Science is real!

Communication is an integral part of the process of science. You will learn how to effectively communicate science to a general audience by using story maps. To achieve this, you will compile scientific data related to climate change from several federal organizations (NASA, NOAA) as well as photos, graphics, and videos with the intent of offering a compelling story to a general audience. Check out a story map similar to the one you will produce: http://arcg.is/2rDg8tN

1. Create an Interactive Map: Sea Level Rise

1.1 Navigating in ArcGIS Online

Sign in arcgis.com with your Clemson ID account as given to you by our CCGT staff. Once you are signed in, go to Map at the top of the page.

One of the main features of ArcGIS Online is the Map section, where you can explore content, add your own data, perform analysis and create your own interactive web maps.

In the upper left section, click the Basemap button and choose a different basemap.

Explore different basemaps and practice zooming in and out using the roller button in your mouse.

You also have a search button to find places. In the search box on the top right, type Charleston.

Change the basemap to Imagery.

1.2 Adding climate-related content (Sea Level Rise)

Go back to Arcgis Online. Click the Add button and at the bottom of the search results, click Done Adding Layers.

Take a look at this data layer. Expand its view on the Contents section (click the inverted triangle to the left of the layer) and notice there are two sub-layers. Click on the Show Legend button to understand what they represent.

This 3 ft Sea Level Rise layer from NOAA shows what 3ft of sea level rise would look like for the U.S. coast.

Levels represent inundation at high tide. Areas that are hydrologically connected are shown in shades of blue (darker blue = greater depth).

Low-lying areas, displayed in green, are hydrologically "unconnected" areas that may flood. They are determined solely by how well the elevation data captures the area's hydraulics.

ArcGIS Online has a wealth of data from many trusted sources such as NOAA and USGS. Next we will search for climate data and add a sea-rise layer to our web map.

On the top left section, click the dropdown menu to the Add button. Click Search for Layers.

In the Search for Layers window, type 3 ft sea level rise.

Make sure the box next to In: is set to ArcGIS Online.

Scroll down in the results until you find 3ft Sea Level Rise by noaa. In the Search results, click on the title and select Item Details. A new window appears at this link that has extensive metadata about this layer created by NOAA.

Zoom in downtown Charleston. To better see the area affected, change the transparency by clicking on the ... below 3 ft Sea Level Rise, select Transparency and change the slider to 25%.

You can see now that with a 3ft rise in sea levels a significant part of Charleston and the surrounding areas would be inundated with water.

1.3 Saving your map

Above the center of the map, click Save. Select Save. Follow these settings:

Title: Sea Level Rise in Charleston, SC

Tags: sea level rise, climate change, Charleston

Summary: A web map displaying sea-level rise data for Charleston, SC

1.4 Sharing your map

Next to the Save button, click Share.

In the new window that appears, check the box to share with Everyone (public).

Notice that you can share the short link to the map. In the next section, you will be embedding your new map in your Google site that you created earlier.

2. Create a Story Map

In this tutorial, we are going to create a story map that combines the three maps you created earlier.

- Go to My Content, then choose one of your maps (for example: Co2 Emissions), click on the inverted arrow to Open in map viewer.

- Then Click on Share button in the top menu. Always make sure you map is shared with the public,

and all the sharing properties for the layers are updated. Click on the Create a Web App button

Notice all the possible templates.

- At the bottom, Click on Page 4 and Choose Story Map Journal and click on Create Web App .

- Enter the Title (Global Warming: Science or myth? by YourInitials), Tags, Summary for your Story Map and click Done

- Click Start

2.1 Configure your story map

You will see a new window of Map Journal Builder, follow the following steps to configure your story map:

1. Choose Side Panel. Click Start. Enter the title for your story journal - "Global Warming: Science or myth". Click the Forward arrow to start editing your story map.

2. After this, you should be able to see two different sections of your story map: Main Stage and Side Panel. For every stop in your map journal, you will have a main stage and a side panel.

STOP 1: Landing Page

MAIN STAGE: You should be asked to enter the content for your Main Stage, you can add a map , image, video or webpage.In this case we will add a image ( lways start your story map with a picture/v to attract the audience)
- - Click on Image then choose URL:
  - Go to google.com and search for images for climate change. Find a good quality image and open it. Right click on that image and Copy image address
  - Paste the URL copied to your main stage content image window. Leave it as Fill.
SIDE PANEL: Then, you should be asked to fill the content for Side Panel

- Type the following information:
  - - Hello!
    - Welcome to our story map made by xxxx and yyyyy.
    - Please follow our journey on our findings of scientific evidence of global warming and probable causes.
    - Before we start our journey, we would like you to get familiar with historical data of contributors of global warming in the video below.

- - In the edit section, click the Source button. Navigate to the bottom and copy the embed code from this page: https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/144/

STOP 2: Evidence: Sea level rise

MAIN STAGE:
- - Click on Map then choose the Charleston sea level rise 3m map
SIDE PANEL:

- Copy and paste the following text:
  - Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming: the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of sea water as it warms.
- Select a photo or a video (whatever you think is more effective to help explain sea level rise to a general audience):
- Here is an example of a graphic - (google images - sea level rise graphic): http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/images/gw/infographic-sea-level-rise-and-global-warming/Sea-Level-Rise-and-Global-Warming-Infographic-Fact2_Full-Size.jpg
- Here is an example of a video: https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2015/aug/28/nasa-sea-levels-rising-human-climate-change-video

STOP 3: Causes: CO2 Emissions

MAIN STAGE:
- - Click on Map then choose Select a map, my organization, in the search box type: CO2 Emissions 1960. Select CO2 Emissions 1960-2013.
SIDE PANEL:

- Copy and paste the text and graphic from the following site: https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

STOP 4: Effects: Drought & Rising Temperatures

MAIN STAGE:
- - Click on Map then choose Select a map, arcgis online in the search box type: drought. Select a map with drought data..
SIDE PANEL:

- Copy and paste the text and graphic from the following site: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/

STOP 5: Solutions: What can you do?

MAIN STAGE:
- - Click on web page. Copy the code from this embedded video from this page: http://climatewisconsin.org/story/adaptation-mitigation: <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/17652611" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
SIDE PANEL:

- Copy and paste the text and graphic from the following site: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
- Embed the following video: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8YQIaOldDU8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

2.2 Changing the settings for the layout of your story map

To change the layout of your story map, Click on the Settings in the Top Menu of your Map journal builder. A new window will open and you will able to see the tabs for changing the Layout, Layout Options, Theme, Fonts, and Header.

- Layout - Under this tab, you have two options for the panel: Side Panel or Floating. Choose the one you think will work for your story.

- Layout Options - Under this tab, you can change the position of your side panel from left to right and you can change size of your panel and mainstage ( Small, Medium or Large). This is totally on you whichever you think will work best.

- Theme - Under this tab, you can change the color theme for your story.

- Fonts - Under this tab, you can choose the type of font you want to have for your Section title and Section Content.

- Header - This tab allows you to change the header for your story. You can change the logo, customize the link or share your story on facebook/twitter or create bit.ly link.

Once you have everything configured, click Apply.

On the top right corner of your story map, click Save and make sure it is public.

Once you saved it, in the top menu click on Share. This will provide you with a link to your story map. For example : http://arcg.is/2mrGgrK

You can also embed the story map on your website but due to default layout settings of the story maps, they look better on a web browser.

Page updated

Report abuse