Hi Bruce et al., In reply to your comments, I've added a few of my thoughts below:
1. Would anyone object to scrapping the Parameter Value Language file and instead using shapefiles to transfer attribute data (see Feb 22 mail)?
2. If you think doing the above is a good idea (or a bad one), please let me know your vote.
4. Luke: Since it was your suggestion to use shapefiles for all attributes, do you have ideas about how to improve the scheme I outlined in my Feb 22 message? Maybe you could add detail?
...as I mentioned before, I believe that it will be easier to keep all the attribute data in shapefiles. The shapefiles are explicitly designed for this purpose, and most spatial database software is already set up to handle and interrogate these (e.g., ArcIMS, which is what we use here). As Bruce mentioned in his Feb. 22 email, I'm envisaging that most information would be contained in the per basin/glacier shapefile (length, area, name, RC details, etc.). Although the RC details will remain the same or very similar between many different basins, it should be a simple process of copying and pasting this information between shapefiles. As for elevation and velocity information, it would seem to make sense to keep this information in the shapefile attribute tables if it is from just a few points (in the form x,y,z). However, if the data is gridded and covers the entire basin, then keeping it in (e.g.) a geotiff file would be easiest (with a similar filename prefix as the shapefile and 'mugshot' of the basin). In basins where there is individual segment information, then obviously the small amount of information that pertains to individual segments (e.g., material on either side) would be stored in that segment table. I was hoping to have some of our glacier basins and mugshots online by now to show you our line of thinking, but I'm still waiting for a newly ordered server to arrive and our GIS technician to get ArcIMS fully up and running. Once this is done, I'll distribute the URL of the site. I'm keen to hear other people's thoughts and experiences. Cheers, Luke. -- Dr. Luke Copland Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada Tel: 780 707 5583, Fax: 780 492 7598 luke.copland@ualberta.ca, http://arctic.eas.ualberta.ca/luke