[Coral-List] New Version of ReefBase online for evaluation

[Jamie Oliver]

Dear Coral Listers

ReefBase has been working for some time on a substantially revised version
of its online information system, and we have recently put this online
(www.reefbase.org) . This new version has a revised user interface and a
number of new and improved features, especially within the GIS system (see
below).  For the next month we are conducting an intensive evaluation of the
new site in order to ensure that we have a product which is easy to use and
meets the needs of coral reef managers, researchers, educators and other
users.  Those of you who were registered ReefBase users will already have
received notice of the new site, but we would like to invite all members of
the list to take some time to visit ReefBase and give us some feedback using
the "send comments" link at the top of any ReefBase page.

NEW FEATURES:
*** Downloadable datasets (many in GIS-format)
*** Bleaching: Degree Heating Week maps (in conjunction with NOAA)  with
ability to overlay bleaching records 
*** Coral Spawning Observation maps (dataset created using coral-list
archives and other sources)
*** NASA satellite images showing reef areas now available within GIS
*** MODIS satellite imagery and SEAWIFS shallow-water bathymetry available
as base maps in GIS
*** locations of all photos mapped on the GIS with a query facility to
browse image thumbnails 
*** global maps of physical oceanographic parameters from the World Ocean
Atlas
*** query multiple GIS data points by drawing a rectangle (up till now you
had to click on a single data point to view more information)

IMPROVED FEATURES:
*** New Home Page layout
*** New Menu Bars for key ReefBase sections
*** New colour scheme for map features (topography and bathymetry)
*** Monitoring sites on the GIS now greatly expanded (in conjunction with
Jaime Garzon for Caribbean sites) to include over 2600 sites from over 90
different programs worldwide 

User registration: - we now require user registration in order to access the
full ReefBase content. This will help us to get a better understanding of
who is using ReefBase and for what purposes. Our new registration form is in
a slightly different format, and requires a little more input but will take
less that a minute to complete. You can complete your registration form
here: http://www.reefbase.org/myaccount/mya_userinfo.asp 


We thank all those who have contributed information, data, and comments to
ReefBase over the last year, and look forward to further contributions so
that we can keep this information system as up to date and relevant as
possible.

Best Regards

Jamie Oliver - ReefBase Project Leader
Marco Noordeloos - ReefBase Manager

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Jamie Oliver
Senior Scientist (Coral Reef Projects)
The WorldFish Center
PO Box 500, GPO, 10670 Penang Malaysia
Street address: Jalan Batu Maung, 11960 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia
Ph: 60 4 626 1606
Fax: 60 4 626 5530
email: J.Oliver at cgiar.org
Visit the ReefBase website at www.reefbase.org <http://www.reefbase.org/> 
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