The Additional Military Layer (AML) is a collection of individual profiles, both vector and raster, that adhere to various transfer standards. ArcGIS for Maritime: Charting currently supports six vector profiles:
- Contour Line Bathymetry (CLB)
- Environment, Seabed, and Beach (ESB)
- Large Bottom Objects (LBO)
- Maritime Foundation Facilities (MFF)
- Routes, Areas, and Limits (RAL)
- Small Bottom Objects (SBO)
All six of the AML vector profiles support the S-57 exchange standard for digital data conversion. Maritime Charting provides an AML data model that is packaged in the Esri workspace XML format.
This guidebook provides information needed to load an AML cell into your AML production database or compile new data within the AML production database, modify the data, and export the AML content to an S-57 cell.
Creating AML products
Initially, you will begin with an AML workspace. You can import S-57 AML data directly into the AML workspace, digitize new AML data, or copy or load other source data. Creating AML products is done through the Product Library window. Within the Product Library window, you will access the New Nautical Product wizard, which is the tool used to create your AML products. Once you have created the AML product, and you have data in your AML workspace, you set that workspace as the NIS at the Class, Series, or Product level, and you can then export the data from the AML workspace to an S-57 AML product using the Export Nautical Product wizard.
There are two ways to create AML products. You can compile new data from resources such as scanned specialist charts, digital hydrographic data, and nautical publications, or you can import an existing S-57 cell into your production database.
Producing an AML
With the Maritime Charting AML production environment, you can create new data or load existing data into your AML production database, perform edits, insert and delete edit actions, and then export your changes to an AML-S-57 file. Below is the list of steps for creating an AML product.
Below is a list of steps required to create and export AML products and the tools required to perform each step.
| Step | Process | Tool or workflow |
|---|---|---|
1 | Create AML product library | Download AML sample product library and set the workspace |
2 | Create AML geodatabase | Import workspace XML |
3 | Set workspace as NIS | Product Library NIS setting |
4 | Create new AML data by importing, digitizing, copying and pasting, or using other data loading tools | S-57 to Geodatabase, Batch Copy Paste, editing tools, data loaders (Simple Data Loader, FME) |
5 | Create product in product library | New Nautical Product wizard |
6 | Edit features | Editing tools |
7 | Validate data | Runtime (on the fly) attribute validation |
8 | Export, publish, and package your AML product | Export Nautical Product wizard, Publish or View Metadata command, and Exchange Set tool |