Coastal Zone Management Determining the accurate length of the coastline is important for such coastal zone management

applications as shoreline classification, erosion, biological resources, habitat assessment, and for the planning and response to natural(e.g. storm surges) and manmade disasters(e.g. oil spills). The increasing use of spatial data and GIS (geographic information systems) by researchers is a valuable tool for coastal zone management. The effectiveness of the results obtained by using a GIS is dependent upon the quality of the data. This data is known as spatial data, since each geographic feature in the database has its own geographic coordinates such as longitude and latitude. Another important aspect of spatial data is that of scale. Spatial data is simply map data in a digital format. Coastal Zone A definition of the coastal zone is somewhat ambiguous since it can include an area that is as small as a buffer zone that ranges several kilometers from the shore line, or it can extend inland to cover entire inland watersheds and/or extend into the sea to include the continental shelf and a country's 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone. Maine will be used as case study to show how different types of spatial data can produce quite different results when used in a geographic information system. Along with the measurements of the shoreline, several other elements of the coastline will also be measure such as the number of islands in the bay, the area of the islands, the length of the shore line of the mainland and of the islands, and the water area of the bay itself. The coastline is the geographic centre of the coastal zone and it is also the location from where the coastal zone is defined. The location of the coastline depends on what datum is used for the sea level, and whether the high tide, or low tide level is to be used as the point of reference. Both GIS and remote sensing are used to create computer data models of the real world and can be used separately or integrated for enhanced analysis. GIS and remote sensing are widely used by academic researchers, private companies, governmental entities, and many non-governmental organizations such as USAID, UN, UNESCO, FAO and others. Geographic Information System GIS Geographic Information Systems are systems of computer hardware, software, data and people used to create, store, display, manipulate, overlay, analyze, and map geographic features and their descriptions or attributes. GIS typically uses vector data. Depending upon the collection scale or generalized nature of the information, vector data represents geographic features by points, lines, or polygons. Points are used to represent a single location with no area. Lines are used to represent linear features, which also do not have area. And lastly, polygons are used to represent homogenous areas, or areas with similar

attributes. Examples of locations represented by points might include ATMs, post boxes, or gelatarias. Lines might be used to represent street centerlines and above or below ground utilities. Some examples of polygons might include buildings, administrative boundaries, soils, or land use. Parameter for GIS There are many parameters to consider when using a geographic information system to measure selected features on the earth's surface. As has already been mentioned, there is the problem of which vertical datum to use to define the coastline. Some of the factors that also must be considered are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. The type of spatial data. The scale and resolution of the spatial data. The type of map projection. Map generalization. The measuring unit. Horizontal and vertical datum for the geographic coordinates Metadata.

i- Digital Spatial Data The usefulness of a paper map(analog data) is limited to its scale, however once a map and its geographic features are stored as digital data it can then be manipulated in a geographic information system. Once a map is in a digital format it can be modified and loaded into a wide variety of computerized drafting, automated mapping and geographic information systems. According to Jenson (1996), there are basically four types of spatial data: 1) Traditional Cartesian vector(Sometimes know as spaghetti), 2)Topological vector, 3)Raster, and 4)QuadTree Raster . ii-Scale: A map scale is a representation of the ratio between a measurement of distance on a map to the same distance in the real world. iii-Spatial Resolution of Data The degree of resolution of spatial data is important for the user of geographic information systems. The spatial resolution of GIS data is also a function of generalization since small scale maps do not usually contain as much geographic detail as larger scale maps, and as a result, the data is most often recorded and stored with less spatial precision. iv-Map generalization Unless a map is compiled at a scale that is the same as reality, or at a 1:1 ratio, the cartographer is forced by necessity to limit the amount of geographic

information that can be shown on a map. As a map scale gets smaller, less and less information can be shown on the map due to the limitations of available space and the problems of representing a feature at its true size. On smaller scale maps, geographic features such as roads, railways, rivers, shorelines of lakes, coastlines of the mainland and islands are simplified (or they are removed) to make the map easier to read and understand. Map generalisation may be accomplished manually by a cartographer or it can be done through a computerized process. V-Projections The earth is a sphere that is slightly flattened in the polar regions, and to draw a large portion of the earth's surface onto a flat piece of paper has always been a problem and a challenge for map makers. There are over 250 different map projections and each one has its own particular strengths and specific uses. Vi-The measuring unit Different maps can be based on different types of map measuring units. Spatial data can be stored in various types of units such as decimal degrees, metres, or feet. It is important to know what unit the spatial data uses so that the correct scale can be applied to the map. Spatial data will often be stored using decimal degrees as the map unit. Vii-Horizontal and vertical datums Horizontal datums Map datums refer to the various locations from where geographic measurements are referenced, and this is one of the parameters in which individual maps are identified. Many North American maps have been, or will soon be converted to a new horizontal map datum known as NAD83 Vertical datums A datum is "any level surface to which elevations are referred . Also called datum plane, though not actually a plane". In the United States of America, the vertical datum known as NGVD29 (National Geodetic Vertical Datum). Viii-Metadata GIS data normally comes with a file of information that describes the content of the data sets. This particular GIS information file is commonly known as Metadata, and it describes the basic features of the GIS data.

REMOTE SENSING Remote sensing typically involves interpreting remotely sensed data, such as satellite images or multi-spectral digital aerial photographs, to inventory, measure, and investigate the worlds resources. Remote sensing has many uses, such as measuring and monitoring natural resources, geologic and natural phenomenon, natural disasters, and anthropogenic environmental effects.Remotely sensed image data is typically represented by rows and columns of square grid cells or pixels, each of which contains a single digital number recorded from a platform of sensors. Each senor on the platform records a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is referred to as a band. Interpretation of imagery can be either visual or computer aided. Remote sensing theory, principles and image enhancement theory In general, remote sensing devices such as satellites contain a platform of sensors, which are sensitive to and record reflectance values from objects on the earths surface (Figure 8. Remote Sensing Theory). The reflectance values, or digital numbers, recorded are measurements of radiant energies of the electromagnetic spectrum. The spectrum is typically divided into radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma ray radiation. Most satellites only detect a small portion of the spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum detection range of the sensor platform is referred to as the sensors spectral resolution. Spectral resolutions can vary widely between satellites. The range of spectral resolution and the purpose of the research influence the remotely sensed data sets chosen.

Remote Sensing Theory

Remotely sensed image data Another factor influencing satellite choice is the sensors spatial resolution. Remotely sensed image data are typically represented by rows and columns of square grid cells or pixels, each of which contains a single digital number recorded from a platform of electromagnetic sensors. The Spatial resolution refers to the ground size of the pixel, or grid cell. Cell size influences the size of the ground object the sensor is able to resolve, which can affect the digital number recorded. For example, if a satellite sensors spatial resolution is a 30meter by 30-meter cell size, the digital number measured for objects larger than the cell size are probably a good measure of the object. If objects are smaller than the cell size, numerous objects are measured, each contributing varying reflectance values to the digital number.Satellite Image Data illustrates the spectral/spatial resolution elements of remotely sensed data. Some popular satellite remote sensing platforms are: Landsat, SPOT, Aster, IRS-C, AVHRR, Goes-East/West, IKONOS, IRS,Terra ASTER, SeaWiFS

Satellite Image Data Remotely sensed data classification Classification of remotely sensed data is a 2-part process. The parts are commonly referred to as Preprocessing Post-processing Preprocessing Preprocessing involves corrections applied to the recorded image data related to atmospheric conditions such as sun angle, clouds, haze, radiometric calibrations due to satellite sensor variations over time and Geometric correction to transform

data from Space Oblique Mercator, a satellite coordinate system, to a real world coordinate system, such as UTM. Post-processing Post-processing involves the actual classification process, either unsupervised or supervised, which assigns cells new values, or classes. The classes often represent some observed feature on the earth, for instance a marsh, mangrove, or shallow water.Simply stated. In an unsupervised classification method the computer assigns classes based on the statistical relationship of a cells digital number to the range of the entire images digital numbers. In a supervised classification process the researcher uses ancillary data collected from GIS, hard copy maps, photo interpretation, or groundtruthing (ground visits to identifiable places in the image) to guide the computer in assigning classes based on statistical relationships. Ancillary data from groundtruthing can also be augmented with the use of a hand-held spectroradiometer which measures the percentage reflectance in relationship to the wavelength, or portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that was reflected. Comparisons can then be made between the satellite recorded reflectance values and reflectance values on the ground. Lastly, for either unsupervised or supervised classification processes ground-truthing is also used to verify the accuracy of the final classified image. A classified image is the result of the process. Figure Image Classification illustrates a reef area around Hurghada classified into 3 classes, green for land, light blue-green for shallow water and light blue for deeper water.

Image Classification

Another way to quickly interpret remotely sensed data is through image display and enhancement. Through the use of a computer monitor a series of 3 sensor bands can be displayed in (Figure Image Display and Enhancement).

Image Display and Enhancement APPLICATION OF GPS A hand-held spectroradiometer was used to collect spectral data samples from various locations on the Red Sea and in the study areas. A GPS and laptop computer were used to record the position and descriptive data for each location. Example study areas and simulated examples of data collected.

Red Sea Example Study Areas

Hurghada Mountains Data Collection

Hurghada Mountains Example Study Areas

Hurghada Mountains Simulated Spectral Data Applied Post Training Landfill Sitting Study The area includes a significant proportion of the mangrove resources and many important threaten species. Basement rocks dominate the study area and provide many economic building materials. Sedimentary sequences of the coastal area also include large amounts of gypsum, anhydrite, sand and gravel.

Landfill Sitting Study Area 10

The tourism activities and infrastructure are growing rapidly in the area. This will lead to an increase of existing and future solid waste. To prevent environmental impacts Solid Waste management is needed.This study aims to identify suitable site for solid waste landfill through screening-level process that used remotes sensing and GIS techniques. GIS model have been developed to implement the landfill site selection criteria. The criteria used in the model were distance from the coast, protectorates, and roads, as well as specified slope, drainage, and soils. GIS model were based on data interpreted from ASTER and QuickBird satellite images, field survey using sub-meter differential GPS and previous published data. The sites selected for detailed studies are shown in Figure 25. GIS Criteria and Selected Sites.

GIS Criteria and Selected Sites

Algorithm Algorithm is a procedure used to solve a mathematical or computational problem or to address a data processing issue. In the latter sense, an algorithm is a set of step-by-step commands or instructions designed to reach a particular goal.

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Image Enhancement and Image Interpretation Case Study Urban Sprawl Impact Assessment on the Fertile Agricultural Land of Egypt Using Remote Sensing and Digital Soil Database.Urban sprawl is one of the main problems that threaten the limited highly fertile land in the Nile Delta of Egypt. In this research, satellite images Landsat TM 1993, ETM+ 2001 and Egypt - Sat-1, 2009 has been used.Using GIS, made it possible to point out the risk of urban expansion on the expense of the highly capability soil class. Introduction Food scarcity and continuous loss of agricultural lands are issues of global concern. The government of Egypt adopted policies aimed at self-sufficiency in food production, e.g. extension of cultivated areas and maximization of production of the existing agricultural land. The principal purpose was and still is to overcome Egypt's overwhelmingly unfavorable population to agricultural land ratio. Urbanization is an inevitable process due economic development and rapid population growth. Encroachment of urban settlements on agricultural lands may pose dire consequences. The ever increasing population causes increasing pressure on areas already inhabited and caused a decrease in area per capita from 0.12 ha in 1950 to 0.06 ha in 1990. Desert and uninhabited lands represent about 95% of the total area of Egypt. However, the majority of the population is concentrated around the River Nile. This unbalanced distribution causes serious social and economical problems. Since 1980s, the Egyptian government started plans to adjust this situation by redistributing the population through applying an effective horizontal urban expansion along the desert areas and near the fringes of the Nile delta. This policy aims at reducing the pressure on the old and highly productive agricultural land, decrease population density in the inhabited areas and decrease pollution sources by establishing industrial areas outside the Nile valley and delta. Therefore, determining the trend and the rate of land cover conversion are necessary for the development planner in order to establish rational land use policy. For this purpose, the temporal dynamics of remote sensing data can play an important role in monitoring and analyzing land cover changes. Accurate and up-to-date land cover change information is necessary to understand both human causes and environmental consequences of such changes. Digital change detection is the process of determining and/or describing changes in land-cover and land-use properties based on co-registered multitemporal remote sensing data. The basic premise in using remote sensing data for change detection is that the process can identify change between two or more dates that is uncharacteristic of normal variation. Numerous researchers have addressed the problem of accurately monitoring land-cover and land-use change in a wide variety of environments.

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Many studies have discussed land cover and land use changes in arid, semi-arid and agricultural productive land. In central and south Ethiopia using aerial photographs dated 1972 and 1994 Landsat TM image. combined black and white aerial photographs with fieldwork and GIS to monitor land cover changes covering 56 years (1940-1996) in parts of Bogota, Colombia. Studied land use changes in arid areas in India by visual comparison of satellite imagery, maps and aerial photographs. In Egypt, used satellite imagery to highlight agricultural boundaries and monitor reclamation process. Landsat TM images dating from 1984 to 1993 to assess land cover changes in Egypt. There are many techniques available to detect and record differences (e.g. image differencing, ratios or correlation) and theses might be attributable to changes in land cover. The detection of image differences may be confused with problems in phenology and cropping, and such problems may be exacerbated by limited image availability and poor quality in temperate zones, and difficulties in calibrating poor images. Post-classification comparisons of derived thematic maps go beyond simple change detection and attempt to quantify the different types of change. The degree of success depends upon the reliability of the maps made by image classification. The objectives of this study are to investigate the urban sprawl and its impact on agricultural land through integrating remote sensing and GIS and to examine the capabilities of integrating remote sensing and GIS in studying the spatial distribution of land cover changes. Study area The Qalubiya Governorate is located on the eastern side of the River Nile. The Governorate is characterized by a specific location since it is considered the meeting point of the main transport lines between northern Governorates. The total area of the Governorate is estimated to be 1001.09 km2, where the cultivated area is 810 km2, representing 81% of its total coverage.The Qalubiya Governorate is located under arid climatic conditions.

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Location map of Qalubiya Governorate Materials Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) acquired May, 7th 1993 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) dated May, 29th 2001 Two scenes of Egypt-Sat-1, dated 7 and 15 of July 2009 covering Soil map Topographic map Field data Methodology i-Geometric correction Accurate per-pixel registration of multi-temporal remote sensing data is essential for change detection since registration errors could be interpreted as land-cover and land-use changes, leading to an overestimation of actual change. Change detection analysis is performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis; therefore any misregistration greater than one pixel will provide an anomalous result of that pixel. To overcome this problem the RMS error between any two dates should not exceed 0.5 pixel. in this case study, geometric correction was carried out using ground control point from topographic maps to geocode the image of 2001 then,this image was used to register all other images, the RMSE between different images was less than 0.4 pixel which is acceptable. ii- Image enhancement and visual interpretation The goal of image enhancement is to improve the visual interpretability of an image by increasing the apparent distinction between the features. The process of visually interpreting digitally enhanced imagery attempts to optimize the complementary abilities of the human mind and the computer. The mind is excellent at interpreting spatial attributes on an image and is capable of identifying obscure or subtle features. Contrast stretching was applied on all images and four False Color Composites (FCC) were produced. These FCC are visually interpreted using on screen digitizing in order to delineate land cover classes that could be easily interpreted such as urban and water. iii- Image classification Land cover classes are typically mapped from digital remotely sensed data through the process of a supervised digital image classification. The overall objective of the image classification procedure is to automatically categorize all pixels in an image into land cover classes or themes. The maximum likelihood classifier quantitatively evaluates both the variance and covariance of the category spectral response patterns when classifying an unknown pixel so that it is considered to be one of the most accurate classifier since it is based on statistical parameters. Supervised classification was done using ground checkpoints and digital topographic maps of the study area. Then accuracy assessment was carried out using 200 points from field data and existing land cover maps. In order to increase the accuracy of land cover mapping of the two images, ancillary data and the result of visual interpretation was integrated with the classification result using GIS.

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iv- Land cover / use change Detection In this study post-classification change detection technique was applied. Postclassification is the most obvious method of change detection, which requires the comparison of independently produced classified images. Post-classification comparison proved to be the most effective technique, because data from two dates are separately classified, thereby minimizing the problem of normalizing for atmospheric and sensor differences between different dates. v- Digital soil map The transformation of paper soil map into digital soil map was done following the next steps: A. Spatial adjustment on basis of Landsat images and topographic maps It was noticed, after edge matching, that there was a deviation (constant in many places in its direction and magnitude) between the produced maps and the well registered land marks, driven out of the survey maps and satellite images of the study area. After investigating this deviation, it has been attributed to two reasons: lack of coordinate system and the rubber-sheeting accompanied the edge-matching task. In order to overcome this problem well registered topographic maps and accurately geo-referenced satellite images have been used to perform the transformation process. The transformation tools of ArcGIS system were found to be very effective in performing the spatial adjustment of the thematic maps. B. Compilation of laboratory analysis results The collected 88 soil samples were air dried and prepared for chemical and physical analysis. The resulted analyses data have been compiled in the database and incorporated into the attribute tables of the soil maps . C. Extracting areas of interest After having one digital soil map for the studied regions, the laboratory soil samples analysis have been incorporated into the GIS attribute tables. For the detailed studies, a modified soil map ought to be produced using the remote sensing and GIS techniques as well as the soil survey on basis of the American Soil Taxonomy . Cutting the area of interest from the previously integrated soil map of the Nile valley and delta, using the clip function of ArcGIS system, has been used to extract the modified soil map. vi- Digital Elevation Model Digital elevation model (DEM) of the studied areas has been generated from the elevation points, SRTM images and the vector contour lines; Arc-View GIS 3.2 software was used for this function. Landsat ETM images (2001) and digital elevation model (DEM) was used by ENVI 4.2 software to produce the physiographic maps of the investigated areas.

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Results and discussion The False Color Composites (FCC) generated from bands 4, 3 and 2 were visually interpreted through on screen digitizing.

FCC of Qalubiya governorate generated from Landsat TM 1993

FCC of Qalubiya governorate generated from Landsat ETM+ 16

FCC of Qalubiya governorate generated from Landsat Egypt Sat1, 2009 The visual interpretation gave a general idea about the forms of land cover changes over the period. Many urban areas were erected recently, especially near Cairo on the expense of the most fertile soils. Supervised classification using all reflective bands of the Landsat TM 1993, ETM+ 2001 and Egypt - Sat-1, 2009 images, was carried out using maximum likelihood classifier. In order to increase the accuracy of land cover mapping of the classified images, ancillary data and the result of visual interpretation was integrated with the classification results using GIS. This overlying of the visual interpretation on the result of the classification led to the increase in the overall accuracies. A standard overall accuracy for land-cover and land-use maps is set between 85 and 90%. In this study the overall classification accuracy was found to be 91 % for 1993, 92.3 % for 2001 and 90.4 for 2009. The urban areas is overlaid on top of the soil capability map to show the extend of urban on the expense of agricultural land (figure below)

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Urban settlements, extracted from TM image of 1993, overlaid on soil capability map

Urban settlements, extracted from ETM+ image of 2001, overlaid on soil capability map

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Urban settlements, extracted from Egypt - Sat1 image of 2009, overlaid on soil capability map Remote sensing data and GIS provide opportunities for integrated analysis of spatial data. Cross-tabulation performs image cross-tabulation in which the categories of one image are compared with those of a second image and tabulation is kept of the number of cells in each combination. Post-classification change detection technique was carried out, through crosstabulation GIS module, for the classification results of 1993, 2001 and 2009 images in order to produce change image (figure 8) and statistical data about the spatial urban changes from 1993 to 2009 (table 1). Table1. urban settlement of Qalubiya Area (km2) governorate from 1993 2009 Area Fadden 21,596 89.98 32,049 62,904 133.54 262.10 Year Built-up areas 1993 Built-up areas 2001 Built-up areas 2009

The built-up areas in the Governorate increased from 98.98 Km2 in the year 1993 to 133.54 Km2 in 2001 to and to 262.1 Km2 in the year 2009 . it is clear

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that the urbanization spread in the whole Governorate, and especially practiced near Cairo. In terms of land capability classification, the high capable soils (Class I) decreased from 683.2 Km2 in 1993 to 647.6 Km2 in 2001 and to 605.53 in 2009. The moderate capable soils decreased from 100.5 to 88.45 Km2 from 1993 to 2009, while the marginally capable soils decreased from 209.1 Km2 to 143.47 Km2 during the same period. It is noticed that urban encroachment over the non capable soils are very limited, as their coverage was found stable during the period 1993 2009. Conclusion The objective of this study was to study the urban sprawl and its impact on agriculture land in Qalubiya and to examine the capabilities of integrating remote sensing and GIS in studying the spatial distribution and extent of urbanization. It was found that integrating visual interpretation with supervised classification led to increase in the overall accuracy. Integrating GIS and remote sensing provided valuable information on the nature of land cover changes especially the area and spatial distribution of different land cover changes

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Visualization System for the Coastal Zone Management The system computing infrastructures including Digital Library, Mediation, Graphical Information Systems (GIS) and World Wide Web technology to provide single point access, location, integration, retrieval, and visualization of distributed geospatial data and programs remotely via a Web browser. Coastal Zone Management (CZM) is a methodology for the management of all coastal resources with the ultimate aim of promoting sustainable development of coastal zones. An abundance of information has been accumulated for CZM. This information is the result of work in several scientific disciplines such as Marine Biology Oceanography, Chemistry, Engineering. Typical information used for CZM purposes includes monitored data and images that may be stored in various databases, files, and even spreadsheets. Furthermore, mathematical models exist for simulating physical processes of coastal sea circulation, wave generation, sediment transport, etc. In addition, techniques such as image processing and statistical methods for reformulating, fusing, or extracting information from monitored data are available. Data access may require specialized vendor database tools and integrated access does not exist. In the simplest case data exchange is accomplished through surface mailed diskettes. Moreover, scientific models are often implemented as legacy programs that require specialized hardware and software to execute. The THETIS system is an Environmental Scientific Information System designed and implemented for managing data for coastal zones in the Mediterranean Sea. The system is accessible through the WWW and provides user access to data, programs and images stored in geographically distributed scientific repositories. The user is able to locate, retrieve and visualize data stored in these repositories from a web browser. In addition, the user can produce data on demand by remotely invoking programs with appropriate data inputs and visualize these data using a GIS based user interface. Search of data/programs is also done via a map. GISs provide a natural user interface since environment related data have always a geographical attribute. In addition, specialized visualization software is used. The user is capable of storing the results of program invocations back into the system by means of an automatic publication system that is implemented within THETIS. Thus a globally shared digital library of scientific information is formed dynamically regarding the application of interest, i.e., coastal zone management.

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The THETIS system design is based on a number of components, namely, 1. 2. 3. 4. a distributed search engine a distributed retrieval engine the system data repositories The user interface (as shown in Figure 1).

Search Engine The search engine implements a distributed search of metadata regarding the system repositories or publishing sites. There are two different types of metadata addressing data and programs. The FGDC standard has been used as the basis for both of these types because of the common geospatial component in environmental data and the thematic information requirements by the standard. Metadata, an electronic form implementing the standards agreed fields, are completed/edited by repositories publishers (i.e., scientists that make their data/programs/images available to the system) and directly submitted via the web to the THETIS system. The search engine automatically indexes these forms. Moreover, a spider program also automatically retrieves metadata from repositories when the repositories are updated independently and maps them into the systems metadata. Search queries are based on thematic keywords, specific organization names and/or geographical locations selected graphically on a map (by encircling the area of interest via a mouse) at the user interface. The output of search queries provides metadata information about data, programs and images and a link of their location.

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Retrieval Engine The user brows metadata information then selects a link of interest and queries it via the retrieval engine. The retrieval engine offers two main functionalities. First, it enables the access of data and images that reside in distributed publishing sites through a JDBC interface. The retrieval engine supports a restricted SQL query language to query the data. To support a distributed access to data, data publishers first have to make their data available in the form of relational tables. The data themselves do not have to reside in a relational database though. Instead, a software module, called a data wrapper, takes charge of the dynamic translation of the original data into a relational format when queried. Several data wrappers are available for different kinds of data in the THETIS system. Once data are published via data wrappers, the query execution engine at the client site processes a user query locally. This engine maps the user global query into local queries, each for a different query execution engine of some remote publishing site, and a composition query for producing the final result. Client sites communicate with publishing sites via a CORBA communication module. Local queries received by the query execution engine of a publishing site are sent for execution to the appropriate wrappers of the site. The query execution engine has a runtime system to integrate the results of local queries. As a second functionality, the retrieval engine enables the invocation of remote program execution with input data arguments that are the result of distributed queries. Such invocations are performed via a job execution language. First, program publishers publish their programs via program wrappers. Then, a client site sends to the publishing site where the program resides a job execution command. At the publishing site, job execution commands are processed asynchronously. A job manager module requests execution of the queries that compute the program inputs, invokes the execution of the program, makes the result available to the client, and also notifies the client of the result.

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There are three different application demonstrators integrated from the scientific repositories connected to the system, which we call scenarios of use of the THETIS system, and which support coastal zone management: A Waste Transport scenario for the computation of concentration of effluents based on general circulation data displaying the movement of pollutants, calibrated for the north coast of Heraklion in Crete; A Sea Structure Tracking scenario, which allows for the study of the dynamic of oceans through stepwise satellite image processing from satellite pictures of the Mediterranean Sea; A Wave Prediction/Hindcasting scenario, which is based on the calculation of wave climate at specified points based on historical wind and wave data, applicable any where in the Mediterranean, provided that local input data are available.

The scenarios are implemented interactively with the user. The user is also allowed via the web interface to submit parameters relevant to the programs he/she is remotely executing, such as grid accuracy, wind direction, etc. These inputs are user dependent and required for the execution of scientific programs. The user interface is shown in Figure 2. It displays an instance of the search and retrieval capabilities of the Waste scenario visualized on a map of the North of Crete. At the user interface the user may visualize the resulting data via a Geographical Information System, VRML and customized visualization tools automatically invoked by the Web browser.

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