Florida International University is augmenting its TerraFly technology by adding support of visualization of scientific measurement aggregation through space and time with a specific applicability to the coastal and near-coastal areas affected by the Gulf Oil Spill. FIU is assembling data, developing and prototyping algorithms and to support specification of special-purpose functions, data analysis, visualization, and knowledge discovery.This project deals with a severe urgency with regard to availability of, and access to, data and involves quick-response research on the economic impact of the Gulf Oil Spill on coastal communities. New forms of analytical queries needs to be efficiently supported. For example, an insurance company may need to have the following complex query answered: "For any given property, in aggregate for areas, find the value decrease impact that the oil spill had on the property or properties; by correlation of value changes in Florida Panhandle to percentage change of similarly zoned properties elsewhere, adjusted for similar land use (zoning), property size, distance to Water, and near-coastal and coastal oil contamination". The algorithms and prototype system being developed enable the temporal querying, cross-referencing, visualization, and analysis of geospatial data, including time series multi-temporal aerial imagery, multi-temporal measurement and economic data, and vast existing static geospatial databases. This research enables analysis of differences in imagery and vectors, allows querying differences per location, and the posing of a range of questions pertaining to the economic impact of the Gulf Oil Spill on coastal communities. Results of this RAPID project will allow researchers, stakeholders, and the general public to access, query and analyze relevant databases via flexible graphic interfaces. FIU and extramural researchers will have access to multi-temporal high-resolution imagery and vector data. A system-to-system XML access will enable all academic researchers to use the project's GeoQuery system. The project's data and graphic interface to queries, both user-definable and pre-defined, will be accessible via the project web site (http://terrafly.fiu.edu/r.htm).
