Open Source Based Deployment of Environmental Data into Geospatial Information Infrastructures

Today, scientists use local and closed geospatial solutions to run their models and store their results. This may limit their ability to share their models, and results with other interested colleagues. This scenario is changing with the advent of new factors such as the rapid growth and rise of open source projects, or new paradigms promoted by government organizations to manage environmental data, such as Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) directive, or the massive use of Web 2.0 techniques where users are looking for applications with a high degree of collaboration, interactiveness, and multimedia effects. Many authors address the versatility of Spatial Data Infrastructures where resources are shared and accessed via standard service according to complex specifications. In this context, the authors point out the need to merge the traditional building and maintenance of these infrastructures, driven by official providers, with these more participative methodologies where users can participate in creating and integrating information. It seems necessary to develop new geospatial tools which integrate these new trends. This paper proposes a unified solution offering to the scientific field an open development framework, based on standards and philosophies focused on new technologies and scientific needs.