Introduction

The goal of this first lab was to select a historical category or topic within data visualization and create visual representation of milestones using a software tool.  The purpose, to capture developments occurring over a large span of time and present them in a format that informs, engages, and invites further interest in the topic.  I chose to visualize the milestones in the mapping of the ocean floor.  The progression of scientific advancements can be taken for granted in the present day given the technology at our finger tips.  However, many of those advancements were achieved in the last 50 years. A timeline offers perspective by presenting these scientific milestones succinctly in their historical context.

Methods

I started by reviewing the timeline of milestones in data visualizations produced by Denis and Friendly (2001). Cartography is one of the oldest technologies represented in their timeline. Though seafloor mapping was not explicitly graphed, brief research into ocean cartography quickly led me to seafloor mapping, its technology and contributors. I was inspired by bathymetric (seafloor topography) maps available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) based on survey data collected since the beginning of the 20th century.

These maps illustrate the parts of the world’s oceans that have been surveyed.  As dense as the lines appear, upon close inspection they reveal that the ocean is largely unexplored with only 10-15% of the oceans mapped.  NOAA’s marine trackline survey data used to create these visualizations date from 1939 to present.  I was curious to learn about the history and evolution of the technology.  The evolution of sounding (the process of measuring the depth of the seafloor) technology and bathymetry offer a well documented history lending itself to an interactive timeline.  The multitude of imagery available, including maps/charts, photos and illustrations, support a visual guide to this history.

TimelineJS is an open source application developed by Knight Lab requiring little to no technical expertise.  The timeline is created by adding date, text, and media to a spreadsheet template. With coding unnecessary, anyone can create a great looking, interactive tool.  I followed Timeline’s guidelines for telling a concise story, namely, choosing a strong narrative with events leading to major developments and keeping it short (20 slides maximum).  Once I had read through several timelines online, I selected a format which would meet the goal of presenting the material in an engaging manner and still convey the significance of the milestone. As in any scientific discipline, the history of bathymetry includes prominent contributors behind the discoveries.  Highlighting the technical achievements and their contributors produced the best narrative.  Exploration is a always a good story as it is all about “firsts”.

The timeline data was  derived from extracting information from sources within the disciplines of oceanic exploration and history.  Details came primarily from NOAA, founded in 1970 though active through its ancestor agencies since the 19th century.  Their photo library, which includes early maps, is completely archived online   Additionally, I used  blogs and educational sites as supplemental sources.

Results & Discussion

The ocean mapping timeline focuses on significant technological developments, key individuals, and visualizations (maps).  The resulting timeline is an interesting introduction to a complex topic.  Bathymetry has a 3,500 year history and it was difficult deciding where to begin.  Since sounding methods were relatively unchanged for hundreds of years, I thought it relevant to show how long the technology had been in place.  Initially, representing BCE dates and the long time span caused the time intervals to expand to 100 years which made the recent centuries difficult to process.  Though customization of the timeline is limited, the application offered an option.  Increasing the zoom level from default 2 to 5 resulted in reduction to 10 year intervals which are more spread out on the timeline.

My first iterations of timeline had over 20 events.  By consolidating some events into eras and keeping only the most significant events in each time period resulted in a more focused visualization. Combining related images into one slide by making one the background also helped to edit some redundant details and gave texture to the slides.  For additional interested, I added a thumbnail of a nautical compass to the flags. References were consolidated and presented as links on the final slide.  To make the timeline a more interactive learning experience I would add relevant website and media links to some of the slides.  Time did not allow for the proper curating and editing required to make them effective in the narrative.

TimelineJS is exceedingly user-friendly but some of the limitations can be frustrating.  According to their tech support forum, many of the display limitations, such as font colors and sizes, can be handled with knowledge of javascript/json and/or CSS.  Unfortunately, I was not able to customize my timeline due to lack of skill.   Even limited coding skills would be effective in personalizing the appearance and maximizing the functionality of the software.   Despite, these minor obstacles, I accept the limitations as necessary to create an open source product for a very general audience.  

[iframe src=”https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1YzpwUBDpxIHEqU6Athwi1iHDTGnSFoTtanES8OFup8s&font=Fjalla-Average&lang=en&initial_zoom=5&height=650″ width=”100%”
height=”650″]

References

Few, S. (2009) Now you see it: Simple visualization techniques for quantitative analysis.  Oakland, CA: Analytics Press

Friendly, M. & Denis, D. J. (2001). Milestones in the history of thematic cartography, statistical graphics, and data visualization. Retrieved from http://www.datavis.ca/milestones/

Make a timeline (n.d.). Retrieved from http://timeline.knightlab.com