atasets 1s 
| vertical 
1 points). 
ıced to a 
iter level 
although 
in higher 
ea - such 
ntrations 
olumn of 
generally 
ting land 
1e objects 
hy, GPS 
1 surveys 
ito, see. 
nd sweep 
thymetric 
ost water 
areas of 
dollars in 
handling 
tion that 
linate the 
sources. 
ter based 
has been 
a already 
these two 
t the very 
access to 
nt players 
timated - 
ind based 
ogress in 
(NS and 
NB) in Atlantic Canada. This is essential if good coastal information is to be 
provided to the managers in Atlantic Canada. The promise of some of the 
emerging technologies for near-shore bathymetric collection and for data 
management may make the job easier than it would have been a decade ago. 
STANDARDS 
Land information standards have been the subject of considerable activity 
over the past 4 or 5 years. New Brunswick has a committee, Nova Scotia has 
a committee, and nationally the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) 
committee on Geomatics have been active in discussing appropriate 
standards for the land based data. Both provincial committees are 
incorporating water information standards in their deliberations. Success in 
reaching consensus in these different committees has been mixed, but 
dialogue has been opened, and agreement is some areas has been reached. 
The interests of the International community, normally expressed through 
NATO, have been aired in the discussions of land based standards, but they 
are not the driving force. 
On the other hand, most of the activity in water based standards is at the 
international level. Canada has been a major driving force at the 
International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) over the last 10 years in 
setting standards for water based information, and has driven many of the 
decisions and recommendations with respect to datum, accuracy standards, 
and exchange formats. 
Coastal Information Standards must make the most of the standards already 
in place for water based data and for land based data, and must try to reconcile 
differences where they exist. In Atlantic Canada, the vehicle for discussion of 
coastal information standards has been a working group of the Atlantic 
Coastal Zone Information Steering Committee (ACZISC). So far agreement 
has been reached on standards for vertical datum and for horizontal datum, 
and work has begun on creation of a common digital coastline. 
COOPERATIVE PROJECTS 
There are many multiple-partner-projects in the Atlantic Region dealing with 
the coastal zone. Examples are 
* Coastal Information Technology Architecture Program 
* East Coast of North America Strategic Assessment Program 
*Gulf of Maine 
*ACAP 
* Mahone Bay 
*Electronic Chart 
*Bouctouche Bay 
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