Going Further

Variations

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data can be used in a variety of investigations. Below are a few variations to try with DEM data:

• Investigate tsunami run-up potential in another state or region, including other parts of the world.
• Investigate flood potential in a river valley.
• Explore hurricane storm surge potential on coasts where hurricanes are a threat.
• Consider the impact of sea-level rise due to climate change on coastal regions.

Other Data

Obtain river, population, or other geographical data formatted for GIS applications, and analyze the data within a hazard mitigation context. For example: How would you prepare your community for such events as a major forest fire or volcanic eruption? Other hazard data is available for the state of Oregon. Many states and organizations have geospatial data libraries.

Other Techniques

After completing this activity, take a field trip to a local coastal region or river valley and continue discussion about flood run-up and hazard preparation.

Other Tools

GeoBrain DEM and Contour data can be imported into any GIS and most visualization tools such as AEJEE and ArcGIS. Students can complete some sections of this lesson using only the online visualization tools. The Oregon data and historical tsunami data used in this lesson are also available as kml files which can be viewed in Google Earth.

Advanced users may be interested in the GeoBrain Image Analysis System.

Related Case Studies

Other EET chapters that investigate similar topics include:

Analyzing Plate Motion Using EarthScope GPS Data—Learn how GPS monuments make precise measurements of Earth's surface. Graph motion data and map velocity vectors to explore tectonic motion and surface deformation in the Pacific Northwest. This chapter also focuses on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Other EET chapters that use My World GIS and/or other GIS software include:

How Cities Affect Their Local Climate—Explore the urban heat island effect using student collected surface temperature data. Subset large datasets, buffer others, examine spatial relationships, and gather statistics to investigate temperature differences in urban and rural school sites.

Detecting El Nino in Sea Surface Temperature Data—Create and analyze fifteen years of average SST maps to find El Niño and La Niño events.

Evidence for Plate Tectonics—Identify relationships among sea-floor age, earthquakes, and volcanoes to understand how they support the theory of plate tectonics.

Exploring Monsoon Precipitation and Streamflow in a Semi-Arid Watershed—Investigate the effect of summer thunderstorms on streamflow in a semi-arid watershed in Arizona.

Investigating Earthquakes with AEJEE—Download earthquake data from the USGS. Bring it into a GIS and analyze it to predict where the next big earthquake will occur on Earth.

Is Greenland Melting?—Explore map layers to examine annual melting and long-term changes of Greenland's ice sheet.

Looking into Earth with GIS—Examine seismic wave data in a GIS and analyze wave velocities to infer the depth of the crust-mantle boundary.

Mapping Local Data—Follow a study of Urban Heat Islands as an example of a map-based science research project.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: What's in Your Woods?—Investigate forest biodiversity in Maine using a spreadsheet and My World GIS. Then consider the environmental factors that contribute to tree species diversity.

Protecting Wetlands from Exurban Development—Examine land-use changes around Macclenny, Florida. Propose locations for future development that minimize impacts on wetlands.