Activity Outline Guide
2008 AccessData Workshop
Activities begun at the AccessData Workshop will be fully developed following the format of activities in the Earth Exploration Toolbook. Peruse any activity available at to see examples of the format and activity components. This document provides an outline of the minimum information needed for each team’s activity.
Team Name—
GEOBRAIN
Names and affiliations of Team Members—
Mike Taber (Curriculum developer and team facilitator), Liping Di (Data Manager), Frank Granshaw (Educator), Wei Luo (Scientist), Meixia Deng (Tool Specialist)
Working title for activity—
Tsunami Runup Impact Prediction for Cannon Beach, Oregon
Name(s) and URL(s) of dataset(s) used—
(accessed through the GeoBrain OnAS portal)
Name(s) and URL(s) of access/analysis software tool(s) used—
Target educational level for the activity (restrict to as few levels as possible)—
Undergraduate college/university
Case Study—
Cannon Beach was inundated by a Tsunami following the 1964 Good Friday earthquake near Anchorage Alaska. The town itself was not destroyed, but since then, residents have been leery of another Tsunami event. The fear is based on a tsunami runup, which is defined as the height of the water onshore observed above a reference sea level. Ever since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent Tsunami destruction in places like Ao Nang, Thailand, tsunami’s and their potential destruction have been on the minds of coastal residents all over the world. In this activity, users will use a powerful data extraction tool (GeoBrain) to extract desired Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data for a narrow coastal region near Cannon Beach, Seaside, and Astoria Oregon. Users will perform a simple algebraic calculation to extract possible Tsunami Runup heights of 5, 10, and 15 meters. Users will then export their newly defined layers onto Google Earth. Using Google Earth, users will determine zones that are at risk for the three runup heights. In addition, users will determine if existing transportation infrastructure is adequate for escape routes for Cannon Beach and the nearby towns of Seaside and Astoria.
Data Access and Analysis Procedures—
Define Study Area
0. launch a web browser (IE 7 or firefox) and go the following URL: click on Enter;
1. File > New project; click on Input Bounding Box; enter the latitude, longitude range as shown; enter project name; click on OK.
Find and add SRTM DEM data [define]
2. click on the add new layer icon
3. Geospatial Data Selection window will pop up, make sure Raster is selected, click on Choose
4. Raster Dataset selection will pop up with the data found; click on data customization and check the box below for the four DEMs as shown below;
5. click on submit 4 times (one time for each DEM)
6. in the pop up window, click on Submit
Patch DEMs together for the study area
7. Raster > Image Patch > Gray (this will patch the 4 pieces of DEM that comprises the study area in to one DEM)
8. Click on drop down arrow and select Patch Four;
9. Select the DEM on the left Data panel, click on the + sign to the right of the first map, the DEM will be added; Do the same for the rest of the DEMs.
Generate Shaded relief map
10. Web Service > Invoke > Registered
11. Click on topographic at the bottom after example:
12. click on Choose
13. Highlight the patched DEM on the left data panel, click the + button to the right of the sourceURL; change the outputGeoTiffType to Float32; click Invoke;
13. When it is finished, click the “add data to current project” button
Generate contour
14. follow steps 10-11, except at step 11, enter contour in the keyword field, then click on Search;
15. In the pop up window, click on Choose;
16. highlight the patched image on the left data panel, click on + button to the right of sourceURL, enter counter step (interval) 20; change outputGeoTiffType to Float32; Click on Invoke;
17. When it is finished, click the “add data to current project” button
Use image algebra to identify zone of risk under tsunami runup of 5, 10, 15 meters
18. Raster > Image Algebra
19. highlight the patched dem on the left data panel, click on the + button the right of parameter a; in the formula field, enter if(a>5,1,2), which means if the elevation value is greater than 5 meters, set its value to 1, otherwise, set its value to 2; change the output type to float32, click on invoke
20. click Add in the result pop up window
21. repeat steps 19-20, but change the formula to if(a>10, 1, 2) and if(a>15,1,2)
Save to KML
22. check/uncheck layers on the left data panel so it shows the desired layer;
23. File > save project as
24.Enter the name of the KML file and click on Submit
25. Click on Save
26. click on save
27. Open google earth and and open the kml file you just saved.
28. review the map in google earth and setting different transparency and examine which areas will be under water under 5, 10, 15 m of runup and plan the best evacuation route.
Additional information—