Looking into Earth with GIS

David Smith, Digital Library for Earth System Education, dasmith@northwestern.edu, Author.

Carla McAuliffe, Center for Science Teaching and Learning at TERC, Carla_McAuliffe@terc.edu, Author.

Marianne Weingroff, Digital Library for Earth System Education, marianne@ucar.edu, Editor

Users work with data from a seismic wave model in a freely available GIS (geographic information system) program, ArcVoyager SE. Using a GIS, they examine maps and produce graphs to explore variations in seismic wave velocities at depths of 28 and 100 km below Earth's surface. By examining and analyzing GIS-ready data, users visualize density changes and earthquake distributions near a spreading center and two subduction zones. Finally, users infer the location (depth) of the upper mantle under ocean basins and under continents from their analyses.

Funding for this chapter was provided by the Geosciences Cyberinfrastructure Network (GEON) project which is creating a cyberinfrastructure for the geosciences. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 225673 (GEON). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) or originators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.