RAPID GEOLOGIC MAP DEVELOPMENT THROUGH CROWD-SOURCING WITH ArcSDE: PROOF OF CONCEPT FROM THE NEVADA DIGITAL DIRT MAPPING EXPERIMENT
Our experiment involved creating a map of the surficial geology of Clark County, Nevada with a crowd-sourcing solution based on a versioned database managed with ArcSDE®. Crowd-sourcing in this context refers to a distributive model of map production via pooling and coordination of the efforts of participants with mapping and GIS skill sets appropriate to the elements of the overall task. High levels of organized collaboration are possible with ArcSDE® because it provides a means for simultaneous and non-conflicting edits of a single, large, multiuser geodatabase. Arguably, such a set-up is the best means by which a multi-editor/author mapping project can be accomplished efficiently.
The ND2ME team numbered as many as 18 individual editors at one time. Skill levels of the team members ranged from beginner in GIS / geology to fully competent in GIS / Geology and several variations in between. Various training exercises ensured that each member ultimately had tasks that matched their skillset. Conflicts arising from simultaneous editing of individual features were obviated by dividing tasks by type or geographic area. Mapping progress was tracked, checked, and modified by team leaders throughout the course of the experiment.
Our experiment successfully completed a very large geologic mapping task in a very short period of time using a very diverse set of editors. The results of our effort clearly demonstrate that populating and coordinating a mapping and GIS team with highly skilled and specialized individuals can generate high-quality maps of larger areas with higher efficiency.