Source: ESRI, 2007.
Adapted with permission.
Source: ESRI, 2007.
Adapted with permission.
Hurricanes are among the most common and
most destructive types of natural hazards on
Earth. Because they occur across space and time,
hurricanes can be better understood using maps,
particularly digital maps within a Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) environment. GIS
allows you to use maps as analytical tools—not
maps that someone else has made—but using your
own maps to make decisions.
1. The National Atlas of the United States is a web
mapping service where you can make maps from
A to Z—Agriculture to Zebra Mussels. Access
http://nationalatlas.gov and select Map Maker to
make a map of hurricanes.
2. After selecting Map Maker, select Climate, then Tropical Cyclones, then Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, then 2000s. Finally, “Redraw Map.”
3. Discuss: Why do hurricanes move in the direction that they do? Which hurricanes don’t fit the pattern?
4. Map hurricanes from some different decades.
Discuss: Are hurricanes becoming more frequent
with each passing decade? How does the wind
speed change as each hurricane moves across the
ocean and across land?
5. For the next part of this activity, download ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education (AEJEE), from http://www.esri.com/aejee.
6. Data from National Atlas are bundled with a more
detailed version of this North Atlantic hurricane
activity, freely available on the ESRI ArcLessons
library at http://www.esri.com/arclessons. Search
on “Hurricanes” or the ID of 299.
7. After accessing AEJEE, select the Add Data button to add the hurricanes, boundaries, and cities map layers. Using Tools, then Query Builder, select Hurricane Andrew (Name=’Andrew’). Describe the path of Hurricane Andrew. How long was its path, and how many days did this hurricane last?
8. Study the Wind_
MPH and Pressure
fields. Discuss: What
is the relationship
between wind speed
and pressure? Why?
What was the wind
speed and pressure
when Andrew became a hurricane?