The GLOBE visualization web site may be accessed through the [Maps and Graphs] link on the main GLOBE page obtained when entering the site from http://www.globe.gov, or directly at http://viz.globe.gov/.

Notes:

1. On this page, bold text is used for choices made on the webpage being discussed, and [bracketed bold text] is used for links or buttons that are clicked.
2. While working through this tutorial, when creating maps and graphs some may take a minute or longer to show up.

This tutorial consists of four consecutive activities for searching for and displaying data and using the tools available on the visualization web site:

• Activity 1: Creating maps and graphs
• Activity 2: Comparing school data with reference data
• Activity 3: Other ways to access school data
• Activity 4: Other tools and features

Activity 1: Creating maps and graphs

1. Click on the [GLOBE Maps] link. This brings up the default map - a small world map of the Maximum Temperature for the current day, and a table of various options that can be changed by the user.

2. For the Date, select 2002-08-23. For the Map size, select medium. Then click on [Redraw map].

3. For the Map type (Points, Contours, or Both), select Both. Click on [Redraw map]. (It may take a little longer for a map with contours to be generated than a map with only point data.)

4. We will now use the map to select a school in California and view its data. Zoom in by clicking on the United States, then on California. Repeat 2 or 3 times to get a map of the region.

If you feel like it, you can experiment with zooming in and out and recentering the map using the map controls located around the map. End with a map that includes central and southern California. It should look something like this, although you may have zoomed to a slightly different region:

5. In the Other Options box, choose Show Table (under ANALYSIS OPTIONS), click [Go]. The map stays the same, and a table appears below it. Since we are looking at Maximum Temperature data, the table is ordered by Maximum Temperature and schools with the highest Maximum Temperature are shown at the top of the table.

6. We will now use this map to find which schools in the region shown on the map have reported the most data. The currently selected Category is Measurements. Change it to How Many Data Are There? Then click [Redraw map].

7. The map has now changed to show the number of measurements reported by the schools, and so does the table of data.

The top part of the table should look something like this, although the schools could be different if you have a different region of California shown on the map:

8. Look at the table below the map and find the entry for Kingsburg High School. (It is near the top of the table.)

9. In the Site ID column of the data table, click on the checkbox for Kingsburg High School. Immediately above the data table is a pull-down list for choosing options for the sites selected from the table. Choose the option Make a Graph, then click [Go] next to it.

Get this graph:

10. Below the graph, select the dates to display from 2002-01-01 to 2002-12-31. Click [Redraw].

11. Below the graph on the right is a list for selecting datasets. Under AIR TEMPERATURE, choose Minimum Temperature. Click [Redraw]. Note how the graph has changed.

12. Similarly, choose Current Temperate, then [Redraw]. And Mean Temperature, then [Redraw]. And Temperature Range, then [Redraw].

We will now find another school and compare its data with that of Kingsburg High School.

13. Under Other Options, choose Add or change schools. Click [Go]. This brings up the Advanced School Search page.

14. Under SCHOOL LOCATION, choose DE-Germany (the list is ordered by name of country), then click [Go]. A table of schools in Germany comes up, ordered by the total number of measurements they have submitted.

15. The first school in the table is Mittelschule Elsterberg. Click the checkbox next to its name. Choose Make a Graph above the table, and click [Go].

16. Because we were in the context of adding schools, Mittelschule Elsterberg has now been added and appears with Kingsburg High School on a Maximum Temperature graph. But the graph might not be showing the atmosphere study site at Mittelschule Elsterberg which we want to look at. Scroll down to the "Selected Schools" list below the graph and look at the site list for Mittelschule Elsterberg. Click the checkbox for ATM-02 and uncheck any other boxes in the list that are checked, then click [Go].

17. For Plot Type, choose Stacked Graph, click [Redraw]. Note how the data of each school is now displayed on separate graphs that share the date axis. Change the Plot Type back to Combined Graph, click [Redraw].

18. On the graph, we will zoom in on the summer months by changing the date range to 2002-04-01 to 2002-10-01. Click [Redraw].

19. Individually, choose the datasets Minimum Temperature, Current Temperature, Mean Temperature, then click [Redraw] to see graphs of each one.

20. Now choose the dataset Cloud Cover (under CLOUD OBSERVATION), and click [Redraw]. We get a graph with quite a lot of data for each of the two schools. (It may take longer for this graph to show up than for the previous graphs.)

We will also look at this Cloud Cover data in table form.

21. In the Other Options box, choose Show Table, click [Go]. The graph stays the same and below it is a table showing Cloud Cover codes for each of the two schools. (It may take a minute or two for the table to show up.) Below the table is a description of each of its columns, including the meanings of the Cloud Cover codes (clear, scattered, broken, overcast, etc.).

Activity 2: Comparing school data with reference data

1. Click on [GLOBE Maps].

2. We will select the date and place of our original School Measurement temperature maps for comparison. For Date, choose 2002-08-23. Click [Redraw map].

3. On the map, click as necessary to zoom in over California (3 or 4 clicks).

4. Change the Category to Satellite and Model (under REFERENCE DATA), click [Redraw map]. By default a Maximum Temperature map for the current day is displayed.

5. We now have a Maximum Temperature reference data map for California which we will compare with School Measurement data.

6. To view the reference data and school data maps side-by-side, scroll down to Other Options and choose Compare Images (under ANALYSIS OPTIONS), click [Go]. Leave the controls for the left map as they are. On the right, change Satellite and Model to Measurements, click [Redraw map]. Still on the right, change Points to Both, click [Redraw map].

The two maximum temperature maps for the same date and place now show up together. They should look something like these, although they could be slightly different if you have zoomed to a larger or smaller region:

7. The differences between the two maps appear to be mostly a result of much sparser measurements by schools. (We can repeat a similar comparison for Minimum Temperature if desired.)

8. Another reference data category is Geophysical Data. Select it and click [Redraw map]. Geophysical Data comes up by default with a map of Topography and Bathymetry.

9. Select one of the other available Geophysical datasets such as Earth Geopotential Model, click [Redraw map]. In this case, we get a much better view of the data by zooming out. On the magnification bar to the left of the map, click [2x].

10. Other datasets include Latitude shifts, Longitude shifts, US Watersheds, and CA Watersheds. Select any of interest and click [Redraw map]. For the watersheds, it is worthwhile to zoom in over regions of interest by clicking on the map. You can also zoom out if desired.

11. Other available categories of reference data include La Niña/El Niño, Oceanographic Data, World Weather Station Data, External Data Sources. Choose any category, then click [Redraw map] to see the available datasets in the selected category. (If you find a reference data set that doesn't display correctly, it might display the data when zoomed in to a smaller region.)

Activity 3: Other ways to access school data

1. From the http://viz.globe.gov/ homepage, select [Data Access]. This brings up the GLOBE Data Access page.

2. Click on the Atmosphere button to select all Atmospheric measurements. Unless a specific school or set of schools is selected, clicking [Get the data now!] would get data for all schools, but there is a way to choose specific schools.

3. Beneath the Investigation and Protocol table and associated buttons for getting data is a box labeled Choose specific schools or countries. There is a [Select a country, state, or province] link available which would take us to the selection page we saw earlier. However, since we now know the names of some schools, we can make use of the option to go directly to one of these schools. In the School or city name box, type "Kingsburg" and click [Go].

4. This brings up a list of 5 schools in Kingsburg, CA. From here, we can choose any schools of interest and Make a Map, Make a Graph, or Get Data for the selected schools in the same way we saw previously.

Activity 4: Other tools and features

• Try making different types of maps for both Student and Reference Data, for example make a foldable map to print out and assemble. From any GLOBE map, select the Create a Foldable Map option (under VIEWING OPTIONS) from the "Other Options" listed below the map controls to create a world map suitable for cutting and folding into a 3-D shape.

• From the main "Maps and Graphs" page, click the [Image Gallery] link and explore interesting visualization techniques, animations, and puzzles.

• If you have a VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) viewer plugin installed (e.g. Cosmo Player), try the 3-D Map Option. For information about installing the plugin, see GLOBE in 3-D.

• To see the latest additions to the Visualization pages, check the  [What's New?]  link on the main Maps and Graphs page.

• For information on the GLOBE program and how to join, select  [Learn about GLOBE] from the GLOBE home page.

• Background information on the GLOBE Visualization Project.

For further information or to give us your comments on the GLOBE Visualization web site, contact the GLOBE Help Desk.