A Web App for Coastal and Marine Data Visualization
Enormous amount of data of coastal and marine resources are generated daily. These dataset include remote sensing observation of sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-*a*, real-time and weather forecast from Tanzania Meteorological Agency and several fisheries catch information from the territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone. These enormous data comes in a raw format and, no matter how well processed and analyzed, results should be presented in a plain and simple way in order to make them accessible for everyone. Unfortunately, the potential of effective data presentation is all too often not fully exploited. Yet, presentation of the data in visual aid is crucial as it helps the user consume the content of the information. Since most of the coastal and marine data are locked in office's shelf, the sector loose a great opportunity to build credibility, attract and sustain the interest of readers and investors, and make large amounts of information easily accessible. Recognizing the power of information, the Institute of Marine Sciences with financial support from the MarcSouth project, has developed a web application using shiny package in R to facilitate sharing of coastal and marine information to the general public. The tool consume geospatial data---data that can be mapped using geographic information systems (GIS) – has become increasingly widespread in the coastal and marine sciences. The application not only display information of coastal and marine environment, but it is also flexible and allow users to interact with it for complex analysis and visualization. The results of the query are made plain easier, which decipher the relationship in an easier form of internet than the conventional media of sharing information like the tables and plots in the report. The app also provide dashboards that highlight key weather forecasts and marine information daily.
