British Columbia Geospatial Delivery with MapPlace.ca

Larry Jones, Sr. Geoscientist MapPlace, Larry.Jones@gov.bc.ca
British Columbia Geological Survey, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
PO Box 9333 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria  BC  V8W 9N3
ph (250) 952-0386 fax (250) 952-0381

Abstract:

The MapPlace uses the internet to provide interactive map access to an extensive array of information related to British Columbia geology, mineral exploration and energy resources.  The site is provided by the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and has been in operation since 1995. The award winning site has proven very successful in providing easy access to current information and a number of spatial analysis capabilities. Data themes available on the MapPlace cover a broad range of spatial data in vector and attribute form, including bedrock geology; geochemical surveys; mineral occurrences; exploration assessment reports; and mineral, coal and petroleum tenure locations.  These data can be combined with other base data, including administrative boundaries, topographic features and raster images such as LandSat, ASTER and aeromagnetics.  User-defined map views can then be printed or pasted into common graphics packages.  Many individual map objects are linked to valuable attribute data or to a separate Internet site, allowing further search and retrieval capabilities. All geospatial data maintained by the Geological Survey is available for free download in Shape or MS Access formats.

The BC Geological Survey (BCGS) offers mineral exploration clients GIS tools and data to enhance their research capabilities in support of planning new exploration programs.  The Exploration Assistant supports a set of Image Analysis Tools (IAT) providing sophisticated analysis capabilities to be performed on geopositioned multi and hyperspectral imagery.  A Publications Search tool displays footprints for and links to the 3500 BCGS publications.  Two maps, the MapperWrapper and MapBuilder, offer different approaches to annotate and save maps. The MapPlace Lite WMS Viewer displays the main geoscience data, such as BC Geology, Mineral Occurrences, Assessment Reports, Mineral Tenure, without the use of the MapGuide Viewer. It has limited functionality but has a WMS service which can be used in other WMS compliant viewers. The MapPlace2Go Map is a module of MapPlace designed for simple use and to quickly produce high-quality page size prints for reports and meetings. Data themes are easily accessed and some include zoom goto features.  Exploration clients can use the Mineral Properties Available map on MapPlace to submit information to market mineral properties in BC to potential investors around the world.  The Digital Geology Map displays ocean, Quaternary geology, faults and geology contacts, bedrock geology with map unit labels, basins, and terrane information.  The geology has a push-button to display a coloured legend for the screen view.  KML files can be added to Google Earth to display mineral occurrences, geology, ASTER imagery, mineral alteration images and mineral claims.  MapPlace also offers direct access to layers in the government Land Resource Data Warehouse using FME Provider for MapGuide.

The MapPlace has proven useful to diverse agencies and stakeholders, such as explorationists, land planners, environmental consultants, native groups and university students.  Users have experienced efficiencies in research time, data costs and analysis.  See the MapPlace in action at www.MapPlace.ca.

Technology Details:

The MapPlace uses Autodesk MapGuide 6.5 to provide free access to an extensive array of information related to British Columbia geology, mineral exploration and energy resources. The BC Geological Survey offers clients GIS tools and data to enhance their research capabilities in support of planning new exploration programs. The MapPlace Application (www.MapPlace.ca) is part of the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources website. The MapPlace server acts as an agent for other MapGuide websites and provides a WMS service.  The site gets over 5 million hits a year.

Brief History:

The driving force for this website was to have something to distribute and work with the Mineral Potential data.  In 1995 the server was a desktop Pentium and the original software was MapGuide.  The biggest challenge was to acquire spatial and raster data.  In 1997 the Exploration Assistant theme map was developed, which provided more interaction for the user.  Subsequently, new hardware was provided to better serve data and house very large data sets.  The initial development was in-house by Ward Kilby.  The site is currently maintained by 1 to 2 people, with assistance from occasional students and consultants.  MapPlace also partners with other MapGuide sites.  Over 7500 users visited the site 4 times or more in 2006.