THE INTEGRATED, BROWER INDEPENDENT, WEB PUBLICATION AND USE OF MAPS AND ASSOCIATED ARTICLES, IMAGES, MULIT-MEDIA AND ANALYTICAL DATA IN DYNAMIC DIGITAL MAPS

The public's demand and dependence on digital sources as a primary means of obtaining maps and linked media has resulted in the development of the Dynamic Digital Map. DDMs are computer programs that distribute geologic maps, digital images, movies, analytical data, and explanatory text such as field guides, in an integrated cross-platform, web enabled format that are intuitive to use, easily and quickly searchable, and require no additional proprietary software to operate. Maps, photos, movies and animations are stored outside the program, which acts as an organizational framework and index to present these data. Analytical data is stored as tab-delimited text in the program, and can be saved as text files, for use out of the program.

An open source program, the "DDM-Template" into which one can insert their data, and an accompanying 69 page "Cookbook" on how to do this are available at the URL below. Making a DDM from the Template requires the use of the relatively inexpensive, multi-platform programming environment Runtime Revolution (www.runrev.com), which has a low learning curve. Once data have been added to the "DDM-Template" and stored in specified directories, a single step creates royalty-free stand-alone programs for Linux, and all Windows and Macintosh operating systems. The DDM program matching the user's operating system can be downloaded from http sites, which can be used to host a DDM. The DDM can then access its associated data directly from that site with no browser needed. Alternatively, the entire package can be distributed and used from CD, DVD, or flash-memory storage.

The DDM home page (http://ddm.geo.umass.edu) has download links for over 15 DDMs. These include the DDM of New England, which contains the state geologic of Massachusetts, and six geologic field trips, and an automated tour demonstrating DDM use. The DDM of the Springerville Volcanic Field (in Arizona) and another of the Tatara-San Pedro volcanic complex in Chile have be used in petrology classes (Boundy & Condit, 2004, JGE). Examples of DDMs range from those depicting state parks, with hiking, biking and climbing guides, to ones showing sedimentary rock outcrops, and the distribution of knotweed infestations of the Deerfield drainage, and finally one showing the development and family history of the Clark orchards near Buckland, MA.