Working with MARPLOT

With MARPLOT, you can create, examine, and modify map objects. Some map objects (such as roads) are included on the standard MARPLOT maps. You can modify these existing objects (and get information about them) and you can also add new objects (such as a school) to the map.

MARPLOT hast several types of map objects, including points/symbols (such as a chemical facility), polygons (such as parks, water bodies, or counties), and pictures (such as icons).

Maps and layers are the groups into which objects are organized. Maps, which usually cover specific geographic areas (such as a county), are divided into layers. Any particular layer usually contains one type of object (such as roads, water bodies, or hospitals). You can customize the appearance of your maps by turning layers on and off and by choosing whether names are displayed.

Searching for map objects by geographical criteria is easy and fast in MARPLOT. You can ask questions such as "How many objects on any of these three layers are within 1.5 miles of this threat zone?"

Sharing Information with CAMEO and LandView

MARPLOT can share information with databases (such as CAMEO and LandView) and other programs that contain information about map objects. For example, you can search for certain records in a database, and then show the results on the map.

MARPLOT can be used with CAMEO to mark the locations of facilities, hospitals, and other sites of interest to planners and responders. Additionally, CAMEO's hazard modeling program, ALOHA, can display its threat zone predictions on a MARPLOT map (as shown below).

An ALOHA threat zone is displayed on a MARPLOT map that shows locations (such as schools and clinics) that may be impacted by the chemical release.

LandView is a database management system that uses MARPLOT as its mapping display. LandView was developed by NOAA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Census Bureau. LandView's collection of data (such as EPA-regulated sites and demographic and economic information from the 2000 census) is automatically linked with the associated MARPLOT maps and can be queried using MARPLOT's search mechanism.