SeaZone Reaches Out to Next Generation

21 January 2008, 6:18pm

From 16 January 08, marine and coastal zone maps and data provided by SeaZone Solutions Ltd, the UK’s leading supplier of marine data, will be available through the newly launched Marine Digimap.

Available to staff and students at Higher and Further Education institutions, Marine Digimap will enable the next generation of marine planners, engineers, scientists and researchers to access quality, up to date marine data online for the first time.

This important new online resource, made available by JISC Collections through EDINA’s Digimap platform, will enable Digimap users to view raster marine maps and to access the award-winning SeaZone Hydrospatial, consisting of six layers of data and mapping features, setting a new benchmark for understanding the marine and coastal environment.

Dr Mike Osborne, Managing Director of SeaZone Solutions, comments: “Joining the Digimap portfolio will enable a wider range of users to access and benefit from SeaZone’s data. This is a key part of our strategy to drive marine and coastal management up the policy agenda and make SeaZone’s data a key resource for the future.”

”Last year’s Marine Bill White Paper and the forthcoming Climate Change Bill demonstrate the ever increasing concern over flooding and rising sea levels. This makes it more important than ever that researchers and academics are able to access quality, up to date information about the marine and coastal environment – which Marine Digimap can now provide.”

The launch of Marine Digimap enables Digimap, a key academic resource, to add value to its current portfolio of land-based data provided by Ordnance Survey and the British Geological Survey. By also providing marine data, Digimap users will now have access to a total coastal zone management package.

Tim Riley of EDINA Digimap comments: “It’s exciting that we are now able to provide three of the key base datasets for coastal zone management. And as work progresses to bring these traditionally separate datasets into harmony, Digimap will pass on the benefits to its users in higher and further education.”

Lorraine Estelle, CEO of JISC Collections, comments: “Academics, researchers and students across many different subject areas will find Marine Digimap immensely useful. JISC has made a considerable investment in digital map data and the Digimap platform for a number of years now. We’re hoping to repeat the successes of the other Digimap collections. This includes Geology. “As the new marine and coastal zone maps are available through Digimap, many users will already be familiar with the techniques and tools required to access the data. That means users can quickly start to use and understand the maps without a new learning curve or additional software.”

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Geo: International