Anthony CORNS / Robert SHAW
(The Discovery Programme, Dublin, Ireland)
Keywords: Remote sensing, SDI, INSPIRE, web services
Abstract:
Over the past 25 years the ability to collect high resolution remote sensing data including geophysics, lidar and aerial imagery for the purposes of archaeological monuments and landscapes has revolutionised our knowledge and management of our shared heritage. However, once processed and interpreted remote sensing data is only usually available to other researchers and interested organisations in the form of an abstracted image or contained within a pdf document, thus removing the underlying data which created the image. The full research potential of this data has therefore never been fully realized as future reanalysis of the data with advanced algorithms and spatial tools is impossible or difficult at best. In addition, much of this data is costly to collect, particularly in the case of lidar, therefore the ability to reuse this remote sensing data is economically advantageous to the archaeological domain.
This paper discusses the exploring, the sharing and reuse of remote sensing data within the context of spatial data infrastructures (SDI). By extending and developing the established EU INSPIRE directive, interoperable services including web coverage services (WCS), web feature services (WFS), web mapping services (WMS), and supporting metadata schemas can encourage their reuse and sharing. In addition, the development of open access to shared algorithms and processing tool kits, specifically developed for the archaeological community, enables new archaeological discoveries to be made within this available data. This paper highlights some of the efforts and research to share and reuse data carried out within the EU co-funded ARIADNE and ArcLand projects.