Discovery, access and re-use of environmental information will be easier with the development of the National Environmental Information Infrastructure (NEII). The NEII proposes a network of standards-based IT components, supported by a network of collaborators working together to improve discovery, access and use of environmental data.
The NEII is being developed by the Bureau of Meteorology in collaboration with a number of technical and strategic environmental information partners. Its ongoing impact however, will only be realised through collaborations with the broader environmental information community.
Benefits of the NEII include:
- An ability to discover, access and use national environmental data through harmonised online services and web interfaces
- A standards-based federated environmental information architecture that supports multiple applications
- Collaboration and governance that coordinates the adoption of NEII standards
- Empowering environmental decision makers with increased availability and accessibility of environmental data.
The operational deployment of the architectural components supporting NEII and the overall programme is evolving based on the identification, capacity for engagement, and priorities of relevant environmental information providers.
Reference Architecture
The NEII Reference Architecture provides an overview of the architectural direction of the NEII. It includes a detailed description of the core ICT components to be hosted by the Bureau and our partners, to create a federated environmental information system. It provides a high-level technical description of a system for enhancing the discovery, access, and re-use of national environmental information. It does not however, describe specific deployments or provider configurations as these will be dictated by specific use cases.
The Reference Architecture was released as a consultation draft in late-2013 to support a formal five month consultation process with our key stakeholders. The consultation process was designed to:
- ensure the quality and robustness of the architecture,
- ensure that architectural principles are effectively communicated and feasible, and
- engage with key stakeholders early in the genesis of the NEII.
Feedback from the consultation process was used to shape the published Reference Architecture. The Reference Architecture will be updated periodically as standards and IT components evolve.
