A distributed system to manage multimedia data in a Multisensor real time hydrometeorological monitoring system

A multimedia meteorological and hydrogeological information system, based on the Client-Server paradigm, is considered, and its use in a telecommunication service for civil protection applications is described. The communication system employed is briefly reported. The system is conceived in order to collect, share and efficiently manage spatial, remote-sensed, multisensor images and ground data, spread over a network; it can provide a service to monitor hydrometeorological hazards e.g. in an operational version of STORM, and a support to manage related emergencies. An experimentation of the supported service is reported. The implemented database installation allows remote accesses for meteorologists and hydrologists by means of a multimedia graphical workstation, through the communication system, in a distributed system configuration. The conceptual model of the system is briefly reported; it is based on an Object Oriented Analysis (OOA). The model objective is to conceptualise and capture as many as possible of the space-time attributes of the environmental information managed in a real time monitoring system. In particular, the conceptualisation of remotely sensed and cartographic data is considered, as well as its management, processing and enhancement. The system provides a framework to support and integrate hydrological and meteorological applications; the presented telecommunication service is an example. This is now operating in the Arno Project, supported by the National Group for Prevention from Hydrogeological Hazards (GNDCI) of the National Council of Research (CNR) in Italy. This project aims at developing studies and experiments for the Arno River flood forecasting, through an advanced, integrated, real-time monitoring system coupled with an associated information system.