COMMAND MANUAL
Comprehensive documentation for operating the GEOPULSE interface, utilizing data layers, and interpreting AI anomaly assessments.
1. Navigation & 2-Mode System
GEOPULSE uses a two-mode visualization system. The floating control dock at the top of the screen lets you switch between modes instantly.
EXPLORE MODE
Purpose: Explore the world.
Full visual fidelity — Esri satellite imagery without dimming. Ideal for exploring geography, coastlines, and spatial context. Toggle individual layers freely to discover data.
ANALYZE MODE
Purpose: Focus on the data.
Activates analytical overlays like undersea cables and alliances. Auto-opens the sidebar for deeper layer control. Best for comparing geopolitical and infrastructure datasets.
2. Data Layers
The sidebar (SYSTEM OVERRIDE) contains toggles organized into three tiers. Each layer includes a 1-line description explaining what it shows and where the data comes from.
Real-Time Tracking
Live data feeds updated every 1-5 minutes: ISS Tracker, Earthquakes (USGS), NASA Wildfires (FIRMS), Webcams (foto-webcam.eu and eight open traffic-camera feeds), and the Solar Day/Night Terminator.
Geopolitics
Reference layers for understanding global power structures: Regime Types (Freedom House), Alliances & Blocs (NATO, BRICS, EU), Active Conflicts, Country Borders & Labels, Undersea Cables, and Nuclear Plants.
Environment & Space
Scientific datasets: Ocean Temperature (NOAA), Surface Temperature, Population Density, Volcanoes (Smithsonian), Radiation Sites, Starlink satellite constellation, and Global Winds (Open-Meteo).
3. Guided Tours
GEOPULSE includes 41 interactive guided tours that fly you around the globe with educational narration. Each tour consists of multiple stops — the map zooms to each location automatically with cinematic camera movements. Key stops display Wikipedia thumbnail images for visual context. All tours are available in English and German. The tour panel is draggable — grab the header bar to reposition it.
Starting a Tour
Hover over the THE TOURS panel on the left side of the screen (below the Quiz panel). Tours are grouped into five categories: Geopolitics (Cold War, Trump World Tour, Belt & Road, Chokepoints, Water Wars, Migration Routes), History (World War I, World War II, Roman Empire, Lost Wonders, Forbidden Zones, Shipwrecks, Greatest Structures, Revolutions), Society & Rights (Women Who Changed the World, Genocide Sites), Science & Nature (Ring of Fire, Nuclear Legacy, Digital Silk Road, Battery Race, Climate Frontlines, Earthquakes & Eruptions, Extreme Earth, Space Race, Tech Capitals, Extreme Places to Live, Pandemics, MV Hondius — Hantavirus 2026), and Sports & Culture (Formula 1, FIFA World Cup, Olympic Games, 14 Summits, Music That Changed the World, Filming Locations).
Reading Aloud
Tours have no built-in voice. To have a stop read aloud, use your device's screen reader or read-aloud function — the tour text is plain page text.
Navigation
Use ◀ PREV and NEXT ▶ to move between stops. The tour panel shows your current stop number (e.g. "STOP 3 OF 9"). Click ✕ to exit the tour at any time. The map auto-zooms to each location.
Tour Images
Key historical and geographic stops display Wikipedia thumbnail images — loaded dynamically from the Wikimedia API. Images appear in the tour panel with captions for visual context. No images are stored locally.
Interactive Markers
During tours, relevant map layers are automatically activated. Click any marker on the map for additional detail and Wikipedia links — these complement the tour narration with deeper data.
Share with Your Class
The CLASS button in the tour panel shows a QR code and a link for the running tour. Students scan it and land in the same tour on their own device — no app, no login. Every tour also has its own page with a printable worksheet (tasks per station, quiz, answer key): see For Teachers.
Today on Earth
TODAY in the bottom bar opens a one-screen daily briefing: strongest earthquake of the last 24 hours, newest fireball, the solar storm index and a tour of the day. The link geopulseworld.com/#today opens it directly.
7-Day Earthquake Time-Lapse
Under Earthquakes in the Real-Time menu, ▶ 7-day time-lapse replays the last week of M2.5+ quakes in about 15 seconds. Play, pause or scrub; × removes it again.
AVAILABLE TOURS
4. GeoQuiz 🆕
Test your world knowledge with 26 bilingual map-integrated questions across 4 categories.
Question types: Multiple choice, map-click "locate" (click where you think a place is), and "identify" (map zooms to a location, you identify it). Each question flies the map to the relevant location.
Scoring: 100 points per correct answer + time bonus in Analyst/Commander. Map-click questions score by distance (Bullseye < 50km, Close < 200km). Results show your rank from Recruit to Director.
4. Scenario Presets
Located below the tours in the GLOBAL SCENARIOS menu. These one-click buttons configure the map view for specific global crises by activating relevant layers and zooming to the affected region.
- Europe Energy: Activates Nuclear Sites + Cables + Power Infrastructure, pans to Central Europe.
- Taiwan Esc.: Activates Submarine Cables + Conflicts + Nuclear zones, centering on the Taiwan Strait.
- Red Sea: Isolates the Suez/Houthi corridor with commercial shipping tracks.
- Nuclear Risk: Overlays Active Conflicts with Nuclear Infrastructure and Arsenal data.
Use the [ RESET LAYERS ] button to clear the scenario and return to normal map view.
5. Live Webcams
Toggle the Live Webcams layer to switch on about 9,400 public cameras. Zoomed out, labelled badges show where cameras exist and how many — click one to fly there. Zoom in and the individual cameras appear; click any marker for a live snapshot that refreshes every 60 seconds. You can also type a place or street into the search box (Ctrl+K) to jump straight to a camera.
Panorama Cameras
About 300 high-resolution panoramas from foto-webcam.eu in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol and Switzerland — Zugspitze, Wendelstein, Munich, Innsbruck and many more. Green markers, visible from country level. The popup links to the full-size view with time-lapse.
Traffic Cameras
About 9,000 open traffic cameras: London, Austin, California, Finland, Hong Kong, British Columbia, Ontario and New Zealand. Cyan markers, visible from city level so the world map stays readable.
6. Feedback Widget
Click the 💬 button in the bottom-right corner to open the feedback form. Rate your experience, share your favourite feature, suggest improvements, and wish for new features. All feedback is submitted directly to the development team via Google Forms.
7. Interface Language & Info Panel
EN / DE Language Switch
Click the EN / DE buttons in the sidebar header to switch the entire interface between English and German. The preference is saved locally.
About This Map Panel
Click the ABOUT THIS MAP panel on the top-left of the screen. It lists all data sources, links to original databases, and explains how to interpret the map.