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This abstract describes the development of an Internet web service that provides data on boreholes near the surface. A beta version of the website (www.kunijiban.pwri.go.jp), which is called KuniJiban, was started by the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) at the end of March in 2008, and is also managed by both the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI) under the MLIT. The website offers free access to 270,000 borehole data of the MLIT.
The website deals with borehole data as spatial data through a digital map using the CyberJapan web system, which is provided by the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) of the MLIT. The MLIT is committed to gathering and providing the government?fs spatial data for the public, which includes borehole data. The feasibility, planning and design, construction and costing, and safety of a project may depend critically on the geological conditions where the construction will take place. Borehole data may be used in both engineering and environmental fields. The website provides functions for searching, displaying and downloading borehole columns and geotechnical property data. We developed an application program interface for the system, web programs and database. This interface creates an outline of each borehole datum when the cursor is placed at any dot on the map. A specific datum can be searched using key words and coordinates, as each spatial datum for a point is composed of a pair of coordinates and a description. The outline shows the coordinates, elevation, drilled length, project name, survey name, MLIT branch office, linked URL, etc. Coordinates are given as a pair of longitude and latitude using the Japanese Geodetic Datum 2000. The URL shows the name of each borehole datum file on the website. These outline descriptions of spatial data are described in a string of one XML file. A borehole column is drawn by the PHP program, and the geotechnical description and values can be confirmed using spreadsheet software from each datum file.
Each datum file consists of a borehole column and geotechnical property data, collected from the MLIT?fs construction projects in both the Kanto and Kyushu regions, such as highways, dams, harbors, and airports. All data are in XML format, as defined by a guideline for digital reports of geological and geotechnical surveys for MLIT projects.
MLIT has already collected data on more than 110,000 boreholes in other regions. The database will contain 110,000 data in the near future, making it one of the largest in Japan. The PWRI is also working with the National Research Institute of Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED), and Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) in developing a system for sharing integrated geophysical and geological information. We will combine each database to accumulate data and make it more useful.
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