The high level requirements for this project include a query tool that allows
users to select different rock types in an array of colors to visualize the
landscape of Antarctica. The data acquired in these queries will also be
availible to download. This allows the scientists our group is working with to
access the data from Antarctica, where there is not any internet access. We are
also going to have to create a database with the raster images precompressed to
allow for shorter load times of the map.
Our solution will be a web based application that contains a map of one of the
largest dry valleys, ice free regions, of Antarctica. The plan for the
interactive map is to use Leaflet because it takes advantage of the coordinate
plane from google maps and allows for dynamic viewing. We will also have a query
tool that allows users to select different rock types and see where they are on
the surface of the continent. The website will utilize a backend database
created with MySQL and SQLite to store the necessary information. Our database
will be constrained based on the 18 lines stored in the original raster images.
Since our website allows users to download the data from it, we are going to
need an altered version of the raster images. Original images are proprietary
information and therefore can not be distributed to the public. The current
solution to this problem is to take the confidence intervals for each pixel and
create binary data that only shows what type of rock exists there instead of a
percent.