The Coastal Geoportal Is Now Online
New Website Brings to Light State’s Rich Coastal and Ocean Data Inventory
For Immediate Release: Sept. 16, 2013
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Today the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and the California Department of Technology launched the California Coastal Geoportal. The goal of the Coastal Geoportal is to help users learn about coastal and marine environments by facilitating the discovery and distribution of geospatial data layers. The data is accessible through the California Geoportal, the state’s go-to resource for geospatial information. “California’s wealth of ocean and coastal information is now easily available,” said California’s Secretary for Natural Resources and Ocean Protection Council Chair John Laird. “This will lead to smarter decision-making at all levels of government as we plan for the future of our coastal communities.”
The new Coastal Geoportal provides state agency staff and the public with a user-friendly website for finding high priority coastal and marine datasets, such as aerial photos, marine protected areas, and coastal habitats, with links to the data sources. Users can view the data on a map using the Coastal Viewer, share maps, and overlay multiple data layers to see what is happening on our shoreline and out in our ocean. The Coastal Geoportal also includes a list of tools and resources where one can discover other related data holdings and tools, including the NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer and California’s ocean observing data. This increased access to datasets will improve the use of scientific information in coastal and ocean resource management decision making.
“Today’s technology brings us many new ways to share information about the ocean and coastal environments; it allows us to collaborate with the public to achieve the goal of protecting our marine ecosystem for the future of California,” said California Lieutenant Governor and Ocean Protection Council Member Gavin Newsom. “The launch of the Coastal Geoportal is a solid step towards embracing this new technology and meeting that goal.”
The Coastal Geoportal was developed by the OPC and the Department of Technology with significant input from the California Coastal and Marine Geospatial Working Group, other state agency staff, and nongovernmental partners. This was done in response to AB 2125 (Ruskin, 2010), which directed the OPC to increase access to scientific information.
“The Coastal Geoportal is an excellent example of how technology can encourage and facilitate collaboration between governmental organizations and the people of California,” said Scott Gregory, the State’s Geographic Information Officer at the California Department of Technology.” This technology provides a visual context for the State’s rich ocean and coastal data resources.”
Work is in progress on a how-to guide and training videos to assist the public with understanding how to use the many features of the Coastal Geoportal. The Coastal Geoportal will continue to be updated with additional data, such as products from the California Seafloor Mapping Program, and functions to make it more useful for broader audiences.
For more information about the Coastal Geoportal and what California is doing to maintain healthy, resilient and productive ocean and coastal ecosystems, visit https://opc.ca.gov/
For more information about the California Department of Technology visit http://www.cio.ca.gov/
Media Contacts:
Laura Engeman, OPC, (949) 361-8929, Laura.Engeman@resources.ca.gov
Scott Gregory, CTA, (916) 431-5449, Scott.Gregory@state.ca.gov