Flash-Based Tool for Earthquake Epicenter Identification

Previously, the methods used by scientists to locate an earthquake epicenter were so cumbersome, even for scientists, that the epicenter location methodology needed to be simplified before it was presented to K-12 students. Today, because of the advances in computer technology, there is a smaller divide between what is performed in research laboratories and what can be introduced in classrooms. The Flash-based Earthquake Location Tool (FELT) provides an authentic earthquake locating experience for students. FELT retrieves seismic data from recent earthquakes and displays seismograms that students can interact with in order to determine an earthquake´s epicenter. XML files provide reference points for the selected earthquakes and their seismograms. FELT allows its client to perform computations and interact with Google Maps API as it loads data, images and audios asynchronously, and redraws sections of the screen, all independent of the server with which it is connected.