The University of Rhode Island (URI) and Drexel University are leading a multi-institution partnership to develop a globally re-locatable, integrated system for real time observation, modeling, and data distribution for shelf, coastal sea, and estuarine waters. The system is an extension of the integrated environmental monitoring, modeling and management system (COASTMAP) originally developed by University of Rhode Island Ocean Engineering scientists and applied to Greenwich Bay (Spaulding et al, 1997). An Internet based data and model product data distribution system has been developed and integrated within the COASTMAP framework. With the implementation of the online distribution system, COASTMAP may take advantage of systems providing global and basin scale model nowcasts and forecasts (e.g., COFS, NWS ETA) and real time observations (e.g., NOAA PORTS system, EPA EMPACT Environmental Assessment System, RI Department of Transportation's Road Weather Information System, National Weather Service) via the Internet. COASTMAP maintains its traditional management capabilities to collect data from local monitoring systems (i.e., monitoring equipment operated through direct connection such as serial, radio, cellular or modem communications). Data collected from the various online sources is subjected to quality control processes, archived alongside traditional data sets and automatically distributed to support high resolution modeling efforts inshore of the shelf break, the shipping industry, the marine research community and to provide information to the general public. The system continually displays status of all data sources and provides tools for time series display and analyses as well as spatial representations and animations of the data within the context of a geographic information system. To further extend this, and other traditional COASTMAP functionality to the Internet, an Internet based map and data server has been incorporated in COASTMAP. Hydrodynamic, pollutant transport, tidal harmonic and other models, using data collected from the data distribution system (as forcing for boundary conditions, assimilation and validation of results), feedback environmental nowcasts and forecasts to COASTMAP's Internet based map and data server. Web content generated by the Internet based map and data server component is delivered to Drexel University for publication to the web. Funded by the US National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP), the system is operational in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island (RI) coastal waters as a demonstration of the practical use of the system and to demonstrate the ability to use GODAE (Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment) data products to address problems in estuarine, coastal and shelf waters. In this, the first of a two part paper, the present and planned capabilities of the system including data management, analysis and presentation, modeling capabilities, data and model product distribution system, and the web based map and data server architecture are described. The second paper, 'A Nowcast/Forecast System of Circulation Dynamics for Narragansett Bay', reviews the initial hydrodynamic modeling efforts in Narragansett Bay.