The Use of GIS for the Management of Monitoring Data for Dredging Activities in the La Spezia Harbour (Ligurian Sea)

M.E. Piccione, A. Ausili, M. Gabellini, L. De Propris, S. Geraldini, F. Giaime, C. Innocenti, F. Loreti, E. Mumelter, M. Patacchia, A. Salmeri, V. Trama, C. Virno Lamberti

ICRAM - Istituto Centrale per la Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica Applicata al Mare, Roma (IT)

The local Port Authority of the harbour of La Spezia (Eastern Ligurian Sea) has charged ICRAM (Central Institute for Research Applied to the Sea), ARPA Liguria (Liguria's Regional Agency for Environmental Protection), ISS (Istituto Superiore di Sanità) and AUSL5 Spezzina (Local Sanitary Control Body) of the execution of the water quality and biota monitoring during some dredging activities.
ICRAM is carrying out the design and construction of the database for the collection of all the data related to the monitoring and dredging activities. Besides the database, a GIS is going to be built to receive, organize, manage and analyse all the data collected during monitoring activities: chemical, microbiological, ecotoxicological, R.O.V. (Remotely Operated Vehicle) images, multiparametric Probe files and bioassays.
Thematic maps will be built up showing the data collected during the sampling activities and the results obtained with laboratory analyses. GIS tools will be used to display all the data collected during the monitoring activities, such as the distribution of contaminants in the area.
In order to share the information between all the involved agencies and to simplify the input of the data, the database has been made accessible on internet. Every agency has different access to the database and has the possibility to fill in the masks only which are related to regard its specific role in the monitoring activities. The input of the data is strictly controlled to avoid the insertion of errors.
For some kind of data, such as the chemical analyze, that involve numerous samples and fields, there is the possibility to include all the data in a text file, which is send by email to the database operator after the congruence of the information and the correctness of the format has been verified by a software especially built by ICRAM. This procedure allows to directly insert in the database the files generated by the laboratory, limiting as much as possible the editing of the data, and therefore the possibility of mistakes.
All the agencies can consult the database, but can only modify the information related to its own activities. Furthermore all the results can be downloaded in a text file and saved in other format to be manipulated.
In order to immediately visualize the distribution of the contaminants and the results of the monitoring activities, GIS will be linked to the database.
By using the queries created in the database everybody can ask the system to visualize the different kind of data, not only in their original format, but also as thematic maps that simplify the interpretation of the results.
The database and the related GIS will be updated in real time during all the monitoring activities.