Modern mobile mapping technology in concert with GIS can play an important role in conservation and recovery of Puget Sound. These maps, similar to ‘Street View’ provide a portal to nearshore conditions and are an enhanced way to visualize and gain insights about places inaccessible to most. In addition, by integrating GIS these immersive views are a tool for quantifying and qualifying nearshore conditions, as well as viewing data in context. Attention is focused on data that is inherent to the locations. Collection of the data is conducted via kayak which is mounted with a camera that scans the nearshore taking a 360-degree panoramic image every 10 seconds. Equipped with a water quality meter that logs water conditions every 10 seconds and a recording device that geolocates the dictation of animal sightings, a comprehensive, immersive, interactive digital online map for everyone to explore is being built that describes in detail the current conditions of the Puget Sound Nearshore.
The lack of up-to-date water point data presents a huge challenge in the development of better monitoring, and investment policies for water resource management. Fragmentation of the water points information has led...
