TerraFly for Ecology
In the following please see: I. Basic instructions; II. Extra Features.

I. INSTRUCTIONS FOR BASIC FUNCTIONALITY OF THE DEMO

It is preferable to demonstrate using Windows Internet Explorer. Mozilla or Netscape on any platform are also OK. (Please note that applets and javascript must be enabled in the browser's configuration menus.)

  1. Start at a OR enter address:
    Street:  City:  State:  Zipcode: 
  2. In the right upper corner of the Point Page you may change the location to another point in the US.
  3. Click the button.
  4. Once the imagery window opens, you can:
    1. enlarge the fly window so you can see more data on the screen at once (drag the corner of the window to resize).
    2. fly in any direction by clicking within the image window close to its boundary
    3. change overlays by opening the "LAYERS" bar. The following are groups of layers that can be checked:
      • maps (checked by default): names of roads, streets, cities, airports, dams, heliports, hospitals, schools, administrative buildings, religious & cultural buildings, parks, topographic features, public buildings, satellite-observed fires, daily precipitation from NASA TRMM, etc
      • precip: shade the imagery based on NASA PRISM mean annual precipitation
      • ecoregion: shade the imagery to highlight ecological regions
      • obfs: Observation Field Biological Stations (OBFS)
      • stream: real-time stream stations (river gauges)
      • income: population count (US Census 2000) and aggregate annual income per census block group
    4. zoom in/zoom out using the top "FLY" bar.
    5. inquire about any point in the imagery by clicking on it -- you will see information and hyperlinks about the encompassing ecoregion, average precipitation relevant to the point that you clicked on, stream stations with hyperlinks to real-time reading, detailed demographic and socioeconomic data, and much more

II. SOME EXTRA FEATURES

  1. By default the system chooses the imagery you are visualizing. A trained user has control over this choice in the "ADVANCED" bar.
  2. Open additional imagery windows flying in sync -- in the left narrow window ("control column") click "open new fly frame". In the new window choose resolution in the "FLY" bar and overlays in the "LAYERS" bar. You can also choose a different data type for the new window by using the "ADVANCED" bar.
  3. You can access the Point Data page directly (without flying) by changing the lat/long coordinates in the url: http://vn4.cs.fiu.edu/cgi-bin/gnis.cgi?vid=biod&long=-82.6744&lat=28.1369&tfaction=fly
  4. You can start your TerraFly experience from a GeoQuery page (otherwise reached from any "more" button next to any data type on a PointData page): , , , . If you click on any arrow icon in a GeoQuery page, you will be taken to the Point Data page centered at that location and you will have an option to "Fly!" at the top of the page. The GeoQuery page has an intuitive interface to make selection based on proximity, keywords, and comparison of values in data fields.
  5. We have also prepared several of TerraAtlases:

    Florida Ecological Regions over LandSat (16 pp. pdf)

    Florida Precipitation over LandSat (42 pp. pdf)

    Florida Wildlife Refuges (32 pp. pdf)

  6. We can script auto-piloted flights, like this one over the Rio Grande or a narrated 2.5D Alpha-version Washington DC.
  7. You may also enter via the TerraFly.fiu.edu Home Page
  8. Another way to enter TerraFly for Environmental Biology is to first zoom/pan in the following TerraPan and then click on any pixel to go to a TerraFly starting page:

    TerraPan Legend:

    Max ZoomOut:  Observation Biological Field Stations; shaded ecoregions; states. Optional:   Metropolices with population of more than 1 million; shaded ecoregions.
    Zoom 2:  Observation Bilogical Field Stations;   Metropolices with population of more than 1 million; shaded ecoregions; states.
    Zoom 3:  Observation Bilogical Field Stations;   Metropolices with population of more than 1 million; States. Optional: ecoregions.
    Zoom 4:  Observation Bilogical Field Stations;   Metropolices with population of more than 1 million; states; shaded ecoregions; precipitation yesterday (in mm).
    Zoom 5:  Observation Bilogical Field Stations;   Metropolices; ecoregions; states; precipitation yesterday (mm).
    Zoom 6:  Observation Bilogical Field Stations;   Metropolices; ecoregions; major highways; precipitation yesterday (mm). Optional: cities.
    Zoom 7:  Observation Bilogical Field Stations;  Real-time stream measuring stations; 41" PRISM precipitation annual value in inches and boundaries;   cities; major highways; dates of fires; yesterday's 24-hour precipitation (TRMM, in mm).
    add/change layers 
     Naphtali David Rishe, Ph.D.
 Professor, School of Computer Science
 Director, High Performance Database Research Center
 Director, NASA Regional Applications Center at FIU
 The Inaugural Outstanding University Professor
 Florida International University
 University Park, ECS-243, Miami, FL 33199
 Direct: (305)672-6471; Secretary: (305)348-1706; Fax: (305)348-1707
   http://HPDRC.FIU.edu http://TerraFly.FIU.edu