Environmental Data Explorer Gallery of Functionalities

>> General | Map | Table | Graph

General

Preview Definition

Once you've entered a keyword on the homepage, you can click on any of the variable names in the result list to display the definition of the data set. This can help you to better understand what the dataset is about.

Change Variable

One can change rapidly a variable, based on the earlier obtained list of matching data sets, without the need to go back to the Portal's homepage. Just click within any of the modules on the "define dataset" button on the right side of the page, and select from the proposed list.

Change Years

One can change easily the year or the number of years to be displayed. Just click on the button "define years" in the upper right part of the page. A small window will glide open where one can select any number of years. (Only in the map module the selection is limited to one single year.)

Map

Change "Resolution"

One can change for most of the statistical data sets from national to subregional and regional display. Subregions means that, for example, for Africa you would have 6 entities - Western Africa, Central Africa, Northern Africa etc. Just select the "General" tab and change the "Other Level" to the desired state.

Change Classification

For some data sets it is advisable to change the default classification methodology, from equal interval to quantiles (for population density for example). And if one wants to compare two maps of the same variable but with different years, one needs to use the "Equal Interval (for all years)", as this uses the same class breaks across all years.

Analyze Trends

The "Trend Analysis" box offers the possibility to calculate and display the difference between two years, and calculate that difference in either percentages or real values. This helps to discover eventual trends of the data.

Display Circles

Many of the variables can, and partially should, be displayed in circles instead of a chloropeth map, to better represent the "totals" of the choosen variable. Just click on the "Symbology" tab and select the "Display Circle" option. One can adjust the size of the bubbles by selecting to decrease or increase them with the option below.

Webservices - WMS

If one clicks on the "link to map" button, one can copy an HTML code to insert it into another website, or a blog. This is a live link, so the moment the data change in the Portal (through an update for example), the map will change on your website too.

Change Symbology

One can change the color used for the classes - water-related variables are perhaps better displayed with blue color, emission-related variables with red or orange color. Just select the gradient you prefer in the "Symbology" tag.

Display Values

By checking the "Label" button in the "General"-tag, one can display the actual values of the entities, which can help to see more clearly differences between countries of the same class and as well across classes.

Table

Display Histogram

By clicking on the "histogram" symbol above the years one can display a histogram, which enables to see the distribution of the values.

Display Extremes

By clicking on the "extremes" symbol above the years one can display those countries with the lowest and highest 5 values.

Change Level

For most of the statistical data sets in the Portal one can change the data set type - or the data set level - from countries to subregions or regions, by simply selecting the appropriate level from the dropdown box in the upper left part.

Line Graph

For each of the countries/subregions/regions listed, one can display a line graph. Just click on the "line" icon at the end of each row.

Bar Chart

For each of the countries/subregions/regions listed, one can display a bar graph for the displayed years. Just click on the "bar" icon at the end of each row.

In-Cell Bars

To help discover rapidly extreme values and specific patterns, one can add bars to each value. Just click on the "options" tag at the right side and select "Display In-cell Bar Charts".

Display the Completeness

The "completeness" is an indicator showing how much (of the population, of GDP) or how many (countries) within the region has been included to do the aggregations. It is an important measure to assess the "quality" of the aggregation.

Display Rank

When ordering a year in ascending or descending order, one can "rank" the countries, which makes comparing countries easier. Just click on the "options" button on the right side and select the "Rank" checkbox.

Display Graph Thumbnails

In order to see the "whole picture", even though only displaying a couple of years, one can display a line graph thumbnail which shows how the country evolves over the whole available time period. Just click on the "options" button on the right side and select the "Thumbnail" checkbox.

Sorting Years

One can easily sort a column ascending or descending. Just click on the Triangle-symbol above each column.

Graph

Innovative Graphics

When displaying long-term trends, one can use the SVG-enabled "trend graphics", which we've invented and developed in-house. Just select the "Trends (SVG)" button and select any number of countries or regions. One needs to play a little bit around with the "Y-Compression" factor: As a general rule, use the same "size" than the data, e.g. if the data are around 1000 use a factor of 1000.

Display Markers

If you want to print out the graphic on a black and white printer, add the "Markers" from the "Options" button at the right side of the screen.

Per Capita

Many of the datasets can be automatically re-computed from Totals to Per Capita. Just click on the "options" button on the right side and select the "Per Capita" checkbox.

Change Minimum

Eventually, a line chart can be improved by changing the minimum value from the default value of 0 to the actual minimum value of the displayed entities. Just click on the "options" button on the right side and select the "Use minimum" checkbox.

Change Minimum

Sometimes, it can be difficult to compare two or more countries, especially if values vary greatly between them. One solution to this problem is to set the values for the first year for each country to 100, and then calculate the "difference" for all following years. Check the option "indexed" right next to the line graph button to activate this option.


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