The following is an example workflow for how the data navigator can be used to find and retrieve a specific subset of spatial data to support decision-making.
Scenario: You are a decision-maker who must evaluate whether a particular site may be suitable for oyster aquaculture and, if so, how its usage for aquaculture may impact the local community. To evaluate this decision, you need a variety of spatial data. You would prefer that this data be downloadable so that you can use it to create a map in your preferred GIS software.
Example Workflow: Before we begin filtering the datasets in the navigator, we can optimize the columns in the navigator so that they only show metadata we are interested in. Click on the “Column Visibility” dropdown menu. Here, we can select and deselect metadata to be displayed in the navigator table. Let’s say we are interested in the provider who is hosting the data, the title of the dataset, the related keywords, the broad data category, whether the data is downloadable, and which formats the data can be downloaded as. Select “Provider,” “Dataset,” “Related Keywords,” “Broad Data Category,” “Downloadable,” and “Data Format” in the dropdown. Deselect all other options. Notice that the navigator table changes to only display these metadata columns. Now we can filter the data.
To find downloadable data, select “Yes” in the “Downloadable” dropdown menu. The datasets shown are now restricted to only those that can be downloaded to your personal device.
To find biological/ecological data about the prospective oyster aquaculture site, you can use either the “Broad Data Category” or the “Related Keywords” dropdowns. Select the “Biological/Ecological” option under “Broad Data Category” to return a subset of all biological data. This is useful if you are not sure what types of data are out there or what types might be most helpful. If you are only looking for oyster-specific biological data, select “Mollusks” under the “Related Keywords” dropdown. Note that this returns datasets like “Oyster Habitat Suitability” and “Shellfish Beds,” both of which may be useful in this scenario. To be even more specific, you can type “Oyster” into the “Search Keywords” bar and this will return any dataset in which “Oyster” appears somewhere in the metadata. Note that you may need to try different forms of the word (“Oyster” versus “Oysters”) in order for this method to return the relevant datasets.
Something else you would like to evaluate for the site is how many people use the area for recreation and how populated nearby communities are. Reset all dropdowns to “All” except for “Downloadable,” which should still be filtered to “Yes.” To view all available demographic data, select “Demographics” under the “Related Keywords” dropdown. This returns datasets like “Coastal Populated Places and “Coastal Population By County.” Switch the selected related keyword from “Demographics” to “Recreation.” Now you can see datasets such as “Coastal Water Trails” or “Intensity of Use for Surface Water Activities” that may be relevant to your decision-making.
When you find a dataset that you would like to download, click on the “Provider” section of the dataset row to see a pop-up with all the available metadata. Click on the link next to “Website” to be directed to the specific webpage hosting that data. From there, download the data in whichever format you would prefer.