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The TerraMA² computational platform was developed to fill a gap in our line of products based on innovative technologies using open source software, with extensive use of the TerraLib geographic library, as well as meet a growing demand for applications to monitor, analyze and issue early warnings related to air quality, water quality, pipelines, tailings dams for mining, forest fires, landslides and debris-mud flows, floods and droughts.

These applications require systems that integrate geographic services and modeling based on access to real-time geo-environmental data (meteorological, climatic, atmospheric, hydrological, geotechnical, socio-demographic, etc..), which are available on servers connected to the Internet allowing data to be read, processed and used to various applications.

Therefore, the TerraMA² is a computational system platform based on a service-based architecture, which is open and provides the technological infrastructure required to develop and implement operating systems to monitor early warnings of environmental risks.

Description

Who operates the platform ?

TerraMA² provides services to search current data through the internet and to incorporate them to its database. Other services analyze new data with risk maps with some defined model and issue early warning for registered users.

The warning system operation requires the access to current observation and forecast data, in addition to the availability of risk maps of the monitored areas and mathematical models which define these risks. It also requires two user levels:

System Operators: system operators are organizations which monitor any possible occurrence of a natural disaster. They are responsible for the Configuration and the Administration modules using an interface which enables them to define the access to remote data, risk maps, additional maps, analysis, users, and warning bulletins.
Warning Clients: warning clients are agents able to execute preventive actions to decrease losses in case of a disaster. They are responsible to access the warning module by a display interface which uses an internet browser.

Database

Data required to operate the system includes:

Dynamic data: reports the condition of the variables gathered at pre-defined time intervals.
Static data: contains information about pre-conditions necessary to trigger an disaster. The updating of static data must be done whenever a pre-condition is changed or the model of disaster prediction is updated.
Additional data: other information that can assist locating risk areas, populations and equipment vulnerable to the analyzed disaster.