The datacrossing DSS: A data-GRID based decision support system for groundwater management

The Datacrossing DSS (http://datacrossing.crs4.it) is a basin-scale groundwater model that relies on a geographically distributed GIS to support decision makers, through a user-friendly Web interface, in the field of sustainable water resources management. The portal, for the general user, exposes hydrological applications based on complex models that make use of large volumes of distributed data available in a GRID infrastructure. Free software and in-house technologies are combined to transparently and automatically deploy the applications. Our objective is to build a development platform that by introducing the computational and data-sharing advantages of the GRID infrastructure promotes joint initiatives and encourages cooperation among multidisciplinary teams operating in environmental sciences. To illustrate the potential of our data-grid DSS, we present its application to a Sardinian case history where a coastal aquifer is threatened by the leakage of highly toxic inorganic residuals from the Portoscuso industrial settlements. © 2006 IEEE.