2012 GIS/Data Team

The Undergraduate Studies in Earthquake Information Technology USEIT Undergraduate Research Grand Challenge for 2012 is to develop visualization capabilities based on SCEC-VDO and GIS, improving methods and updating data sets. Using these tools, capabilities are developed to display earthquake rupture forecasts and publish visualization products used to educate the general public and scientific community about the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecasts, focusing on the new UCERF3 model. Our GIS/Data team utilizes ArcGIS to interpret data from shake maps and to produce maps that contain relevant information and be loaded into SCEC-VDO. Collections of various geographic data such as population density, landmarks, and road systems; focused on California areas of interest allow for the creation of complimentary maps with critical resources that will be vital in the event of a large disaster. Along with human geography datasets, physical datasets such as topography and hydrography have been produced for SCEC-VDO. The team has developed a capability that allows for the importing of updated shapefiles into SCEC-VDO. Continuous examination of other GIS capabilities within SCEC-VDO allow for additional improvements to the interface to be user friendly.