And She May Go All The WAYYYYYY! (and you’ll be able to see it all in Google Earth!)
Monday, November 2nd, 2009TEAM GOOGLE EARTH
This week, Team Google Earth has been working hard on making headway on our new mission. We are doing what has never been done in Google Earth: Plot a vertical axis path of RU27! While Google Earth is great for horizontal overlays, we are pushing the boundaries by using Google SketchUp. SketchUp is normally used to create 3D objects such as buildings in the New York skyline, but we are learning to work with only one of the planes (2D) to make a vertical plot.
To start our long process of adding these plots we are currently researching through the Atlantic Crossing Blog major changes in RU27s course. Bio-blips, dive and climb angles, and deflection depths are all examples of pieces of data that are paramount for showing the gliders course under the water (see below for preview).
Here is a sample of data we are looking/collecting at:
Blog Post Date: July 8, 2009 "Biology Blip Compilation: YO Anomalies"
Biology Blips on June 4, July 4, and July 7, 2009.
Depth of occurances at 40-100m (3 events); 61.4-61.6m (1 event); 60-130m (1 event), respectively.
From this data we can find important events which will we then visualize on the glider's vertical flight path!
In addition to the vertical profile, since we are currently working on a web page, to help Igor, we are going to ask everyone to submit their Kmzs for Google Earth via email to Dave Kaminsky, Chris Filosa, or Jason Werrell. We will then organize them by categorizing them and adding a short description of each. We want the .kmzs to be easy to find for anyone who wants to follow our research here in the COOLroom, whether they are a regular scientific follower or a newcomer with little or no science background. With all the .kmzs categorized, visitors to the site can pick data that they want to follow, understand what the data represents, and how to read it.
Finally, we thought up a team description/mission statement:
Team Google Earth: Dave Kaminsky, Chris Filosa, Jason Werrell
Being that Google Earth has become a primary visual data compilation source for the Rutgers Glider Fleet, our team's mission has three main goals. Our first goal is to make data downloading, reading, and understanding easy for the general public, and our second goal is to organize and keep data up-to-date for the glider and science teams. Our final goal is to work to unlock and advance the capabilities of Google Earth for data manipulation, visualization, and application.