Use of GIS (geographical information systems) is an effective and efficient method for gathering and processing large quantities of marine data, such as three-dimensional (3-D) time series of velocity vectors and suspended sediment and pollutant concentrations, and for visual display for result interpretation. A MGIS (marine geographical information system) has been developed for Xiamen Bay and other coastal regions in China. The system can handle object spatial property and a variety of data formats. Besides the standard data manipulation, plotting, and retrieval functions of GIS, two hydrodynamic/mass-transport numerical models for tidal flows, sediment transport, and pollutant dispersion have also been incorporated into the MGIS. Most of the modeling pre- and post-processing operations can be finished within the system. The pre-processing includes mesh generation, gathering of boundary and parallel computation information. The post-processing includes result posting, plotting and analysis. The MGIS has been implemented for more than three years and proven to be a useful integrated tool for generating and revealing various kinds of marine environmental information. Output from the MGIS may provide an important tool for harbor management, and feasibility or environmental impact assessment studies for new coastal structures. The system can be easily adopted in other marine areas through loading new databases and re-verifying the numerical model in the new domain
