We’ve just posted a feature on V1 Magazine that discusses the harmonization of Canada and United States hydrographic data. The feature outlines the important work that is being done by the International Joint Commission to share information across the border on important shared water resources. The border between these two countries is largely water, and the sharing of information and co-management of these resources is critical from an environmental, economic and social perspective.
“Over the years, each country had developed its own suite of hydrographic datasets, using slightly different standards and interpretive rationales. Until recently, basin-level datasets that were at a scale usable to planners and managers stopped at the border, preventing the seamless exchange of hydrographic data and associated study results. This lack of seamless and scalable hydrographic data has also hindered the determination of a discrete area that could be considered a transboundary area of influence. There were existing national datasets for each country that pertained to how watersheds and hydrography were viewed up to the geopolitical border, but there needed to be a way to align agencies on each side of the border to have a seamless interpretation of the water flow and characteristics between the United States and Canada.”
Read the full feature for details on how the two countries are working to normalize the data in order to create a seamless transboundary hydrographic data set.
