People Can Create Custom Maps or Embed Mapping Capability into Their Web Sites

Redlands, California — June 11, 2010 — A new ESRI-powered mapping application allows anyone to freely create and share dynamic oil spill economic impact maps. The application allows individuals to visualize and understand the spill's economic effects related to fishing, boating, tourism, and employment in the vicinity of the Gulf of Mexico. They can quickly create a precise economic impact map of the area of interest using ZIP Codes or other location data, then share it using Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail.

“ESRI developed this application to provide a better understanding of what’s happening in the Gulf beyond the spill footprint,” says Russ Johnson, public safety manager, ESRI. “There is a lot of good data available from different government sources. Maps are a way to bring complex information together and quickly make sense of it. Our Web service is easy to use and provides location-specific information for areas throughout the Gulf states.”

The ESRI-developed application provides an interactive map of the Gulf Coast, along with data overlays illustrating the current size and location of the oil plume. Data updates provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) include beached oil and oil spill concentrations and areas of uncertainty. People can visualize the oil spill data on top of economic data to gain a better understanding of the disaster’s impact. They can then create their own specific maps based on their area of interest and the available business data they want to view.

In addition, the application gives anyone the tools to easily embed the economic impact mapping functionality into their own Web pages.

About ESRI

Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com/news.




Contact:

Jesse Theodore
ESRI
Tel.: 909-793-2853, extension 1-1419
E-mail: Email Contact