Use of Advanced Information Technologies for Marine Accident Data Analysis Visualization and Quality Control

Abstract

With increasing attention being given to vulnerable U.S. transportation system infrastructure, several different types of risk assessments are being performed. As this applies to marine transportation, one area of risk analysis is safe transport on the inland waterway network. Along the approximately 10,000 miles of navigable waterway in the United States reside major bridges, locks and dams, and population centers. Not only could an incident affect human health, property, and the ecology, but were it to make the network impassable, this could also cause a ripple effect throughout the U.S. economy. This article explores how advanced information technology can be used for identification and visualization of hazardous locations along U.S. navigable waterways. The initial intent of this research was to identify these locations using Geographic Information Systems technology. However, it soon became apparent that there were significant quality issues with the U.S. Coast Guard accident data. Consequently, visualization using satellite imagery (in programs such as Google Earth) proved valuable in validating accident locations and understanding how characteristics of each location may have contributed to accident causation and consequence. This article therefore also discusses how cost-effective technologies can be meaningfully applied to marine casualty data analysis and validation.

Keywords:

• marine transportation accident data
• visualization
• quality control
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Google Earth
• marine transportation risk assessment