network
RF (poled):
Marsh Network
• MySQL based system with web
interface
– GOES and RF data delivery systems
with hourly/daily updates
– Monthly site visits and rigorous
validation
Parse & Load
To MySQL database
With basic QA/QC
– Excellent searching, stats, and 2D
plotting capabilities
– Web interface allows database design
and management dependent on access
rights
Internal Browser
Interface
DataForEVER
(NPS employees)
External FTP
Transfer
to
NOAA
USGS
SFWMD
others
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
– Data back-up and off-site archiving
• Currently behind NPS firewall
– One-way data sharing to ftp
– Multiple custom data downloads
– Always initiated by NPS system
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Products
Perio
d
Station
JAN
2000
2001
Datatype
27.31
37.06
FEB
NP205
30.22
stage 36.00
NP205
MAR
31.53
NP205
APR
NP205
stage 39.45
stage
36.59
43.46
2002
2003
Elevation
26.14
33.45
28.06 6.07
33.01
29.72
6.07
34.44
6.07
32.25
stage
36.93
6.07
2004
Threshold
29.81
2005
42.44
32.53
6.07 40.18
6.07 37.37
6.07
33.46
37.02
39.99
6.07
2006
Year
32.22
33.89
1999
2000
36.39
2007
33.47
32.81
3
35.10
37.99
37.08
36.75
2001
39.33
2008
2009
2010
2011
Wetting
Discontinu
Event
Minimum
ous
33.20
29.52
36.67
32.55
33.33
Count
6
3
2002
39.1330231.37
26533.14
40.31
208
44.06
35.33
3
268
33.979
1
36.76
2012
Average
32.60
26.14
33.39 100.7
28.06
33.26
9
41.29
Minim
um
44.2
29.72
Avera
ge
Maximum
32.79
16
32.25
42.44
33.69 21640.18
35.30
69.3
35.69
Maxi
mum
9940.31
181
38.14
89.3
44.06
223
MAY
NP205
40.12
stage 42.69
36.83 6.07
37.77
37.28
6.07 44.88
41.86
2003
40.79
41.81
3
45.5628137.54
43.12
16
33.47
33.47
93.7
40.29 24545.56
NP205
JUN
stage 47.40
41.88
35.11 6.07
36.87
6.07 45.83
43.06
2004
39.10
37.14
4
45.29
42.6827239.82
45.121
33.35
68.0
33.35
40.97 18147.40
35.06
44.68
NP205
JUL
NP205
AUG
NP205
stage
42.99
46.34
29.15
stage
44.51
stage
6.07
38.14
6.07
39.56
28.54
39.12
6.07
6.07
49.57
43.83
6.07
40.94
6.07
2005
36.86
2006
3
4
227
39.52
239
45.89
37.64
38.78
44.54
40.78
2007
8
38.53
39.82
216
7
44.85
32.52
4
29.15
40.16
59.8
40.46
32.37
1
75.7
28.54
27.0
213
49.57
160
39.46
45.89
182
SEP
NP205
45.48
stage 36.54
28.73 6.07
35.78
38.14
6.07 35.52
30.92
2008
40.65
38.53
1
40.6918335.57
37.74
183
31.00 183.0
28.73
36.56 18345.48
NP205
OCT
stage 29.35
36.56
28.78 6.07
30.81
6.07 29.89
39.42
2009
30.50
30.26
2
34.72
38.2425326.75
26
36.97
30.02 126.5
26.75
32.48 22739.42
27.29
34.17
NP205
NOV
NP205
stage
34.95
24.36
28.90
stage
34.94
25.12
31.72
Aver
age
37.26
37.28
30.33
stage
25.36
6.07
DEC
NP205
6.07
6.07
43.25
27.87
6.07
2010
31.07
2011
5
2
240
37.13
27.60
188
13
32.35
29.99
77
44.19
30.35
32.53
28.11
35.22
34.69
29.71
30.34
30.89
33.91
39.06
38.67
35.19
34.74
38.00
39.96
33.98
38.02
32.38
6.07
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
2012
3
252
7
24.36
31.10
94.0
25.28
6.07
48.0
43.25
111
25.12
31.78
28.80
36.06
84.0
162
44.19
229
43.98
Case: Evaluate agricultural drawdown impact
on salinity in Biscayne National Park
Challenges:
•
•
•
Data required collected by different agencies
and stored in different systems
Incomplete data – human observations not
recorded or stored
Short timeline and requires analysis of current
conditions
Assessment:
•
•
•
•
Manual search through web interface to
determine database keys
Data grab and load to local database
Produce products
Human dimension, a primary driver of the
operation in question, is ignored.
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Case: Evaluate agricultural drawdown impact
on salinity in Biscayne National Park
Working solution:
•
•
•
Still requires current data as input so manual
data agglomeration
Model output is manually extracted and
graphical products are built in ArcGIS
Fairly simple relationships (flow vs salinity)
calculated manually
Slow, politically complex, process that requires
extensive documentation and persistence.
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Additional case studies
•
•
•
Predicting ecosystem response under
several climate change scenarios
Managing access to Florida Bay to
minimize seagrass damage
Assessing impact of water management
actions on salinity in Florida Bay relative to
paleo-records
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
National-level NPS data management
systems
• Integrated product has to provide
functionality that meets or exceeds the
local interim solution
• Interface has to be familiar
• System must be stable and fast
• System must support machine-to-machine
communication
Everglades National Park
South Florida Natural Resources Center
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Summary
Individual NPS units have extensive
data management needs.
The variety across the park service
has acted as a barrier to centralized
solutions to park-level issues.
New efforts, aimed at recognizing
NPS units as part of corridors of
connectivity, require improved data
sharing.
NPS response to climate change
has brought data sharing and long
term data management to the
forefront.
Anticipate changes in NPS data
management systems within the
next decade.
South Florida Natural Resources Center
For further information:
Erik_Stabenau@nps.gov
Data Requests:
EVER_Data_Request@nps.gov
Presentation would not have been
possible without the helpful input of
many NPS employees, including:
Kevin Whelan and members of the
South Florida/ Caribbean Network
offices of NPS. Jeff Seleck, NPS,
CO Editor of Park Science. Thom
Curdts, NPS, CO. Cliff McCreedy,
NPS, WASO.