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Hi HN, I built this. It's been posted several times before, so I can answer some common questions: How does this work? I adapted GPlates [1], an academic proj
by typpo 4y ago
Hi HN, I built this. It's been posted several times before, so I can answer some common questions:
How does this work?
I adapted GPlates [1], an academic project that creates desktop software for geologists to investigate plate tectonic data.
Is the geocoding accurate?
Even though plate tectonic models return precise results, you should consider the plots approximate within ~100km. In my tests I found that model results can vary significantly. I chose this model because it is widely cited and covers the greatest length of time.
How should I interpret the maps/colors?
The graphics that wrap the globe are provided by Dr. Christopher Scotese, a geologist who runs the PALEOMAP project. You can learn more about the project and the creation of the rasters here [2]. You might also notice some old national borders. I just work with what I can get!
Why can't it look up my location?
Your location probably didn't exist at the time, geologically speaking. Try switching to closer to present day (e.g. 66 Mya)
Where are all the dinosaurs?
Despite the title of this post, the visualization isn't really meant to show an exhaustive list of dinosaurs or fossils (the list doesn't even show on mobile). If you want to dig into data on fossils near you, check out the Paleobiology Database Navigator [3].
[1] https://www.gplates.org https://www.gplates.org
[2] https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-q0WIa7ofISFHyBe4UxvN8DIPs82SPmS/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-q0WIa7ofISFHyBe4UxvN8DIPs8...
[3] https://paleobiodb.org/navigator/ https://paleobiodb.org/navigator/
- davelacy 4y agoThis is one of the coolest web apps I've seen... awesome work!
- nsrose7224 4y agoThis is really cool, where is SnowBall earth at ~700M years ago though? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_Earth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_Earth
- 323 4y agoIs the rotation lock when viewing North/South Pole intentional? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimbal_lock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimbal_lock
- zamadatix 4y agoIt allows for north to always be up without causing mayhem when you try to move over the poles. The alternative is to allow free movement but no guarantee on orientation which can get confusion on things like this.
- tills13 4y agoone suggestion is that rotation should be disabled by default, disable itself when you manually move the globe, or at least not hidden behind a toggle otherwise very cool
- gertlex 4y agoI found the rotation inconvenient as well. As the instructions in the bottom suggest, arrow keys can be used to skip over the times, which was good. It would be neat try having the up/down change the time (as they currently do) and left/right (instead of also navigating the times) do east/west rotation (or vice versa).
- BrissyCoder 4y agoThis doesn't appear to work for me. When I enter a city name it just places a red sphere on the globe. Nothing about dinosaurs.
- shmde 4y agoIt was clickbait
- arthurcolle 4y agoYeah same - I think the post title was recently edited because the original title was very explicit about it showing you dinosaurs that were found in your area. I live in Miami, so I typed that in and was waiting to see the cousins of all the strange cold-blooded oddities I see everyday and it was exactly as you describe. I recently saw one of those flappy neck lizards maybe 3 months ago so was expecting to see that dino from Jurassic Park when he yeets that fat guy out of existence but instead just got the red dot. Where can I file a JIRA ticket?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- bombcar 4y agoI clicked around on soemthing and got a list. Around me was some huge whale Dino. First I had to set the date to the Jurassic.
- poulpy123 4y agothey don't appears when I'm using my cell photne but they do when I'm on my computer. also you have to selct a date when thre was dinosaurs
- arunix 4y agoWould it be possible to show the Earth at X million years in the future?
- knasmai 4y agoThanks for building this! Is there any way to predict/visualize what it'll look like X years into the future? That'd be pretty cool to look at.