[EHPweb] RSS Earthquake Plotting

Fri Jan 29 21:36:16 UTC 2010

Eric,

I like the map. I like it better than the current recent earthquakes map. 
I feel people are more used to this type of map than the current map 
interface we have.

What do you mean by filter by MMI? would this be the max MMI experience by 
XX people? or the MMI max derived from ground motion prediction equations? 
I think max MMI experience by people would be more interesting.

Not sure what you mean by custom RSS feed could you give example?

The ability to go back beyond 7 days would be nice.

I agree with Dave that the zooming is awkward. If after clicking a quake 
it stayed centered this problem might go away.

I also like the someone's previous suggestion to be able to get a list of 
the quakes on the map.

I worry about having another map interface and hope this would replace the 
current version.

nice map,
Paul

From:
"David Oppenheimer" <oppen at usgs.gov>
To:
"'EHP Web'" <ehpweb at geohazards.usgs.gov>
Date:
01/29/2010 10:30 AM
Subject:
Re: [EHPweb] RSS Earthquake Plotting
Sent by:
ehpweb-bounces at geohazards.usgs.gov

Hi Eric,

I also put these comments on the web form.

If the map starts at the global level, it's difficult (and very 
frustrating) to zoom into a scale and region of interest. For example, to 
zoom into the San Francisco Bay area region, one must either
a)      use the zoom slider bar, which is a guess as to the proper level. 
It?s clumsy going from the globe to my target area.
b)      repeatedly alternate between the + zoom button and re-centering. 
That took me 30 seconds to get to where I wanted (I timed it)
c)       continue to  double click *off* the area of interest. If you 
double click on the area, then you are likely to hit an earthquake, which 
pops open the information balloon, but doesn't zoom in.  If you double 
click away from the earthquakes, then you miss your target and often get 
lost.
If we were to use this tool, I'd like to see a number of standard entry 
points to get users to common starting maps.  Perhaps a hybrid system of 
the old fixed maps, and a cookie system where users can preset at what 
level they want to see the Google display. I?m not sure how that would 
work.

I have other concerns. It seems that there is a real risk of getting in 
bed with Google for primary information delivery. Has the USGS worked out 
an agreement with Google regarding advertising?  What about the competing 
"map" service from Microsoft? 

I recall that Barbara B did a test with lots of earthquakes, and the map 
really bogged down.  This test didn't have many quakes on it (M>2.5).  It 
is absolutely necessary to be able to see quakes down to M1, because in 
aftershock sequences they rapidly map out the rupture zone, or in volcanic 
sequences indicate changing levels of unrest. In CA, the map is boring 
without all of the little quakes.  Moreover, many users just want to see 
all the quakes, regardless of their motivation. This map interface must be 
able to smoothly handle that level of information.  For example, on the 
CA-NV map today, there are 600 quakes/week.  It could easily jump to 3000 
quakes during a volcanic sequence.  Have things improved since Barbara did 
her test?

-David

-------------------------------------------------------
David Oppenheimer                   office:650.329.4792
U.S. Geological Survey              fax:   650.329.4732
345 Middlefield Road.-MS 977    email: oppen at usgs.gov
Menlo Park, CA 94025

From: ehpweb-bounces at geohazards.usgs.gov [
mailto:ehpweb-bounces at geohazards.usgs.gov] On Behalf Of Eric M Martinez
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 11:49 AM
To: EHP Web
Subject: [EHPweb] RSS Earthquake Plotting

- All -

Below is a link to a proof of concept mapping tool that plots recent 
earthquakes on a Google Map using the RSS feed as a data source. This 
application isn't perfect but can serve as a starting point for a more 
elaborate effort. Please take a moment to look at this tool and also to 
fill out the feedback form about it so I can know what people are thinking 
and how well the tool is working.

Because the RSS feeds aren't being updated on EHPDevel, the data you see 
may be out of date, but this is driven dynamically on the client side so 
if this goes into production we will automatically get updated mapping 
assuming our RSS feeds are working (they should be).

Application

            http://ehpd-earthquake.cr.usgs.gov/earthquakes/rssmapping/

Please, I appreciate your feedback.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dEd5NVF5cW5EZEZBTVRkY3haQ3FMQkE6MA 

Please feel free to forward this along to others who might be interested, 
but keep in mind they will need to be on the USGS network (or eRAS) in 
order to view the application.

Thanks,
                ~Eric.

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