Focus available to the public: near real-time sea state data; water temperature; sea state predictions for locations in the Atlantic and near Portugal; tide predictions for all principal and secondary ports in Portugal as well as locations such as Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique; some maritime administrative limits; small-scale bathymetric lines; and a small-scale converted Electronic Navigation Chart (ENC) cell for continental Portugal and the Madeira and Azores archipelagos. Metadata Metadata fact sheets are essential for inventorying, locating, and assessing the quality of geospatial data. These documents, which contain information about why, when, and where data was originally collected, are valuable from both a scientific and economic standpoint because they enable data reuse. Metadata is produced for all data, products, and services provided by the IDAMAR SDI. In accordance with the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE), metadata complies with the ISO 19115 standard. The metadata search engine was created to aid public access to the data. Specialized human resources Expertise in systems analysis, database systems administration, GIS, and Web programming was required for this project. Most contributors to the project have backgrounds in geography or earth sciences as well as master's degrees in various information technologies. This staff has developed the SDI and worked on ad hoc projects. Outreach Because some geospatial analysis tasks should only be performed by scientists, courses that range from three to five days were developed to introduce scientists to GIS concepts and software. These courses are tailored to the needs of scientists and Continued on page 20 ArcUser Spring 2009 19 The Electronic Navigation Chart (ENC) World Catalog is one of the most relevant data catalogs available. Nautilus LIMS, was acquired and extended so chemical data could be easily integrated with the entire system. Internally developed data models (when applicable) follow the S-57 standard for hydrographic data transfer. [S-57 is a digital data format standard.] The most relevant developed data model supports the hydrographic data warehouse (HDW). This database stores bathymetric soundings acquired by the IHPT and represents a major improvement in the cartographic production process because it reduces production time, eliminates procedures susceptible to human error, and improves the quality of the final product. Data stored includes data about the sea state (e.g., wave height, wave period, wave www.esri.com direction, and sea temperature) from ocean buoys; tide predictions and observations, horizontal control points; nautical chart and cell coverage; chemical analysis of seawater and sea bottom sediments; bathymetric navigation warnings; and medium-resolution satellite imagery. Not all data was supplied by IHPT--some data is related to activities of the Portuguese Navy. Data policy A data policy document sets out rules that govern data management and access in the IDAMAR SDI. This document stipulates policies for data classification, data access (both format and eligibility), and the associated costs. Some datasets are freely