Saturday, March 5, 2011

The Environmental Impact of Gas Extraction

Fractracker DataTool

Fractracker is a web-based data tool for tracking and visualizing data related to gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale region in the north-eastern U.S.. Using the tool it is possible to upload and visualise a number of data sets related to the Marcellus Shale region and the extraction of gas. Fractracker says to think of it as the 'Google Maps for gas extraction impacts'.

Using Fractracker it is possible to visualise the uploaded data sets on top of Google Maps. Fractraker is a great resource and tool for anyone interested in the environmental impact of gas extraction. The site already has a huge number of Google Map visualisations of the uploaded data. Here are just a couple:

Snapshot of Shale Plays in the U.S.
Shale Plays are geographic areas which have been targeted for exploration due to favorable geoseismic survey results for oil or gas. This Google Map shows the areas currently seen as Shale Plays in the United States.

Thickness of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania

A Google Map showing the thickness of the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania. The dataset shows the thickness in feet of the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania based on data released by Piotrowski and Harper, 1979.

Friday Fun with Google Maps

Goldman Sachs Gets Reviewed

Some Google Maps reviews are more accurate than others.

Looking Into The Past Pictures

Historypin may have mastered the art of placing historical pictures on top of Google Maps Street View. Buzz Feed however have devised a more low-tech method of comparing historical photographs with the modern day.

This one has nothing to do with maps but I love these 75 shots of old photos manually placed over the same view today.

Isokron

Isokron are creating some great public transportation visualisations with Open Street Map. The video above shows the travel times in the French city of Rennes. It shows the travel times from the town hall in Rennes (using the subway and the bus) and how they evolve during a typical Monday.

If you want to see similar visualisations using Google Maps check out the magnificent Mapnificent

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