Online Help
Before you begin exploring the OBIS-SEAMAP web site
The OBIS-SEAMAP web site provides varaiety of interfaces/tools to explore, map and download survey data for marine mammals, seabirds and sea turtles collected from data providers across the globe.
You don't need to have an account to access the web site. However, use of the data available through the OBIS-SEAMAP web site is subject to the OBIS-SEAMAP Terms of Use.
The following Online Help contents will help you explore data more efficiently. You may find video tutorials more fun and easy to learn about OBIS-SEAMAP. User FAQ will be another good resource when you got a question.
If you are interested in contributing your data to OBIS-SEAMAP, please visit Provider FAQ or contact us directly.
Site Structure
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| Front Page |
Front page features a simple version of the distribution map. You can search observations by species and/or region of interest. Contributing species and datasets are listed from which you can go to the Species/Dataset pages. |
| Dataset Search | Dataset Search allows you to search datasets by species and/or region of interest as well as data provider. From here, you can go to the Dataset page. |
| Species Search |
Species Search allows you to search species from taxonomic tree and by species name, region of interest and/or time range. The results are linked to the Species Profile page. |
| Dataset | Dataset page shows you the detail information about the dataset including abstract and species observed. The page is spatially, temporally interactive so that you can explore the observations from various aspects. Online Help can be found in [Help] tab in the page. |
| Species Profile |
Species Profile page provides the species taxonomic information along with the SEAMAP observations for the species. The page is spatially, temporally interactive so that you can explore the observations from various aspects. Online Help can be found in [Help] tab in the page. |
| Online Mapper |
Online Mapper allows you to overlay multiple species/datasets on a single map and provides more advanced features. The current Mapper is SEAMAP 1.0 and will be upgraded to SEAMAP 2.0. |
Video Tutorials
| Title | Level | Length | Applied to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to OBIS-SEAMAP | Basic | 2' 30" |
Front Page |
| Species box - As-you-type search - |
Basic | 2' 10" | Front Page, Search pages |
| Draw a polygon and define your study area | Basic | 2' 00" |
All pages |
| Play with temporally interactive chart | Basic | 3' 35" | All pages |
| Map enviromental layers | Advanced | 1' 20" |
Dataset/Species |
Browser Requirements
The SEAMAP web site is best viewed with Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2/3. Both Windows XP and Mac OS are supported. The recommended screen size is 1024x768 or larger.
Notes
- Internet Explorer 6 is supported but you may experience slow page loading.
- Safari on Mac OS basically works fine but is not fully tested.
- Javascript and cookie must be enabled.
- With a screen smaller than 1024x768, the horizontal scroll bar may appear and the large map size (click [L] button) may not seem bigger than the small one (click [S] button).
