The recent emphasis on an ecosystem approach to management of commercial fisheries leads to increasing dependence on models and modeling. As models become more complex and increased computational resources allow for the routine use of three-dimensional models, interpreting the ever larger and more complex output becomes a greater challenge. The objective of this project is to investigate how models and a geographic information system (GIS) can be tightly coupled to provide easier manipulation of the model parameters, rapid interaction with the model, and enhanced analysis and 3-D visualization of the results.

To do this we take advantage of two existing GIS-based architectures - the Chesapeake Bay Oyster Larvae Tracker (CBOLT) and GeoModeler. Additionally, a variety of Java-based tools provide other parts of the functionality needed for truly three-dimensional displays and analyses of model output. The Chesapeake Bay Oyster Larvae Tracker (CBOLT) is an integrated system of components that allow users to control a particle tracking model, and then examine the output as geospatial features in a Web-based map interface. CBOLT uses an ArcIMS interface to allow users to input model parameters for a particle tracking model, sends these parameters off to computational engine, returns results to a database, and then plots them in 2-D. While CBOLT is currently a specialized system for showing larvae tracking results, it was written in such a way that it could be broken into reusable components. We use these components for the initial setting of model parameters, the passing of parameters to the model and the storage of the results of model runs in a spatial database. GeoModeler is used for visualization and analysis of the results in 2- and 3-D. GeoModeler uses Java and a GUI to set up model display parameters, allows for 3-D display/manipulation, and provides analytical tools via Java, VTK and ArcEngine.

As an example, we present results that integrate a particle tracking model for Bering Sea northern rock sole ( Lepidopsetta polyxystra ) with the GIS-based visualization and analysis tools.