A web-based, relational database for studying glaciers in the Italian Alps

Glaciers are among the best terrestrial indicators of climate change and thus glacier inventories have attracted a growing, worldwide interest in recent years. In Italy, the first official glacier inventory was completed in 1925 and 774 glacial bodies were identified. As the amount of data continues to increase, and new techniques become available, there is a growing demand for computer tools that can efficiently manage the collected data. The Research Institute for Geo-hydrological Protection of the National Research Council, in cooperation with the Departments of Computer Science and Earth Sciences of the University of Turin, created a database that provides a modern tool for storing, processing and sharing glaciological data. The database was developed according to the need of storing heterogeneous information, which can be retrieved through a set of web search queries. The database's architecture is server-side, and was designed by means of an open source software. The website interface, simple and intuitive, was intended to meet the needs of a distributed public: through this interface, any type of glaciological data can be managed, specific queries can be performed, and the results can be exported in a standard format. The use of a relational database to store and organize a large variety of information about Italian glaciers collected over the last hundred years constitutes a significant step forward in ensuring the safety and accessibility of such data. Moreover, the same benefits also apply to the enhanced operability for handling information in the future, including new and emerging types of data formats, such as geographic and multimedia files. Future developments include the integration of cartographic data, such as base maps, satellite images and vector data. The relational database described in this paper will be the heart of a new geographic system that will merge data, data attributes and maps, leading to a complete description of Italian glacial environments. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.