SkyTruth Alerts

How-To Guide: Public Maps

Photo of pipeline explosion, Center Township, PA, taken 2 April 2019. Provided by FracTracker Alliance

Public Maps

Anyone can view Public Issue Maps, from either a link provided by someone else, or from SkyTruth Alerts.

To create an Issue Map, you’ll need to register for an account.

Public maps let you use SkyTruth Alerts to focus on a specific issue, incident, or Area of Interest (AOI) by saving and showing only the data and features that are relevant to your audience. Use them to save a particular map view you want to monitor over time, or to create a map view to present to others, publish on a website or social media, etc.

You can choose whether to make your Issue Maps public or private.

View Public Issue Maps

1. Open SkyTruth Alerts in your browser.

2. Select Public Issue Maps from the menu icon.

3. Select List or Gallery View to see available Public Issue Maps.

The list view can be sorted by Issue Map title, ID or when the map was last updated.
The gallery view shows an image of the map and displays the description text that accompanies the map.

4. Click on an Issue Map title to view it.

5. To share a Public Issue Map with others, copy the Issue Map URL/link in the address bar of your browser and paste it in an email, social media, etc.

To leave an issue map and go back to SkyTruth Alerts, select Map from the menu icon.

Create Public Issue Maps

1. Open SkyTruth Alerts in your browser and log in to your account.

2. Set up the map view as you want to present it. Select the Alerts, Map layers, and map features you want to see. Add annotations (like text, shapes and boundaries, lines, markers, etc.), and overlay recent satellite imagery on the map.

3. When your Issue Map is ready to be saved, click the Issue Maps icon from the toolbar.

4. Add a title and a map id (used to create a URL/link for your map).

5. Tick the checkboxes if you want to make your Issue Map public, or if you want to lock the map bounds, which will prevent others from being able to view anything outside of the area you have selected. You can share your Issue Map with specific people or an organization by specifying an email address (for a person) or a domain (e.g., @skytruth.org).

6. Write a description for your Issue Map, or add notes for yourself or others. Tick the checkbox below the description if you would like this information to be visible when someone first views your map.

7. Click Save.

To share your Issue Map with others, copy the Issue Map URL/link in the address bar of your browser and paste it in an email, social media, etc.

To leave an issue map and go back to SkyTruth Alerts, select Map from the menu icon.