A Geographic Information System Supporting Ocean Institute Research on Benthic and Demersal Species in the San Pedro Channel

ion of datasets frequently introduces a level of inaccuracy to the datasets that is determined to be acceptable or even desirable. Specifically, elimination of details extraneous to the new purpose for which the old dataset is being applied trades off accuracy for a measure of geodatabase performance. The long-term tendency here is to derive datasets from earlier, more complete datasets, and neglect to document the procedures used, or the lineage from which the new datasets were derived. Counteracting this tendency is what makes metadata updates of vital importance. Even within a particular industry like environmental conservation the specific purposes to which a dataset may be applied will vary. For instance waste water pipes might be included in one environmental conservation project as a source of pollution, in another project as a hazard to survey equipment, and included in yet another conservation project as a location of potential biodiversity. For this reason, datasets will frequently be modified even when used for more than one project within the same industry or field. Each time the layers are modified, the data deviates further from the original data, abstraction