Google Earth Community: Great Britain and Ireland Grid Lines Layer(Update)

Hi Barry,

And thanks very much for the kind response.

As it happened, I did recall seeing something about vice county data before, but with the opinion riding on it that it was not based on a very good data set. However, following your remark that you already knew of vice counties, I have looked at my sources again, and, blow me, if I now find that the Biological Records Centre has actually made up vice county maps and other data AND have started to offer the facility for viewing records in GE for themselves! I am amazed that none of the people I know who actually submit records, some of whom actually work in BRCs, seem to know that this facility was being worked on! I haven't looked in any detail at all they have on offer yet - and most of it would be over my head in any case, but perhaps you would enjoy looking at what they have done.

So, I am very glad that you prompted me to have another look! As it happens, they do seem to be suffering from the 'map reference effect' as they offer resolutions on their species examples, in three grades, rather than as actual point locations of records; and these cannot be clicked to gain any more info about the actual record ( as far as I can see from a quick look), but it's a start and I can see how their 3d collums might be made to represent number of records within a 'point' as well - which itself would be an improvement on the hectad spots we are used to: if not as good as having all the actual records available at a click. It is a very good start none the less. Here is the link:

Biological Records Centre (UK) resources

I would very much like to know what you think of what they have done, and perhaps you and they could get together and help to improve things further. They might be able to benefit from your other tools as well.

As regards reading off grid references from your grid tool. Whilst I can see that you would find it hard to make references stream past with the mouse pointer, perhaps you might be able to do a compromise, by adding a marker for the middle of the screen. Then we would only have to drag our point of interest under the centre mark, and turn on your centre of the screen reference, to read off the required info. Even this simple function would enormously speed up my looking up of references for my individual finds.

And perhaps as this GE community seems to be much easier to use than the ordinary google groups and the one UK dedicated flora group that I have found (yahoo's UKflora), perhaps we should have a dedicated GE Community group on the uK flora and its recording - or have I missed one that's up and running already in that department too?!

Perhaps you could talk to BRC and help get something going?

Many thanks,

S

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