Poster Number 188
See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Teaching with New Tools: Visualizations, Models, Online Data, Games, and More (Posters)
Abstract:
I developed a GIS exercise for students to examine various data sets to see how these conclusions were reached. Using Google Earth, students convert selected geographic descriptive locations given by Mikesh (1973) into coordinates. These lat/long values, along with other descriptors, create an Excel spreadsheet of metadata related to each incident. Students bring data into ArcMap as XY data and display it on a global map. Using various fields of metadata, students sort and symbolize the data by incident type, date found, injuries/deaths, and whether ballast sand bags were recovered.
Adding scanned and georeferenced geologic maps from the Japanese Geological Survey and coordinates of the launch sites, students discuss the source areas of the minerals found in the sands. Diatomées fossiles du Japon (1889), which played a major role in the historical identification of microfossils in the sand, adds a wonderful element to the project.
Adding current jet stream pattern maps to ArcMap shows that current jet stream positions during the late fall and winter months correlate very well with the pattern of balloon bomb incidents in the US and Canada.
See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Teaching with New Tools: Visualizations, Models, Online Data, Games, and More (Posters)