PROGRESS REPORT ON AN INTERACTIVE MAP OF KEY GEOLOGICAL AND FOSSIL LOCALITIES ALONG THE SOUTHERN TETHYAN MARGIN

The use of a “map portal” allows researchers and organizations to publish their maps, and the data incorporated therein, in a simple way that will reach a much broader audience of generalists as well as specialists. Colleagues around the globe can connect to the portal through the internet and display the maps on their desktop computers. The process is dynamic; any change made on the base map is immediately displayed on the user’s desktop.

A database of brachiopod locations in the Middle East is being constructed that comprises GPS coordinates as well as other pertinent data. The database also includes available information about the specimen: taxonomy, stratigraphic position, depositional environment. Photographs of the fossils are being entered into the database as well.

In this report we illustrate a map of the southern Tethyan region with the brachiopod localities. These are shown as red points on top of an imagery map. By clicking on a point, a small box opens that contains the textual data of the fossil as well as one or more related photographs. Future work includes the addition of other faunal constituents such as gastropods and cephalopods into the database and the addition of tools to enable a worker to filter the display according to his needs (e.g. species name, locality). We are preparing a single map with all the data and will add tools to filter the display.