View recent tornado reports, current radar, photos and historically significant storms using Google Maps with Weather Underground’s Interactive Tornado Map. A great example of Web 2.0 technology in action.

Weather Underground’s Tornado FAQ is a very useful resource as well.

The Physical Environment textbook link: Tornadoes

The integrated nature of the Internet allows us to build Web-based applications that combine bits of information from a variety of online sources. A mashup is a website or application that combines content from more than one source into an integrated experience (Wikipedia ). The content of a mashup is usually connected through a third party application programming interface (API). Mashups are the embodiment of the Web 2.0 service standard.

Weathermole: a Google Maps – NOAA mashup

A common use of mashups is to combine text, graphics, and geographic data for spatial analysis, much like a GIS. Mashup authors can overlay maps, draw lines and polygons, drop place markers and link a variety of data types to them. The development of mashups using spatial data has been propelled by the popularity of services like Google Maps. High quailty mashups for education, research, and yes, just plain fun abound.

The USGS Live Earthquake Mashup (not a USGS product) links Google Maps to a USGS RSS feed that contains date, location and magnitude for recent earthquakes. Clicking on a place marker reveals data for the event. The event date links to the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program for detailed descriptive information about the earthquake.

Quest integrates various KQED Public Broadcasting media platforms with Google Map and Flickr to present television programs, radio spots, blog postings, education guides, and map-based explorations (link San Andreas here).

Weather Bonk mashes together local your local weather forecast from the Weather Channel with Google maps, pictures from nearby Web cams and seasonal climate data. Place markers link to local weather stations through the Weather Underground.

With Hurricane Tracking and Google Maps you can map Atlantic hurricane tracks from 1851 – 2006. Follow the devastating path of Hurricane Katrina. Click on the place markers to see wind, pressure and location data. Pop up content bubbles can be toggled to see data or a current satellite image. You can add multiple tracks to compare hurricanes. Eastern and Western Pacific track are also available.

A number of blog sites provide information and links to geoscience-related mashups. Google Maps Mania is an excellent site to start with. The blog keeps you well-informed of new mashups and provides links to a number of mashup tools. See this introduction to the Google Maps API if you’re interested in building a Google maps mashup.