Google Earth's and NOAA Coral Reef Watch

http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/ge/index.html

Satellite imagery is when, "Radiant energy from the earth is measured by a satellite radiometer and stored as digital values in two-dimensional arrays of pixels, which make up the image." (http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/science/creating/first_steps/obs_sat_imagery.html).

This is a satellite image, which I created using Google Earth, which relates to Panama City, FL. and the Gulf of Mexico near there with markers from NOAA's Coral Reef Watch using Google Earth 5.0.  Google Earth 5.0 is a free program and can be used to view any area around the globe.  So, if you wanted to see your house, or any other place, from the air; get Google Earth 5.0 and have fun!

The first website above is a link to NOAA's Coral Reef Watch page and has links which lead to the download page for Google Earth as well as the Coral Reef Watch packages.  If you decide to use Google Earth; download and install the Google Earth program, use the link above to download the Coral Reef Watch packages, and follow the instructions.

Histogram

http://www.radicalcartography.net/index.html?histelev

This histogram shows elevation on the left and the tick marks on the bottom indicate 10% of the earth's surface.  Histograms allow for distinct numerical measurements to be replaced by frequency.

Bivariate choropleth maps

http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc99/proceed/papers/pap171/p171.htm

Bivariate choropleth mapping allows for two different variables to be shown in the same geographical location by giving each variable its own distinct representation.  The above image shows the population of a region in 1997 and the median house value in the same region.  The differing variables are contrasted by using pink spots for population and green spots for median house value, each spot larger with numeric increase.

Doppler Radar

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/oakfield/radar.htm

Doppler radar uses microwaves that are sent from the radar outward where they interact with water particles and the information is sent back to the radar where the data is computed to where an image is produced which shows the frequency, or denseness of the water and tracks it to show how fast it is moving and in what direction as well as the temperature of the water.  With doppler radar it is possible to differentiate between snow, sleet, and rain as well as tracking its motion.  The most important information which comes from dopplar radar is the tracking of storm cells in order to see if a tornado is forming, and where, or to track the strength of a hurricane from a distance.. 

Flow map

http://graphics.stanford.edu/papers/flow_map_layout/

This flow map shows the migration of people from California from 1995 to 2000.  Flow maps are used to show how things move from one place to another, or as in this case, from one place to many others. 

Statistical maps

http://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/m.dodge/cybergeography/atlas/census.html

These statistical maps show how the "spread of the internet" happened between 1991 and 1997 when the study expired.  Statistical maps can give from a regional or local to a worldwide view of how there is a rise or decline in pretty-much anything.  This style of map can be used to show the frequency of violent crime or the literacy rates and can be as broad-spread as the data can produce.

Bilateral Graph

http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2009/02/macro-graphs.html

This bilateral graph shows the U.S. trade deficit in relation to India's GDP from 1980 until 2005.  Bilateral graphs are extremely useful when relating two equal or opposite factors which are data-based, and showing how they relate to each other, especially over a period of time.  A similar graph could be created which shows the U.S. debt during one president's time in office shown against another's or the amount of a pollutant during one decade and the same pollutant during another decade.  This form of graph gives the viewer an opportunity to see how things change depending on different time-frames.