A screenshot of languages used on Twitter in the Americas.

Since its inception, social media has spread rapidly. One of the most globalized products is Twitter, which allows users to send out short messages to followers. It is estimated that users send out approximately 200 million of these messages a day. Being such a globalized product, the languages spoken by users includes much more than just English, as you can see in the map screenshots below (the full map is available on Flickr).

A screenshot languages used on Twitter in Europe and Asia.

The Legend for the map.

Mapping social media is quickly becoming an everyday utility to understand our cultural landscapes (See Occupy Wall Street). But what about mapping natural phenomenon with social media?    I found the following map one of the most interesting intersections of social media, natural phenomenon and an outdoors pastime.  I found this interactive heat map on Field and Stream’s website.

The map requires a Facebook login and requires the users to report activity and rut phase of whitetail deer in the zip code that they hunt in.  The results are compiled and a heat map is generated on a daily basis.  Each one of the compiled maps is put in a time slider and allows the user to see changes over time.  
Of course the accuracy of the reports depends on the number of hunters who use Facebook, as well as those who are willing to submit their information.  I think it’s interesting nonetheless and worth checking out.

The interactive map from Poisoned Places: Toxic Air, Neglected Communities displays Toxic Inventory Release Information.

NPR and the Center for Public Integrity have teamed up for a special investigation series entitled Poisoned Places: Toxic Air, Neglected Communities. This series takes a hard look at the environmental protection, or like there of, in American communities. The series’ website includes an interactive map (see screenshot above) that displays the distribution of polluters all over the country. The map displays Toxic Release Inventory information, like the EPA’s myRight-to-Know application, but is much more user friendly than the EPA product.

More on this NPR series:

Part 1: Secret ‘Watch List’ Reveals Failure to Curb Toxic Air

Part 2: Oklahoma Town Battles Powdery Carbon Pollution

Scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center “combine analysis of satellite images of the Earth with field studies to measure, model, and map the Earth’s ecosystems, from thawing permafrost in the arctic to the expanding agriculture regions of the tropics.” The WHRC studies regions all over Earth, including their own backyard. The second half of the 20th century brought significant changes to the home of the WHRC, Cape Cod, including a doubling in the population. This increase in population has transformed land use patterns, and consequently the landscape, dramatically. The images below depict land use: dark green represents forests, yellow represents residential areas, red represents commercial and industrial areas, light brown represents salt marshes, pale brown represents sand, while orange represents agricultural areas:

1951

1985

2005

The WHRC has made a variety of resources available regarding the Cape, including time series photographs of Falmouth, maps of land cover change by town, a description of critical habitats, and an exploration of why some areas on the Cape should be a priority for local governments to acquire.