Appending Graphs in Palyoplot Tutorial Now Available

We’ve all been there… created a bunch of graphs that now we have to copy/paste together in image editing software. It just disrupts the workflow, you know? I like to make less work for myself. That’s not to say I don’t still need to tweak this in an image editor, but I can at least minimize how often I have to. Enter the ability to append (that means sticking together one after another) graphic into one diagram! The tutorial for how to do so is now available. Here’s a sneak peak of two stacked plots appended into one image (notice, y-axis appears only on the left and is not duplicated for each plot. I give you options like that… 😉 )

Two stacked diagrams appended into one final image

Palyoplot Stacked Diagram Tutorial is Up

Sometimes you just want to stack a bunch of (related) data together for visualization. The tutorial for how to do so with Palyoplot is now up to show you how to do just that! Here’s a sneak peak of what you can create…

Basic Palyoplot Tutorial is Up

Seems I’m being extra productive today. Created a basic tutorial on creating diagrams using Palyoplot’s built-in datasets. It should be enough to get you started with the functionality and exploring how the datasets are setup in R.

To give you a little bit of a sneak peak before heading over there

library(palyoplot)
axis2 = palyoplot_get2ndAxis(interval=2, top=-20, bottom=115, ages=pp_agemodel)
graph1 = palyoplot_plotTaxa(xdata=pp_xdata, ydata=pp_ydata, ylabel="cal yr BP", bottomLabel="Percentages", 
                            colors=pp_colors, y2=axis2, y2label="depth (cm)", fontstyles=pp_fontStyles,
                            taxaGroups=pp_taxaGroups, plotStyle="line"))

Palyoplot is available for alpha testing

I’ve created an R package called Palyoplot (get it? Paleo… palynology… plotting) for creating stratigraphic plots of Quaternary Science data (pollen, charcoal, diatoms, that sort of thing). The thing is, I need testers. Well, more than just myself and former lab mates that I can harangue into trying it out (yes yes, I know you’re counting and haven’t touched R in over a year, but can’t you relearn R really quick and try it out for me?)

Sample diagram created using Palyoplot

So, I’ve created a page that briefly explains Palyoplot, made a Download page with sample files, and am putting out the call. I need a few testers before I’m comfortable releasing to CRAN. If you’re willing to help, drop me a line. If you’re stuck more than 5 minutes, email me. I’ll gladly go through your files and figure out what went wrong. Bonus, your feedback will help with the tutorial I’ll be working to develop.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Technology in the Field: Smartphones, Addendum 1

In the previous post I talked about having a smartphone in the field, and how I had not yet tested the waterproofness of the Samsung Galaxy S5. Welp, I accidentally tested it two weeks ago while out in the field on another coring trip. This time in a lake.

It was my very first lake coring trip, so I was excited to observe how the raft was anchored, positioned, and moved. In my excitement, I forgot that I had my phone in my pocket (as I usually do). Walking along the edge of the lake to position the first anchor point, the bottom suddenly disappeared and I found myself in knee-deep mud and waist-deep water. After fits of laughter and finally getting myself dislodged I remembered my phone (okay, more like 10 minutes later). “Oh no!” was my first thought. “Oh, wait…” was my second. Sure enough, phone coated in mud, wiped off, and still ticking. Yay for field photography when no one else is willing to get their real cameras (or phones) wet!

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