Branner Blog

The USGS has created a neat Web site that allows you to look at the geology of the National Parks in 3-D. Yes, you have to wear the funky glasses with the red and green filters. There is a link on the bottom of the page that tells you where to get the glasses if you didn’t save a pair from your youth. The site also includes the same photos in standard format. This works surprisingly well over the Web.

We just heard about a new search engine: MetaCarta’s GeoIntel for Petroleum, an “online geographic search for the energy industry.”

The resource bills itself as an “easy to use and efficient tool for discovering Web-based energy-related intelligence that is related to specific geographic places.”

I like the spatial aspect–being able to place your results geographically is a nice feature–but the results themselves don’t appear to offer much more than a google search. I was excited to try GeoIntel because some of our most difficult reference questions deal with energy, specifically requests for oil field related data. The proprietary nature of information in the energy industry makes these questions particularly challenging. This resource doesn’t offer any new insight into that dilemma, but nonetheless, it’s an interesting concept. Try it out and let us know what you think.

Fakeisthenewreal has a nice comparison of subway maps of the world presented at the same scale. It really makes you think about geography and transportation, infrastructure and development, or if you’re in the mood, just the abstract beauty of a line.

Compare our own BART

to Beijing’s system, for example:

An interesting online only journal has been created entitled the Journal of Maps. The journal was created to give researchers and scholars a place to publish their maps as the print cost of producing maps is becoming prohibitively expensive. They have had a couple of special issues including glacial geology and “maps in motion,” primarily dealing with transportation of all types. Their current issue has just been released and includes maps on the subjects of karst geomorphology, glacial geomorphology, and ecology. In order to look at the maps you need to register. But, hey, it’s free!

The USGS has created a page to pull together information and give access to all of the states’ geologic maps. The page lists each state and then gives basic information about the digital map, the source map, and comments. It is not always easy to find out what format the digital map is in, but most seem to be in ArcInfo export format or ArcGIS shapefile format. The larger goal is “to create a small-scale integrated bedrock-oriented geologic map database of the U.S. based on digital state geologic maps.”

I was just sent a link to Publish or Perish, a citation analysis program from harzing.com that “retrieves and analyzes academic citations. It uses Google Scholar to obtain the raw citations, then analyzes these and calculates a series of citation metrics.” You have the option of performing an author impact analysis, journal impact analysis or general citation search.

I’ve played around with it a little bit this morning and it looks interesting. I recommend the “about” section for information about citation metrics and the choice of google scholar over ISI Web of Science. The latter also offers a nice summary of the general utility and accuracy of google scholar.

When you have a moment, check out NSIDC’s Online Glacier Photograph Database. The images themselves are incredible, but one feature of the site, is particularly telling: the Long-term Change Photograph Pairs. I’m sure you can imagine what you’ll find. Here’s glacier X on your left pictured in the foreground in 19XX; and here is glacier X on your right pictured in the far distant background in more recent years. The wonders of repeat photography.

Other examples:

Just getting started on this question and would appreciate any assistance. Looking for websites or other resources, particularly something with a “how-to” slant.

Thanks.

Have you wondered when AGU was going to digitize its pre-1994 back issues? They are in the process of doing that very task and expect to complete the digitization by late 2007. Details from their site below:

“We have assembled a preview for AGU member subscribers of Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) and Member Journal Library. The preview contains digitized material going back to 1974, volume 1; the remaining volumes will come into the preview by the end of April 2007. The current preview is in the beta stage and does not include linked references or the option for single articles sales, which will be available when the library is complete.”

If you are a member, check out the GRL offerings and feel free to send us your thoughts or give feedback to AGU directly.

Use your .edu email address to gain free access to the New York Times TimesSelect as of March 13th. With TimesSelect you can read NYT’s Op-ed and news columnists as well as other features.

Go to this link, enter your .edu email address. Wait for the verification email and click the link within it. You’ll need to fill out minimal information including the university’s name, your status (student or faculty), graduation date (I was able to register as “faculty” without entering a date), and email preferences should you choose to receive the content that way. Quite fast and easy.

Read more about the offer at Editor & Publisher.