These data are maintained in a massive central database management system for access by analysts from government agencies, ORNL, and its contractors. Ultimately, the data must contribute to a decision support system employed in managing environmental restoration projects. Data quality assurance and control are paramount because the resulting decisions must be legally defendable. In the acquisition and production of each database and in the analysis that follows, coordinate transformations are essential. Administrative responsibilities reside in a variety of organizations.
Most facilities managers use some type of administrative grid, usually rectangular.
Most state governments use a state plane grid unique to that state. Field sampling and GPS data are expressed in earth coordinates such as latitude and longitude or UTM grids. Cartographic data are registered to regular map projections. Similarly, these sources exist in a variety of data structures and formats. All of these distinctions must be transparent to the analyst employing the final decision support system.