DRG map

lter.kbs.msu.edu/maps/gis_data.php

The above map is known as a digital raster map, or a DRG, and is really helpful in mapping topography and geographical features of the land. DRG maps, especially seen in this example, are great because they are taken from topographical maps and then scanned so that they are able to fit into a Mercator projection, which is helpful because it gives more of a realistic view to viewers. This map is very useful for hikers and other outdoor sports that need to navigate their way around because not only are there geographical features, such as lakes, forests, streams, etc. but there are also contour lines that are able to show different heights, representing mountains or hills.

Isopleth map

http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=kt4j49n6r5&brand=calisphere&doc.view=entire_text

There are many different kinds of contouring maps and this isopleth map is one example of a map that uses the ideas of contouring to "connect" data to show a specific pattern. This map presents information that is shown about the different amounts of harmful chemicals that are found throughout the San Fransisco Bay area. From the changes that were collected and plotted throughout the several months, researchers were then able to use the isopleths to infer possible sources of the pollution and solutions for the clean-up of the chemicals within the water. This isopleth map is one example of how contouring lines are really able to show a change and of a specific characteristic in a location and to what extent it increases and decreases.

Isohyet map

www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0415e/A0415E11.htm

This is a great example of an isohyet map, showing rainfall data, and this map is very important because it is able to help with weather forecasts in the future. For this specific example, the map is showing what the rainfall patterns are in different areas of India to help them determine the best types of water treatment and management, in order to conserve their water because of the constant shortage in this country. This map helps to show the areas that have the most rainfall, by connecting them in rings, and therefore is able to determine the places that would be the most prosperous for data and information feedback.

Isotach map

www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/sls19paper10-1.html

This map is an example of an isotach map, which is a map that displays information about varying wind speeds across the globe and then connects wind speeds that are the same by a single line, therefore making it easier for the reader to see the patterns in the change of winds. This particular map is an isotach map of data that was taken from a "La Nina" in which the polar winds were lower then they should have been. There are several types of winds, including the polar jet stream, the Northwestern, etc. and the isotach maps are a great tool for tracking the patterns of similarity and changes, helping to predict, as this map also does, possible weather difficulties.

Isobar map

www-das.uwyo.edu/.../chap13/coastal_rain.html

This map is an isobar map that illustrates how similar pressures are experienced throughout a country in different places on any particular day. This map explains how even in one country there can be very different pressures and, as a result, lots of different weather and forecasts. In these two images, pressures that are the same are connected by lines which, in most cases, end up encircling either an area of extremely high or low pressure. This map is important because it is able to contrast two different seasons in Australia and, because of it, shows how the rainfall, and other weather, can change.

LIDAR map

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Eruption04/Monitoring/eruption_monitoring_oct-nov_2004.html

This LIDAR image is taken of Mount St. Helens at two different time periods in which the amount of boulders within the crater floor. LIDAR is a great mapping tool for this type of image because it provides a very precise and very accurate image for the two different times and therefore was helpful in predicting if and when Mt. St. Helens would erupt. LIDAR works by sending out lasers to make measurements of the earth and then report back to compile very specific maps that are able to show change if only within a few slight centimeters.

Doppler radar map

www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/18578344.html

This map is an image that was taken using a technology known as doppler radar and displays a map of a portion of Texas that was, at that moment, experiencing a massive rain downpour. The doppler radar system uses satellite images and information to relay back images to a computer that then constructs a map. The doppler radar system utilizes colors to express changes in severe weather patterns through common colors that people in America can associate with. For example, most Americans will associate red with a warning or caution and green as perhaps cool and calm. This imagery is used by the weather service, most often, to display not so much geographical changes but changes in weather and climate throughout a specific geographic region.