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Climate Data Online: Integrated Mapping Tool Help

Getting Started

The Mapping Tool application uses Adobe® Flash technology to display the interactive data within web browsers. Please make sure that all Flash plugins are updated to the most recent version for a better experience.

The Integrated Mapping applications have been tested for use at a resolution of 1024x768 or greater with the following web browsers:

Microsoft® IE 9+

Mozilla® Firefox 17+

Google® Chrome 24+

Apple® Safari 4+

Using the Map

Step 1

Navigate to the Integrated Map Application. Once the map is loaded, follow the steps to locate and identify stations and download data.

Step 2

Use the Layers icon Layer controls to adjust the desired map layer visiblity.

Step 3

Navigate to your area of interest on the map.

Step 4

With Identify icon Identify or Select Tool icon Select Tools, select features on the map.

Step 5

In the Results window, select Checkbox icon checkboxes or click the Data icon to access. Click the Graph icon to view data.

Navigation

How to use different parts of the navigation tools and find your way around the maps.

Controller

		Zoom to Full Map	zooms the map to the full extent
		Previous Map	zooms the map back to the previous extent
		Next Map	zooms the map forward to the next extent, if applicable
		Zoom to Latitude/Longitude	zooms the map to a user-defined geographic coordinate location
		Zoom slider	the zoom slider allows the map to zoom in/out to different map scales
		Move Map	moves the map without changing the scale; click, hold, then drag the map in the desired direction and release
		Zoom In	zooms map into a smaller geographic area, showing more detail; zoom in by drawing a rectangle on the map
		Zoom Out	zooms map out to a larger geographic area, showing less detail; zoom out by drawing a rectangle on the map

Locator

The locator enables you to search for and navigate to areas of interest: countries, states, provinces, counties, cities, landmarks, water bodies, zip codes, etc. Searches are not case-sensitive.

Step 1

Enter a location into the text box and click the Go button:

Step 2

The results are displayed in a new window. Click on a result to redirect the map to that location.

Mouse Wheel

The mouse wheel can be used to zoom the map in and out where available. Scroll the mouse wheel up to zoom in and down to zoom out.

Basemaps

The basemap is the layer on which all other map layers draw on top of. One basemap layer is always visible.

Move the mouse over the Basemaps button to open the thumbnail gallery. Basemaps icon

Click on the thumbnail of your preferred basemap* and the basemap layer of the map will be updated.

Satellite

Streets

Topo

* not all basemaps are shown

Layers

The layers window allows control over the visibility and transparency of the layers available in the map application. The layer legend image may also be displayed.

Step 1

Layers Click the Layers button to open the layers window:

Step 2

Use any of the following options*:

	Toggle Visibility	Turns the layer visibility on/off
	Set Transparency	Sets the transparency level of the layer
	Select Date	Select a date or a date range
	Historical Active	Toggles between historical and active stations
	Metadata	Link to layer metadata

* not available for all layers

Legend

The legend window displays a legend of all visible layers on the map, excluding the basemap layer.

Legend icon Click the Legend button to display the legend window.

Tools

Identify

The Identify tool queries and displays information about visible features on the map, excluding the basemap layer.

Step 1

Click the Identify tool to make it active.

Step 2

Click on a feature on the map and the results will display in a window:

Results

View more details about the Results window.

Select

The Select Tools window allows various types of querying against a selected map layer, excluding the basemap layer.

Step 1

Click Select Tools Select Tools to display the Select Tools window:

Step 2

Select a map layer and the tools become visible:

Step 3

Use functionality* as desired:

	Select By Rectangle	Selects features from the map layer based on a user-defined rectangle. Using the mouse, left-click, hold, and draw a rectangle on the map.
	Select By Polygon	Selects features from the map layer based on a user-defined polygon. Using the mouse, left-click, hold, and draw a polygon on the map.
	Select By Proximity	Selects features from the map layer based on a user-defined point and a radial distance. Enter the distance, units (miles or kilometers), and click a point on the map.
	Select By Attributes	Selects features from the map layer based on attribute values. Enter the search text and click 'Search'.
	Select By Location	Selects features from the map layer based on a location (i.e. country, state, county, climate division, climate region, USGS HUCs, or zip code). Choose the appropriate location from the dropdown list(s) and click 'Search'.
	Clear Graphics	Clears any highlighted graphics from the map.

Step 4

Selected features will be highlighted on the map and the results will display in a window:

View more details about the Results window.

* not available on all maps

Measure

The measure tool allows distance to be measured long a drawn line. Distance is displayed in both miles and kilometers.

Step 1

Click the Measure tool icon Measure tool to make it active.

Step 2

With the mouse cursor over the map, left-click and hold, then draw a line and release. The measure results display. Click the X to clear.

Print

The print tool allows map printing in either landscape or portrait orientation.

Step 1

Click the Print Print tool to open the Print Options window:

Step 2

Choose the orientation, edit the map title and author, and click the Show Preview button. The Print Preview window opens:

Step 3

Click the Print button. Note that the orientation of both the Print Preview page and the printer properties should match before printing.

Legacy Search

A legacy-style search (i.e. web page dropdowns and picklists) can be accomplished via the map:

Using the legacy search

Step 1

Click Select Tools to display the options window:

Select Tools Window

Step 2

Select a map layer and click the Location icon:

Select Tools Window

Step 3

Select a location type from the dropdown (e.g. US State) and select a state:

Select Tools Window

Step 4

Click the Search button. Selected features will be highlighted on the map and the results will display in a window:

Results

View more details about the Results window.

Results

The results window displays map layer selection sets.

Note: There is a limit to the number of features the map will display. View more details about the maximum number of records.

Getting data with results

Step 1

With Identify or Select Tools, select features on the map. The results will display in a window:

Results Window

Note: If sorting of the search results is not functioning properly, the recommended fix is to clear the cache in your browser.

Step 2

Use functionality* as desired:

	Selects records for data retrieval via Climate Data Online (CDO).
	Passes the selected records to Climate Data Online (CDO) for data retrieval.
	Passes the selected location to Climate Data Online (CDO) for data retrieval. This is only available when a Select By Location query has been performed.
	Allows the graphing of data for the selected record.

* not available for all layers or maps

Max Features

Be aware that the map will only highlight and return a maximum of 1,000 features in a result set, regardless of how many features are actually selected.

The result set feature count is indicated at the bottom right hand corner of the Results window:

Max Features

MultiGraph

MultiGraph* is an interactive graphing tool. The graph's appearance can be manipulated by clicking and dragging on the either the horizontal or vertical axis. Multiple variables can be graphed.

* not available for all layers or maps

Using Multigraph

Step 1

With Identify or Select Tools, select features on the map. The results will display in a window:

Results Window

Step 2

Click the Graph Graph icon on the desired record to open the Graph window:

Graph Window

Step 3

Select up to 2 variables and click the Graph button. The graph will load:

Graph Results

Step 4

Use functionality as desired:

Change Date/Time (Horizontal Drag)	to move the graph forward or backwards in time, click and drag on the horizontal axis (to the left or right) while holding the mouse button down.
Expand or Compress Date/Time (Horizontal Stretch or Shrink)	to stretch or shrink the date/time, hold the <Shift> key down and click and drag on the horizontal axis while holding down the mouse button. Dragging to the right expands and dragging to the left compresses. The axis will expand or compress at the point where you begin dragging.
Change Vertical Axis (Vertical Drag)	to change the vertical axis, click and drag on the vertical axis (up or down) while holding the mouse button down.
Expand or Compress Vertical Axis (Vertical Stretch or Shrink)	to stretch or shrink the vertical axis, hold the <Shift> key down and click and drag on the vertical axis while holding the mouse button down. The axis will expand or compress at the point where you begin dragging.

NEXRAD Radar

The NEXRAD Radar custom component* allows browsing of historical NEXRAD National Reflectivity Mosaics and ordering of historical NEXRAD data.

The mosaic data is available from 1995/01/01 and is courtesy of Iowa Environmental Mesonet (IEM)

* not available on all maps

Getting NEXRAD Radar Data

Step 1

Use the Layers Layer controls to make the National Reflectivity Mosaic map layer visible.

National Reflectivity Mosaic Layer

Step 2

Click the Calendar icon to open the National Reflectivity Mosaic and Data window:

National Reflectivity Mosaic Browse

Step 3

Browse historical National Reflectivity Mosaics by setting the date and time and clicking the Update Map button. Incremental buttons (+ or - 5 minutes) are also available.

Step 4

With Identify or Select Tools, select NEXRAD stations on the map. The results will display in a window:

NEXRAD Results

Step 5

In the Results window, select records and click the Get Selected Data button for data retrieval via Climate Data Online (CDO).

NetCDF Downloads

The NetCDF Download custom component* allows downloading of Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) array-oriented scientific data.

* not available on all maps

Using NetCDF

Step 1

Use the Layers Layer controls to make a NetCDF map layer visible. Optionally, click the Calendar icon to set a particular dataset date.

NetCDF Layer

Step 2

Click the NetCDF Download button to open the NetCDF Download window. Choose the NetCDF layer from the dropdown and click the Select Data to Download button:

NetCDF Download Window

Step 3

Using the mouse, left-click, hold, and draw a rectangle on the map in the desired location. The NetCDF Download window expands and displays additional information like Period of Record, Bounding Box, and file size.

NetCDF Download Results

Step 4

Use the Calendar icons to set the dataset start and end dates. Adjust the area of interest by resizing or moving the highlighted selection graphic:

NetCDF Download Graphic

Step 5

Click the Download button. A window opens prompting for the file name and save location:

Save File

Step 6

Accept or edit the file name and save location defaults and click Save. The file download progress displays:

File Download Progress

Step 7

A message appears when the NetCDF download has completed:

Download Complete