Through the states Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technical Center, located in White Hall, on the campus of West Virginia University, an aerial view of the entire state is just a mouse click away. The center is a research and public service unit of the Department of Geology and Geography in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
This technological resource is a collection of digital orthophoto quadrangles (DOQ), computer-generated images produced from aerial photographs in which displacements caused by camera orientation and terrain have been removed. The imagines were obtained by photographing the entire state from an airplane. These products combine the image characteristics of a photograph with the geometric qualities of a map and can be used in numerous applications.
“This is the first time weve had photographs of the entire state and this provides us with the best geographical information since the70s,”says Trevor Harris, chair of the Department of Geology and Geography, the Eberly Family Professor of Geography, and an international expert in the area of GIS .
These photos can support state agencies, private companies, and communities in the development of natural resources, economic development, flood control development, and with taxation and political boundaries.
The GIS Technical Center has evolved into a valuable resource that maintains extensive spatial data and related geographical information. The center has provided boundaries, elevations, digital orthophotos, digital topographic maps, and index maps for various agencies.
The GIS Technical Center was dedicated by then-Gov. Cecil Underwood in 1998 with the mission of providing technical support in the development and use of GIS in West Virginia. The centers tasks include assisting with strategic planning and development, implementing statewide mapping guidelines, providing advisory services and training programs in the field of geographic information science, and conducting research and providing education toward improvements in geographic information technologies.
“The DOQs, now available through the WV State GIS Technical Center at WVU , represent a tremendous informational resource that can support state agencies, private companies, and local communities,”Harris said.”The data set represents valuable collaborative efforts between the state and federal agencies. It also represents
a significant milestone in augmenting the already substantial data available through the center.”
The project is federally and state funded, and is working simultaneously with other states, like New York, in establishing a digital picture of the nation. The concept of a National Digital Orthophoto Program (NDOP) was proposed jointly in 1990 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS began producing DOQs in 1991 and currently has nearly 50,000 available for distribution. Complete DOQ coverage of the conterminous United States under this program is expected by the year 2004. After that, the DOQs will be updated on a 10-year cycle for most areas, and on a 5-year cycle in areas where land use change is more rapid.
“The GIS Technical Center is an impressive resource that is available to the citizens of West Virginia, and we are very proud to house it for the university and the state,”said M. Duane Nellis, dean of the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the new president of the Association of American Geographers.”The field of GIS is experiencing growth throughout the nation, and WVU is emerging as an international leader in the field. Our students are able to gain valuable experience by assisting in the research, service, and instructional operations of the center.”