Chapter 8 — Discovering Overlays and Mash-ups 137
Trackers and Locators
Maps can be used to provide both active information about an event (for example, live feeds of
hurricane and weather activity) and also a historical view of that information. You only have to
watch the TV weather reports to see how this information can be used. Sometimes, using the
information extracted from the map can be just as useful. The photos taken and used for the
Google Maps satellite imagery are real photos, and occasionally that means that objects are
photographed and incorporated into the data. Some users are using this information to watch
and study different objects. Some are examining the details of well-known landmarks, such as
Area 51, while others look out for “capture” objects, like the photos of planes in flight or similar
events. Where that information is missing, the markers and icons in Google Maps can be used
to add the information to the map.This section looks at two examples, one providing live and historical information about hurri-
canes, and the other showing photos and the locations of one of the most famous aircraft
ever made.Hurricanes
As I noted in Chapter 1, my wife and I were in New York the weekend Hurricane Katrina hit
the Gulf Coast of the United States. Predicting, and then tracking, the path of the hurricane
went a long way to help individuals, organizations, and companies determine where the hurri-
cane was likely to hit and what sort of effects it could have on them.At the time, numerous sites providing the hurricane’s path and the forecast route popped up,
both from official sources and from individuals who had built Google Maps applications to
show the information.One of the most extensive hurricane-tracking applications available is the Hurricane Path
Tracking & Storm Status Information page for the Atlantic Ocean (at http://compooter
.org/sandbox/code/google/hurricane/atlantic/). This tool provides historical
hurricane data for more than 150 years for the Atlantic region. Similar applications are avail-
able for the East and West Pacific.The starting interface for this application combines a simple layout with an advanced applica-
tion that enables you to load hurricane information in a hurry. From the pop-up in the upper-
right corner, you can select one of the years to view. I’ve selected 2005 so that the page shows
the path of Hurricane Katrina (see Figure 8-6).The application then provides you with a list of hurricanes for the year, sorted by name. Click-
ing a hurricane name loads up all the data for that hurricane, including the path it took and
data points for the storm’s severity and classification. You can see the route and a sample infor-
mation window in Figure 8-7.You can even combine multiple hurricanes to compare the paths and severity at different
points, as you can see in Figure 8-8 (which shows hurricanes Katrina and Wilma). Katrina is
the S-shaped route from just above Cuba that snakes up through Louisiana and on land up
toward New York State. Wilma starts south of Cuba and snakes up across the tip of Florida
and heads out to sea, following the coastline of the eastern seaboard.