An ocean of story maps

The story map is a relatively new medium for sharing not only data, photos, videos, sounds, and maps, but for telling a specific and compelling story by way of that content. Story map apps provide the user with sophisticated cartographic functionality that does not require advanced training in cartography or GIS. Story maps are essentially web map applications built from web maps, which in turn are built from web-accessible data (including OGC WMS, WFS). Depending on the chosen complexity of a story map, it can be built in anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. With the beauty and utility of underlays such as the Esri Ocean Basemap, as well as a small tsunami of ocean content percolating up through a host of open data sites, there are powerful stories being told about coastal zone management, conservation, exploration and other forms of scientific field work. These stories are informing, educating, entertaining, and inspiring decision-makers on a wide variety of coastal issues. This presentation will take the audience on a small tour of a growing catalog of coastal and ocean story maps, many of which are accessible via MarineCadastre.gov and NOAA’s Digital Coast. It will also highlight the various resources available for building and deploying story maps, and discuss the utility of this medium for presenting, not just photos and videos, but more analytical results.