State Tectonics Project

Statetectonics.com: Statement of Work

Annie Byrnes CUNY Graduate School of Journalism August 29th, 2010

Summary:

My project is to create a website, www.statetectonics.com, to provide easy access to layman’s information about plate tectonic activity across the country for citizens to get a better understanding of the history, science, and potential for earthquakes and volcanic activity in their area. The home page of the site will have a large map of the United States from which a visitor can click to their specific region of the map to get more information. The site will also have a background page which gives a larger-scale view of how the U.S. fits into world tectonics, including references to recent earthquakes, such as the one in Haiti, and how that affects the North American plate. The site will be interactive, using Adobe Flash to make the map clickable, and will also make use of audio clips and pictures. The overall goal is not to compete with usgs.gov, but to make information that is available on usgs.gov more accessible and streamlined, so that members of the public with an interest in US tectonics can easily and quickly find some baseline information on their area.

Deadlines:

By September 30th, I’ll have the basic bones of the website in place. I’ll purchase the website hosting space and domain name, start the overall website design, including a rough outline of the map (without interactivity) and site logo, and I’ll flesh out the background page.

By November 30th, I’ll have all the major research done – contacting seismologists and geologists around the US to get information specifically on their regions. I’ll have the writing for the site complete.

By December 31st, I’ll have completed the site by finishing the interactivity of the homepage map, adding in multimedia elements, fact-checking my research, and adding additional flourish if needed.