Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
maps or text (see, for example, the Washington DC
Sightseeing Map (http://sc94.ameslab.gov/
TOUR/tour.html). More elaborate examples of
these interactive maps are the search interfaces to,
e.g., image databases (http://cs6400.mcc.ac.uk/
maps/spot/spotuk.html) or, for example, the
Weather Visualizer (http://covis.atmos.uiuc.edu/
covis/visualizer).
Vector-based maps can also be delivered in a
.PDF format using the Adobe Acrobat viewer,
allowing users to roam and zoom without loss of
map detail—something not possible with raster
maps. However, this does not allow the user to
access the data itself but merely to display and use
the map information. A good example of a site
that delivers map information in this form is the
London
similar to that provided by ArcView and
allows the user to switch different map layers
on and off, to zoom in, and so on (Box 41.2).
•
The Interactive Map of Kansas (http://
www.ukans.edu/heritage/towns/
kanmap.html).
•
A similar product is the Interactive California
Environmental Management, Assessment, and
Planning
System
(http://
ice.ucdavis.edu:8080/ice_maps/).
•
At the extreme of cartography is the Atlas of
Cyberspace (http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/
casa/martin/atlas/atlas.html) (see also Jiang
and Ormeling 1997).
•
A novel site is the SkiMaps site with a Trail
Map Archive and a link to the Holmes Linette
Online
transport
web
site
(http:/
Digital
Skimaps
(http://
www.londontransport.co.uk).
With the development of Internet technology,
especially in the context of (GIS), more
sophisticated forms of map data and information
delivery have rapidly become possible (Toon 1997;
Ireland 1998; Wagner 1998). With the evolution
of Internet-based GIS, more and more software
suppliers have developed Internet-based map
delivery software, e.g. ESRI's Map Objects,
Autodesk's Mapguide. Simple examples allow for
the delivery of raster-backdrop maps, while other
more complex examples offer more tools allowing,
e.g., raster and vector maps (Figure 41.9). Some
systems allow for the creation of 'on-the-fly' maps.
An Internet-based system, developed as a joint
venture by Laser-Scan and Adhoc (http://
www.lsl.co.uk), has resulted in a tourist-based
information system using vector maps. The
advantage of such a system is the capability to
query the map and to link other information to a
particular location. The objective is to provide a
publicly accessible map information system.
Some further examples are:
www.skimaps.com/).
•
Examples of animation on the Internet
include a site that provides access to a rotating
Earth image with global relief on the
continents and the sea floor (http://
agcwww.bio.ns.ca/earth/earth.html) and that
uses either a .GIF animation format or an
MPEG viewer.
•
The Color Landform Atlas of the United
States is an example of an electronic atlas on
the Web (http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/
states.html).
•
The Digimap Project (http://
digimap.ed.ac.uk:8081) developed by
Edinburgh University has provided limited
access to Ordnance Survey maps and digital
data (Digital Elevation Models (DEMS)),
either as printed hard copy output or on disk
for the purposes of teaching and research
(Box 41.3).
Beyond simply accessing and printing out maps
displayed on a home page, the newer visualisation
tools allow users to search a spatial database and to
create a map selectively related to a specific query.
This allows the user effectively to design their own
map, and as Kraak (1998a) points out, to use
cartography in an exploratory mode, with a range
of tools to allow a user to analyse and to
experiment.
•
The Florida Online GIS Mapping facility
(http://www.fmri.usf.edu/sori/pages/
views.html) provides users with a menu to
access different marine and coastal maps, e.g.
shorelines. A direct link to the ESRI Map
Cafe server is then made. The interface is
