Explore a 3D app

Maps have always been powerful tools for understanding our world. Today, however, maps have even greater potential, thanks to interactivity. Interactive maps and apps can store and convey far more data and experiences than the static maps of the past. The ability to zoom in, open pop-ups, control what is visible on the map, and change how it is visualized aren't just extra tools available to the map reader; they are new dimensions in mapping. A single interactive map can now do the job of many static maps at once.

In this tutorial series, you'll explore four interactive maps and apps and learn how they surpass the traditional understanding of cartography. In this tutorial, you'll explore an app that maps the health of the ocean. You'll learn how interactive maps allow for the exploration of 3D phenomena and how interactive app controls allow the map reader to steer the data's visualization.

Requirements

Explore a 3D app

Explore 3D data

A web scene is like a 3D web map. While static maps depicting three-dimensional data have long existed, they come with challenges. For example, features in the front tend to hide features in the back, and appear larger than them. 3D data is difficult to portray unless the user can view it from all angles. Next, you’ll see how interactive scenes allow for this kind of viewing and more.

1. Open the 3D Ocean Explorer app.
2. Click Explore data.

   A 3D map of the world’s oceans appears.

   

   The data in the app is from Esri, USGS, NOAA, NASA, USFWS, NIWA, MCI, NatureServe, GEO, Duke Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, GRID Arendal, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the University of Auckland.

3. On the left side of the map, click Nitrate.

   

   The map refreshes to show the nitrate data variable. Higher concentrations of nitrate are shown in red and lower concentrations are shown in yellow. Nitrate is the main nutrient required for photosynthesis.

   

   The 3D nature of this map allows you to see how nitrate levels vary over the surface of the ocean, but also at different depths. However, at the moment, you can only see the depth variation along coastlines and the edges of the map. You can’t see, for example, how nitrate varies by depth in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

4. On the right side of the map, click the expander button.

   

   A control panel appears.

5. At the top of the control panel, turn on the Enable slice toggle button. Click Horizontal slice.

   

   On the map, an arrow tool appears over the Arctic Ocean.

6. Drag the tool up and down to expose the data at different depths.

   

   By interacting with the data, you can explore all three of its dimensions and discover patterns that aren’t visible in two dimensions alone. For example, as ocean depth increases, nitrate also increases, but not evenly: at middle depths, the northern Pacific Ocean is dark red, while the northern Atlantic is light orange.

   

   Note:

   To see another example of a 3D interactive map, visit Terrain 3D. This scene doesn’t include any thematic data, but it allows for an understanding of mountainous terrain that isn’t possible to fully depict in 2D.

   The ocean is an inherently three-dimensional space that greatly benefits from a three-dimensional treatment. Static maps can depict individual slices of the ocean as small multiples, but the 3D Ocean Explorer app can depict all parts of the ocean at once. To learn how to make a 3D scene, try the tutorial Create a scene.

Explore further with interactive controls

Next, you’ll explore some of the other interactive controls in the 3D Ocean Explorer app. These controls affect what data is shown on the map, giving control to the map reader. Such controls are common to many interactive maps and apps but are especially helpful for exploring 3D data.

1. In the control panel, turn off Enable slice and turn on Enable section.

   

2. Experiment with the Longitude and Orientation sliders.

   

   This tool provides another way to explore the 3D data.

3. In the control panel, turn off Enable section and turn on Display isosurface.

   

   The scene displays all parts of the ocean where the nitrate concentration is 20 micromoles per liter (μmol/l).

   

4. Right-click and drag to tilt the scene.

   You can now see how areas of 20 μmol/l extend deep into the north Atlantic while remaining close to the surface for all other parts of the ocean.

   

5. Explore the app further by experimenting with the other options in the control panel and changing the displayed variable on the left side of the scene.

   Note:

   To see another example of interactive controls in an app, visit Sea Ice Aware and manipulate the map by interacting with the time slider and charts.

Interactive maps and apps can carry and convey more information than the static maps you may be used to. This is perhaps most obvious in 3D scenes, where much of the data wouldn’t be visible without the ability to navigate around the data or use slicing, sectioning, or filtering tools to access inner regions.

In this tutorial series, you explored four examples of interactive maps and apps that demonstrate the cartographic power of modern GIS. In particular, you saw how maps can better communicate their message when they become apps, how data from diverse sources can be leveraged to create richer maps and apps, and how ArcGIS Arcade allows for customization and clearer communication.

Interactive maps and apps encourage and enable much greater exploration and questioning of the data than was possible before.

Acknowledgements

• The 3D Ocean Explorer app was created by Raluca Nicola at Esri. The data in the app is from Esri, USGS, NOAA, NASA, USFWS, NIWA, MCI, NatureServe, GEO, Duke Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, GRID Arendal, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the University of Auckland.
• World Imagery layer sources: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community