Animated Mapping - Types of Animated Maps

Types of Animated Maps

Animated maps can emphasize the existence of an occurrence at a location, emphasize an attribute of an occurrence or representing change in the position or attributes of an occurrence (DiBiase 1992). For instance, a flashing symbol may be used to draw the map-reader’s attention to a particular occurrence at one location or multiple location across the map. Maps on the weather channel use animation to emphasize current and predicted paths of hurricanes.

The use of the Internet has allowed animated maps to become interactive. The user can witness representations of changes over time, while manipulating the direction of view, the pace or the parameters of the map displayed (MacEachren 1998).

Animation on Maps can be mainly divided into two types:

Temporal Animation: Temporal shows the ongoing gradual changes over time. Temporal maps can also be termed as animated timeline maps and can be a useful reference to examine the changes ongoing on each step and analyze the progression occurring gradually as time passes.

There are many purposes which temporal animation might serve to depict: displaying and analyzing geographic patterns, meteorological events, climate, natural disasters, and other multivariate data.

Importance of Legend in Temporal Maps: As in the case of static maps, it would be useful if temporal maps could also be provided with proper legend. Legends for temporal maps should not only tell the time but also let user travel over the time. Various manipulations such as traveling to a certain point in time, selecting focus level etc. should be allowed to enhance user friendliness.

Using legend in temporal map will answer important questions related to the entity’s existence (if?), the entity’s location (when?), time intervals (how long?), temporal texture (how often), speed at which change takes place (how fast?), and the order of change (what order?) (MacEachren, 1995).

Depending upon their construction, animated legends may distract the viewer from the animated map. Care must be taken to integrate the legend in an unobtrusive fashion.

Non-Temporal Animation: Non-Temporal Animation shows changes against some other variables other than time. The variable might be place, position, generalization level etc. Non –temporal animation also serves when there is a need to show both the data set and the transformation that has been applied on it for its display.

Non- temporal animation can be of many types according to the purpose they serve:

1) Fly thorough animation: This type of animation gives the viewer the feeling of flying through the landscape.

2) Cartographic zoom animation: This type of animation shows maps at different focus level and viewer can change the scale of the map as desired.

3) Classification animation: Different methods of data classification are depicted in this animation.

4) Generalization animation: This type of animation uses single classification method with multiple classes of data.

Time is an important aspect in both animations. Real time is depicted in temporal animation and presentation time (time to show the animation) is associated with non-temporal animation.