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Getting Started
Access to Discover Our Earth is through two main windows.
The first contains background information and activities. The second is the
window that holds the interactive mapping tool, QUEST. QUEST allows you to
query data sets and make maps. If your screen is large enough, you should
position the two windows so that you can see at least part of each one.
Info/Activity Window
This window always has the same menu choices displayed
across the top banner. As you move the mouse across the banner, menu bars
pop down and then across from each section. Some sections have only one menu
choice while others have several choices. This menu system allows you to navigate
to virtually any page within this website from every page within the site.
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| The Discovery Topics pop-down menu appears after mousing over the discovery topics section. |
The Discovery Topics section includes five topics Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Topography, Plate Tectonics, Sea Level Change. Each topic includes an overview and one or more Exercise sections. Exercise sections discuss key points pertaining to a topic and are followed up with activities. Although it is possible to select exercise sections in any order, it's often the case that within a topic, one part depends on the previous part, so it is best to navigate them in order, from top to bottom. Many of the activities include exercises that use the interactive mapping tool, QUEST.
The menu bar on the left side of the section page below
allows you to navigate within that section. For example, the Plate
Tectonics section menu bar accesses each of its exercise sections: Continental
Drift, Plate Boundaries, Sea Floor Spreading, Earthquake Depth, and Earthquake
Magnitude.
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| From the Plate Tectonics page you can navigate using either the menu bar on the top banner of the page or the links along the left side of the page. |
QUEST Window
When you click Launch QUEST, a separate window opens on your screen. The QUEST window has three parts: the Tool Box on the left-hand side, the Map History filmstrip along the top, and the Map Display area filling the center part of the window. Each of these three areas has buttons that allow you to control the views and function of the QUEST module.
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| Sample QUEST screen; Tool Box on the left, Map History at the top, Map Display area in the center. |
Tool Box
When making a map, begin with the Region button in the Tool Box. This allows you to choose the part of the world you'd like to display, and lets you select a background on which to draw your map. Below Region are the three Data Set buttons (Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Topography). Each of these buttons expands to a menu that allows you to turn the data set on or off, and also allows you to select which parts of the data set you'd like to look at and how you'd like them to look. For example, the Earthquakes button lets you choose earthquakes by date, magnitude, and depth. You can change the color of the data points, or you can display focal mechanisms associated with large earthquakes. Below the data set buttons is a legend that explains the color scale used on the map. When you are ready, press the Get Map button to submit your map request to our server. Typically, you will get a response in 15-45 seconds. If you need help at any time, there is a Help button in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Please note that anything you select under the Data Set buttons will remain selected until you change or deselect it.
Map History and Map Display
The map that you request is displayed in the large window at the center part of the screen, and in one of the small filmstrip windows at the top. Each subsequent map that you request will fill the Map Display window and will be stored in the Map History filmstrip. A written record of each request that you make is also stored under the Map Details bar at the bottom of the Map Display. This allows you to see, for example, how many earthquakes you've mapped, what kind of volcanoes, or how much you've changed sea level. The Map History filmstrip keeps track of the maps you've made. By clicking on each box in the filmstrip you can cycle through each different map. If you've made more than six, use the scroll bar at the top of the screen to move back and forth through your maps. The Film Strip Options bar allows you to edit the Map History filmstrip. In addition to clearing the maps, you can also drag and drop them into any order you'd like. This is handy, in combination with the Mouse Over choice, in that it allows you to animate the maps you've made.
OK, so choose a topic and get started!
<Getting Started >