<font size=2 face="sans-serif">Andy:</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Thank you very much for your thoughtful
comments that should help refine the Web group's planning.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Tom</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Tom Brocher<br>
Center Director<br>
Earthquake Science Center<br>
W: (650) 329-4737, Cell: (650) 644-5927, Fax: (650) 329-5617<br>
brocher@usgs.gov<br>
<br>
U.S. Geological Survey, MS 977<br>
345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025<br>
<br>
<br>
</font>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<table width=100%>
<tr valign=top>
<td><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">From:</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Andrew Michael <michael@usgs.gov></font>
<tr valign=top>
<td><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">To:</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Lisa A Wald <lisa@usgs.gov>, EHPweb@geohazards.usgs.gov</font>
<tr>
<td valign=top><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">Cc:</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Thomas Brocher <brocher@usgs.gov>,
Jill McCarthy <jmccarthy@usgs.gov>, Michael Blanpied <mblanpied@usgs.gov>,
David Applegate <applegate@usgs.gov></font>
<tr valign=top>
<td><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">Date:</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">09/30/2010 08:56 PM</font>
<tr valign=top>
<td><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">Subject:</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Re: Next generation earthquake map</font></table>
<br>
<hr noshade>
<br>
<br>
<br><font size=3>Hi Lisa et al.,</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3>Tom Brocher forwarded your message to us and I'm pleased
to provide some comments on the new beta version maps. Some very
excellent features have been developed here and I expect that this new
infrastructure allows for the following improvements. It looks like
you are using the Google Maps Javascript API and so I think many of these
suggestions are possible. If not, I fear that these maps will actually
be less informative than the existing static images. Given the current
version, I will continue using the older maps for the reasons outlined
below.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3>The good stuff:</font>
<br><font size=3>1. Obviously the ability to pan and zoom arbitrarily is
a wonderful step forward.</font>
<br><font size=3>2. The sliders to select events by event age, magnitude,
and depth are fantastic.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3>Some minor upgrades:</font>
<br><font size=3>1. As long as we are allowing sliders for event age, maybe
we can provide a longer time window than 7 days. A month could be
nice.</font>
<br><font size=3>2. The key doesn't explain what the blue circles are.</font>
<br><font size=3>3. The blue circles would be more interesting if they
also indicated the maximum magnitude they represent.</font>
<br><font size=3>4. At the top of the list of events have some text to
explain that you can sort the columns and click on an event to get more
info.</font>
<br><font size=3>5. Also some text above the map to say that clicking on
an event finds it in the list and more info.</font>
<br><font size=3>6. The key could have the light blue color that indicates
you have clicked on an event. Maybe "selected event"</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3>Major upgrades:</font>
<br><font size=3>1. Provide a toggle or slider to control or get rid of
the blue circles. The structure in the seismicity and how it outlines
faults and plate boundaries are some of the primary information provided
by these maps. I understand the urge to use these circles but they
just aren't really necessary. If I look at the old recenteqs CA-NV
map at </font><a href=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqscanv/><font size=3 color=blue><u>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqscanv/</u></font></a><font size=3>
I can immediately see a great deal of structure in the seismicity and can
identify that there are places where the events are on top of each other
and that I can't see them all. On the new map, if I set the scale
level and magnitude selection to approximately the same settings as the
recenteq CA-NV map, I am provided with a bunch of blue circles along with
some scattered individual earthquakes and I would be hard pressed to figure
out what is going on in terms of earthquakes and faults. In the early
parts of a dense aftershock sequence I wonder how far one would have to
zoom in to get past of the blue circles. Before or after google runs
out of resolution in the satellite photos or terrain models? I do understand
the point of the blue circles and so I suggest a toggle to turn them on
and off. That way the user can choose.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3>2. Faults? Where are they? We spend a lot
of effort educating people about faults and one of the first questions
we get about any earthquake is, "what fault is it on?" It
looks like faults would be easy to add using the polyline functionality
in the Google Maps Javascript API.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3>3. Circles for earthquakes and circles for cities. Even
though they are different colors and the earthquakes have shadows (which
suggests the strange idea that they are above the ground), I find the circles
for cities confusing. It makes the cities look like earthquakes with
names. The recenteqs maps used squares for earthquakes and diamonds
for cities. I do like the circles for earthquakes. The squares,
I believe, were chosen for simplicity of drawing and interpreting clicks
but that is no longer necessary. So, I suggest changing the cities
if that is possible. If not, maybe experiment with a different shape
for the earthquakes. Or maybe this is one problem I will learn to
live with.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3>Hope this helps. I really do think the new maps
can be a huge improvement if they can be modified so we can see the structure
in the seismicity and how it relates to faults.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3>Cheers,</font>
<br><font size=3>Andy</font>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br><font size=3>On Sep 30, 2010, at 12:55 PM, Thomas M Brocher wrote:</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">The EHPWeb group has generated a new,
fully zoomable version of the real-time earthquake maps. This feature
is something that many of us have wanted.</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font size=2 face="sans-serif"><br>
Please take a look and send comments to the group on this Beta version.</font><font size=3>
<br>
</font><font size=2 face="sans-serif"><br>
Thank you!</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font size=2 face="sans-serif"><br>
Tom</font><font size=3> <br>
<br>
</font><font size=2 face="sans-serif"><br>
Tom Brocher<br>
Center Director<br>
Earthquake Science Center<br>
W: (650) 329-4737, Cell: (650) 644-5927, Fax: (650) 329-5617</font><font size=2 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u><br>
</u></font><a href=mailto:brocher@usgs.gov><font size=2 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>brocher@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=2 face="sans-serif"><br>
<br>
U.S. Geological Survey, MS 977<br>
345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025<br>
<br>
</font><font size=3><br>
</font><font size=1 color=#800080 face="sans-serif"><br>
----- Forwarded by Thomas M Brocher/GD/USGS/DOI on 09/30/2010 12:53 PM
-----</font><font size=3> </font>
<table width=100%>
<tr valign=top>
<td width=4%><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">From:</font><font size=3>
</font>
<td width=95%><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Lisa A Wald <</font><a href=mailto:lisa@usgs.gov><font size=1 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>lisa@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=1 face="sans-serif">></font><font size=3>
</font>
<tr valign=top>
<td><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">To:</font><font size=3>
</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">EHPweb <</font><a href=mailto:EHPweb@geohazards.usgs.gov><font size=1 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>EHPweb@geohazards.usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=1 face="sans-serif">></font><font size=3>
</font>
<tr>
<td valign=top><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">Cc:</font><font size=3>
</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Jill McCarthy <</font><a href=mailto:jmccarthy@usgs.gov><font size=1 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>jmccarthy@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=1 face="sans-serif">>,
Tom Brocher <</font><a href=mailto:brocher@usgs.gov><font size=1 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>brocher@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=1 face="sans-serif">>,
David Applegate <</font><a href=mailto:applegate@usgs.gov><font size=1 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>applegate@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=1 face="sans-serif">>,
Bill Leith <</font><a href=mailto:wleith@usgs.gov><font size=1 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>wleith@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=1 face="sans-serif">>,
Michael Blanpied <</font><a href=mailto:mblanpied@usgs.gov><font size=1 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>mblanpied@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=1 face="sans-serif">>,
Linda Pratt <</font><a href=mailto:lkpratt@usgs.gov><font size=1 color=blue face="sans-serif"><u>lkpratt@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=1 face="sans-serif">></font><font size=3>
</font>
<tr valign=top>
<td><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">Date:</font><font size=3>
</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">09/29/2010 01:58 PM</font><font size=3>
</font>
<tr valign=top>
<td><font size=1 color=#5f5f5f face="sans-serif">Subject:</font><font size=3>
</font>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Next generation earthquake map</font></table>
<br><font size=3><br>
</font>
<hr noshade><font size=3><br>
<br>
<br>
To the EHPWeb mailing list: <br>
<br>
The EHP Web Team has released a <b>silent</b> <b>beta version</b> (public
but not linked) of the next generation of real-time earthquake maps on
the Earthquake Hazards Program website. We have collected requirements
and feedback from many of you to create this version. <br>
<br>
We plan to have this beta version online through the end of November. At
that time, we will replace it with the <b>public beta version</b> (public
and linked) that will include updates based on your feedback from the silent
beta version. The public beta version will be linked from the EHP
website but will not yet replace the current Latest EQ Maps until sometime
in the spring or early summer of 2011. <br>
<br>
Please feel free to forward this email to anyone else who you think may
be interested and who will want to provide feedback. A feedback link
is at the top of the webpage. Thank you in advance for your comments
and suggestions! <br>
</font><font size=3 color=blue><u><br>
</u></font><a href=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/mapping/><font size=3 color=blue><u>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/mapping/</u></font></a><font size=3>
<br>
</font><font size=1 face="Verdana"><br>
- The EHP Web Team</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font size=1 color=#008000 face="Verdana"><br>
--------------------------<br>
Lisa Wald, Geophysicist</font><font size=3> </font><font size=1 color=#008000 face="Verdana"><br>
Web Team Manager/Project Manager<br>
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program<br>
Golden, CO</font><font size=3> </font><font size=1 color=#008000 face="Verdana"><br>
--------------------------</font><font size=3> <br>
</font>
<br>
<br>
<br>