Search and Rescue Incident Simulation

Situation: Radio contact is lost with a plane from a NATO partner during a storm. The plane is on a training mission out of a Canadian Forces base Goose Bay in Labrador DND requests that the emergency mapping group (Emapping) in Natural Resources Canada create a GeoConference session to allow the two organizations to combine their geographic information and expertise in the search and rescue (SAR) mission. Because foreign nation, DFAIT participates to monitor the situation. GoeConference session participants: ► EMapping = Emergency mapping personnel, Earth Sciences Sector, Natural Resources Canada ► Control-DND = Personnel in the Department of National Defence responsible for coordinating response to the incident ► DFAIT = Personnel in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade responsible for foreign relations in the incident situation. The three participants are in different locales.
see larger picture	1. Control–DND contacts emergency mapping personnel to request assistance in the area of geomatics. DND-Control: “Goose Bay reports NATO-partner plane lost radio contact during a sudden storm” EMapping creates a GeoConference session from an existing session template
see larger picture	2. After creating the session from the template, EMapping adds a few additional layers to create a simple base map for the geoconferencing session.– simple base map: a digital elevation model (DEM) from the WMS server at CubeWerx, plus additional layers from the NTDB (1:250,000) from CTI (centre for Topographic Information, Natural Resources Canada) and CubeWerx WMSs, and opens the session to users. DND-control receives a Shapefile containing the flight plan of the missing jet. This Shapefile is added to the session as well DFAIT joins the session to follow status of the incident. DND-control -- To recap, we log that we have lost a German jet in NATO training. We are showing flight plan and point of last contact on base map of the area. Last radio conact is somewhere N and W of Goose Bay – as shown by the annotation. (Logs similar comment in the session text log.) EMapping – Just a note thinking about SAR: road transport in area is of course limited.
see larger picture	3. EMapping -- Do we have any emergency position indicating beacon information? DND-control – None has been has been received. We will assume for the moment that it is not working. Here is the last known communication point [adds annotation pointing to a point in Shapefile.] DND personnel calculate a potential crash radius in GIS. This is added to the session as a Shapefile. EMapping – Note: no roads, generally forested and rough terrain [User tab shows the 3 users present in session.]
see larger picture see larger picture	3a. EMapping changes view by zooming in and adding pertinent layers from the NTDB (1:250,000) on the WMS at CTI. He also adds a new backdrop more appropriate to the scale: the DNEC 1:250K shaded relief from the CTI WMS. 3b. DND-Control -- We have planned air search – here is the Shapfile. [Shown in figure modifying style of the search pattern line] DFAIT – OK, we will relay this to the other government.
see larger picture	4. DND-control -- We believe we have located crash site . We are putting the file with location into the view. See the annotation. Note however that we have not located the aircrew. DFAIT – I’ll take a print of this and relay info to foreign government. DND-control – EMapping, can you put up a more precise background map at this point? EMapping -- Will do. We’ll make the NTDB 1:50K from CTI available to the session. DFAIT – Logging off now, returning later.
see larger picture see larger picture	5a. EMapping makes a new geoinformation source (NTDB 1:50,000 from the CTI WMS) available to the session, using the Add Session Layers dialog 5b. EMapping adds appropriate layers to the view from the NTDB 1:50K and removes the layers from the NTDB 1:250K. He zooms the view to the area near the crash site. [EMapping intends for the view to resemble a standard Canadian 1:50,000 series topographic map, since many users are accustomed to that.] Emappin -- Looks like one problem is going to be finding area for landing – I only see a few open areas according to the BNDT vegetation layer. DND-control -- OK, we are planning the ground search for the aircrew. setting up search. Can EMapping give us some indications about accessibility by foot from the crash site, and suggest some potential landing areas nearby?
see larger picture	6. EMapping further zooms the shared view in GeoConference adds the CIT Canimage layer [derived from Landsat 7 TM imagery] to help visual interpretation. He modifies the display characteristics of some of the NTDB layers. Sometime later: EMapping -- OK, we’ve using vegetation, satellite imagery and relief to get an idea of accessibility by foot – displayed from our Shapefile as the yellow transparent overlay. DND-Control – here is our planned search path [adds the search pattern dotted line].
see larger picture	7.DND-Control -- Pilot and navigator found! [Points to flagged annotation in GeoConference view] Could you show us those land Show us your landing areas again? Emapping – Here they are -- red outlines.

Situation:

Radio contact is lost with a plane from a NATO partner during a storm. The plane is on a training mission out of a Canadian Forces base Goose Bay in Labrador

DND requests that the emergency mapping group (Emapping) in Natural Resources Canada create a GeoConference session to allow the two organizations to combine their geographic information and expertise in the search and rescue (SAR) mission. Because foreign nation, DFAIT participates to monitor the situation.

GoeConference session participants:

► EMapping = Emergency mapping personnel, Earth Sciences Sector, Natural Resources Canada

► Control-DND = Personnel in the Department of National Defence responsible for coordinating response to the incident

► DFAIT = Personnel in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade responsible for foreign relations in the incident situation.

The three participants are in different locales.

see larger picture

1. Control–DND contacts emergency mapping personnel to request assistance in the area of geomatics.

DND-Control: “Goose Bay reports NATO-partner plane lost radio contact during a sudden storm”

EMapping creates a GeoConference session from an existing session template

see larger picture

2. After creating the session from the template, EMapping adds a few additional layers to create a simple base map for the geoconferencing session.– simple base map: a digital elevation model (DEM) from the WMS server at CubeWerx, plus additional layers from the NTDB (1:250,000) from CTI (centre for Topographic Information, Natural Resources Canada) and CubeWerx WMSs, and opens the session to users.

DND-control receives a Shapefile containing the flight plan of the missing jet. This Shapefile is added to the session as well

DFAIT joins the session to follow status of the incident.

DND-control -- To recap, we log that we have lost a German jet in NATO training. We are showing flight plan and point of last contact on base map of the area. Last radio conact is somewhere N and W of Goose Bay – as shown by the annotation. (Logs similar comment in the session text log.)

EMapping – Just a note thinking about SAR: road transport in area is of course limited.

see larger picture

3. EMapping -- Do we have any emergency position indicating beacon information?

DND-control – None has been has been received. We will assume for the moment that it is not working. Here is the last known communication point [adds annotation pointing to a point in Shapefile.]

DND personnel calculate a potential crash radius in GIS. This is added to the session as a Shapefile.

EMapping – Note: no roads, generally forested and rough terrain

[User tab shows the 3 users present in session.]

see larger picture

3a. EMapping changes view by zooming in and adding pertinent layers from the NTDB (1:250,000) on the WMS at CTI. He also adds a new backdrop more appropriate to the scale: the DNEC 1:250K shaded relief from the CTI WMS.

3b. DND-Control -- We have planned air search – here is the Shapfile. [Shown in figure modifying style of the search pattern line]

DFAIT – OK, we will relay this to the other government.

see larger picture

4. DND-control -- We believe we have located crash site . We are putting the file with location into the view. See the annotation. Note however that we have not located the aircrew.

DFAIT – I’ll take a print of this and relay info to foreign government.

DND-control – EMapping, can you put up a more precise background map at this point?

EMapping -- Will do. We’ll make the NTDB 1:50K from CTI available to the session.

DFAIT – Logging off now, returning later.

see larger picture

5a. EMapping makes a new geoinformation source (NTDB 1:50,000 from the CTI WMS) available to the session, using the Add Session Layers dialog

5b. EMapping adds appropriate layers to the view from the NTDB 1:50K and removes the layers from the NTDB 1:250K. He zooms the view to the area near the crash site.

[EMapping intends for the view to resemble a standard Canadian 1:50,000 series topographic map, since many users are accustomed to that.]

Emappin -- Looks like one problem is going to be finding area for landing – I only see a few open areas according to the BNDT vegetation layer.

DND-control -- OK, we are planning the ground search for the aircrew. setting up search. Can EMapping give us some indications about accessibility by foot from the crash site, and suggest some potential landing areas nearby?

see larger picture

6. EMapping further zooms the shared view in GeoConference adds the CIT Canimage layer [derived from Landsat 7 TM imagery] to help visual interpretation. He modifies the display characteristics of some of the NTDB layers.

Sometime later:

EMapping -- OK, we’ve using vegetation, satellite imagery and relief to get an idea of accessibility by foot – displayed from our Shapefile as the yellow transparent overlay.

DND-Control – here is our planned search path [adds the search pattern dotted line].

see larger picture

7.DND-Control -- Pilot and navigator found! [Points to flagged annotation in GeoConference view] Could you show us those land Show us your landing areas again?

Emapping – Here they are -- red outlines.