Memorandum submitted by Ordnance Survey
(FL 54)
1. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Ordnance Survey creates, maintains and distributes
geospatial and cartographic data and products relating to Great
Britain in the nation's interest. As part of its public task,
it also ensures that its data is capable of supporting the principles
underlying the Digital National Framework (DNF) in underpinning
the association and integration of third-party geospatial information.
Ordnance Survey has been proactively involved
in the Atlantis initiative, which aims to achieve a far better
understanding and managing of flood hazards. Ordnance Survey believes
this programme provides an excellent example of collaboration
between different government departments and agencies and of how
datasets from different sources can be effectively integrated
using the principles underlying the DNF.
The Atlantis initiative is described in more
detail below but, if the Committee so desires, Ordnance Survey
would be very happy to provide further information.
1.1 About Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey is the provider of definitive
mapping data for England, Scotland and Wales. We benefit businesses,
government organisations and consumers by supplying intelligent
digital information and paper maps based on one of the world's
most detailed geographic reference frameworks.
Ordnance Survey has been a separate government
department since the mid 19th century and an Executive Agency
in its own right since 1991. Ordnance Survey has operated as a
Trading Fund within the public sector since 1999. Our Director
General and Chief Executive is official adviser to the United
Kingdom Government on all aspects of survey, mapping and geographic
information.
Ordnance Survey surveys and collects data on
roads, buildings, postal and non-postal addresses, boundaries,
water courses, height and many other aspects of the natural and
man-made landscape of Great Britain. Although traditionally supplied
to the user as paper maps, this data is now more usually supplied
as digital information, which can be readily analysed, manipulated
and linked to other information. The large-scale digital database
of the surface of Great Britain is known as the National Geographic
Database (NGD), from which the OS MasterMap® product is produced.
The NGD is kept up to date on a daily basis, with up to 5 000
changes being made to the database each day. It forms a valuable
resource for both private- and public-sector organisations in
this country, and an independent report published in 1999 estimated
that Ordnance Survey mapping underpinned £100 billion of
economic activity.
1.2 The Atlantis initiative
1. The Atlantis programme has been established
by a consortium of government organisations: British Geological
Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Agency®,
Meteorological Office, Ordnance Survey and UK Hydrographic Office.
2. The objective of the initiative is to
"Provide integrated geographic and environmental datasets
to better support water management in flooding and water quality
for the 21st Century".
3. The primary purpose is to enhance the
national capability to understand and manage flood hazards and
other water-related environmental matters. Additionally, it is
intended that the programme will facilitate major efficiencies
and service improvements for the public- and private sector users
of the information.
4. A Detailed River Network (DRN) and a variable
accuracy hydrologically consistent digital terrain model will
comprise the core datasets. These will be high resolution, maintained
and fully consistent with each other. Complementary datasets will
include geology, river basin and flood flow information, climatological
information, and coastal and hydrographic information.
5. These datasets will be interoperable with
each other and with such OS MasterMap datasets as may be agreed
between the programme members from time to time, meaning that
units, coordinate systems, formats, referencing systems and positioning
will be consistent and compatible.
6. The value of the new, very detailed datasets
is in the ability to model and help manage water information from
the national level to the local level; this has not been possible
until now.
7. It will be possible to use the data in
the cycle of planning and preparation of mitigation strategies,
to help manage inevitable future emergencies, through to site
restitution and claims settlement to the lessons-learnt stage,
to be invested back into the planning and mitigation process.
Ordnance Survey
August 2007
|
