What Will the Climate be in 2100?

Norwegian broadcasting company NRK has used data from Norwegian and international climate scientists to predict the climate in the year 2100. If you live in Norway you can use NRK's What Will the Climate be in Your Kommune to discover how climate change is likely to effect your local environment eighty years from now.

Enter your address into NRK's interactive and you can view your Kommune's likely climate future based on a model of moderate global heating. Scroll through What Will the Climate be in Your Kommune and you can discover how much warmer average temperatures will be, how much rain you can expect, whether flooding will be more likely, how much sea levels are likely to have risen, how much shorter the skiing season is likely to be and how far glaciers are likely to have shrunk. 

All the future climate data presented in What Will the Climate be in Your Kommune is based on the future climate forecast for your local area. All the graphics and data visualizations used in the forecast are localized to your kommune. This includes a map which shows the town or city which currently has a similar average temperature to which your kommune will experience in the year 2100.

Long Beach Calling

One of my favorite maps of last year was Peak Map, a fantastic interactive map which can create a joy-plot map for any location on Earth. Joy-plots (or ridgeline plots as they are sometimes called) are inspired by Joy Division's famous album cover for their Unknown Pleasures record. Enter your location into Peak Map and you can create your very own map based on the Unknown Pleasures album cover.

But why restrict yourself to creating maps based on just one famous album cover? Dylan Moriarty for one believes that there are lots of other iconic album covers out there which are just waiting to be given a little cartographic love. 

Dylan Moriarty's Covers article includes a number of examples of maps he has created inspired by iconic album covers. Among these examples is a fantastic interactive map which allows you to create a map of your town inspired by the Clash's London Calling album cover art. Click on your town on the interactive map and you can create a Clash inspired map (like the Long Beach Calling map above).

Covers includes a number of maps inspired by other iconic album covers. It even includes an interactive map which allows you to create your own map inspired by Pink Floyd’s famous Dark Side of the Moon album cover. Other maps in the article are inspired by Velvet Underground’s debut album and Talking Heads' More Songs About Buildings And Food album cover.

Earth Rise

I'm sure that one day - a long time from now - space colonists will wake on the Moon to watch the Earth rise over the Sea of Tranquility. Thanks to Yoni Nachmany's Earthrise you don't have to wait for the Moon to be colonized. You can now view the Earth rise for yourself on Yoni's interactive map of the Moon.

Earthrise uses moon elevation data and imagery from NASA to create an interactive 3D map of the Moon. The Earthrise map also uses a three.js model of NASA's famous Blue Marble composite satellite image of the Earth from space. Which means that while you explore this interactive map of the Moon you can watch the Earth slowly passing overhead. 

If you ever tire of exploring the Moon you can always take a vacation on Mars using Damon Burgett's Ares interactive 3D map of Mars. This fabulous map allows you to explore the craters and mountains of Mars in glorious 3D.

Damon's map uses a Mars digital elevation model from the USGS Astrogeology Science Center. This Mars DEM has been combined with Mapbox's Mars map tiles to create a fully interactive 3D map of Mars. 

If you enjoy exploring space then you can view more interactive maps of the Solar System and its planets using the Maps Mania astronomy tag.

The 20 Largest Cities in the World

 

The World's Twenty Largest Cities by Population is an interactive scrollytelling map which takes you on a tour of the world's most populated cities. Scroll through the map and you will be shown, in descending order, the location of each of the world's twenty most populated cities.

The map provides a countdown from Rio De Janeiro (at number 20) to Tokyo (at number 1). As you scroll through The World's Twenty Largest Cities the map automatically zooms in on each city in turn. On the map you can view details on each city's 2019 and 2020 populations and how much the population has grown. A pink circle overlain on the city represents the relative size of the city's population.

The World's Twenty Largest Cities is actually a bit of a misnomer as the map actually allows you to explore the size of thousands of cities around the world. If you scroll to the end of the map presentation you can explore the map for yourself. Zoom out and you will see that cities around the world have pink circle's representing the relative size of the population. If you click on a city's circle you can view details on the city's actual population size.

This mapped visualization of the world''s most populated cities was developed by Clever°Franke using MapboxGL with DeckGL. Ranking the world's cities is always problematic. Different lists of the world's most popular cities can vary greatly, depending on where city borders are drawn and from where the population data is sourced. Unfortunately Clever°Franke don't seem to have cited the source for their population data or explained how they defined the geographical boundaries of each city.

Where the Streets Have Male Names

 

Over 92% of the streets in Leipzig which are named for people are named for men. Only 6.94% of those streets are named for women. You can view all the male and female named roads in Leipzig on EqualStreetNames: Leipzig. EqualStreetNames: Leipzig is an interactive map which colors the streets of the German city based on whether they are named for men or women. 

The map is a clear visualization of the shocking lack of recognition for women in the place-names of Leipzig. Streets named for women are colored purple, so they should really stand out on the map. In truth what really stands out is the disparity between the huge number of lime green streets (named for men) and the handful of purple streets. 

If you click on one of the colored roads on the map you can view the street's name and click through to read more about the named person on Wikipedia. One of the few women honored in the street names of Leipzig is Rosa Luxemburg, the German revolutionary who was executed in 1919.

The Leipzig map uses a methodology first developed for EqualStreetNames: Brussels, an interactive map which visualizes the inequality between male and female street names in the Belgium capital. The code and methodology developed for the Brussels map has also been used to create:

• EqualStreetNames: Berlin 
• EqualStreetNames: Belgrade
• EqualStreetNames: Assen
• EqualStreetNames: Gronigen

Geochicas has been at the forefront of efforts around the world to reveal the under-representation of women in place-names. Their Las Calles de las Mujeres is an interactive map which reveals all the streets named for men and women in a number of cities in Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. 

A number of other interactive mapping projects have explored the sexist culture of naming streets in cities around the world: 

Street Names in Vienna visualizes all the streets named for men and women in the Austrian capital.
From Pythagoras to Amalia analyzes 5,400 Amsterdam street names - including exploring how many are named for women compared to the number named after men.
Recognizing Women with Canadian Place Names shows 500 locations in Canada which have been named for women from lots of different backgrounds.

Experience a Virtual Alpine Spring

Un Printemps Suspendu (A Spring Suspended) can take you on an incredible Alpine adventure. Using 3D maps combined with audio narration and original video footage L'Equipe's virtual guide allows you to explore six of the Alps most imposing summits in the company of real mountain guides.

Un Printemps Suspendu consists of six separate episodes, each one of which takes you on a virtual journey of a different iconic Alpine mountain. In each episode we are presented with a virtual 3D model of the Alps. This model slowly rotates and zooms into the episode's featured summit. As the 3D map rotates around the summit a narrated introduction provides a guide to the mountain and introduces you to video highlights featuring the high altitude skiers and mountain guides, Vivian Bruchez and Mathéo Jacquemoud, as they climb and ski the featured summit.

At the end of each episode you are free to explore the 3D map of the mountain on your own. You can zoom in and out of the map and pan around at will.

  

If Un Printemps Suspendu has whetted your appetite for virtual Alpine adventures then you might also like this thrilling account of the first ever ascent of the Matterhorn. Chasing the Matterhorn is an amazing history of the very first climbers to conquer this notorious summit. This account of the first successful climb to the top of the mountain is illustrated with a 3d model of the Matterhorn.

As you progress through the narrative, following the story of the climb, links in the text pan & zoom the 3d model to the locations on the mountain mentioned in the text. The story of the race between two separate climbing teams to be the first to reach the summit of the Matterhorn is an incredible tale on its own. Being able to view the locations of some of the hair-raising moments in both climbs really helps to convey the dangers involved in these first two successful attempts on the Matterhorn.

Germany - The Beautiful Travel Country

In 1936 the German Railways Information Bureau created and released a pictorial map of Germany, designed to promote tourism in Nazi Germany. In 1936 Germany hosted both the winter and summer Olympics. Adolf Hitler saw the games as a perfect opportunity to promote his twisted ideology, encompassing Aryan racial supremacy and antisemitism. The map 'Germany, the Beautiful Travel Country' mixes 'völkisch' scenes rooted in German rural life with pictures of vibrant industrial cities. Also portrayed on the map are a number of scenes of soldiers and people marching under Nazi flags. 

You can explore the 1936 map 'Germany, the Beautiful Travel Country' in close detail on the Butter or Canons interactive story map. Butter or Canons uses the map as the perfect backdrop for an examination of how and why the Nazi party rose to power in Germany. The map provides plenty of examples of the Nazi's "nostalgia for the rural Germany of yore where race-related fantasies thrive around theories linking blood and land".

As Butter of Canons progresses to tell of the horrific crimes carried out in Nazi Germany, particularly on the Jewish people, the map provides a jarring juxtaposition of the idealized myth of a Third Reich with the harsh reality of the totalitarian mass murder of large parts of the German population.

Butter or Canons was created by Tristan Landry, a professor of European history. Tristan explains (in French) on his blog how he created the Butter or Canons story map with the help of Leaflet.js and Waypoints. It looks to me as if the map also uses Jack Reed's Leaflet-IIIF plug-in as well (used to import the vintage 1936 map into the Leaflet.js interactive map library).

what2figures

WTF (what2figures) is a revolutionary new global addressing system, which can locate your position anywhere on Earth with only two numbers. 

In the past if you wanted to share your location with somebody else you would have to remember three entire words. Obviously having to remember three unconnected words in order to share your location is needlessly complicated. Now you only need to remember two simple numbers!

And that's not all ... WTF is recognized by all the major mapping companies throughout the world. Enter your WTF two number address into Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps or Apple Maps and your address will  be instantly recognized and shown on the map.  

Finding your WTF address couldn't be easier. Just click on the interactive WTF map and you will be given a unique two number address. This two figure address pinpoints your location on Earth with millimeter accuracy. You can now share your WTF address with anybody you like. Click on the Google Maps or OSM links and you will be shown your WTF address on Google Maps or OpenStreetMap. If you want to share your current location with the wider world you can also click on the 'Tweet' link to post your WTF two number address to your Twitter stream. 

Use WTF and never get lost again.

This map was posted on April Fools Day 2021.

Mapping Earth's Climate History

The Hadley Centre Central England Temperature data-set is the world’s longest running climate record. Since 1659 it has recorded the mean, minimum and maximum temperature every month since the middle of the 17th Century in central England. However, although the Hadley Centre data-set contains temperature records for over 350 years, it is still only a tiny snapshot into the world's climate during a minuscule period of the Earth's history. 

If we want to learn more about how the climate of the Earth has changed over the long term we need to look at other data. Luckily the ebb and flow of the climate can be detected from lots of different geological and natural processes. Climate scientists are able to observe long-term changes in the Earth's climate using 'proxy data', from the effect that the climate has on the biosphere.By looking at how different climatic conditions leave traces on the environment we can learn more about how the climate has changed over huge periods of time. For example, the effect of changes in the climate can be observed in the layers of ice sheets, in sediments at the bottom of lakes, in tree rings, and in the development of stalagmites.

Using these natural and geological 'proxy data' sources climate scientists can begin to understand the long-term changes in the Earth's climate and begin to put the current accelerated climate heating in a longer-term context. 

In Mapped: How ‘proxy’ data reveals the climate of the Earth’s distant past Carbon Brief has put together an interactive map which plots thousands of different 'proxy data-sets' around the world that scientists use to study the history of Earth's climate. NOAA has as archive of over 10,000 different 'proxy data-sets' used for exploring historical climate records. It is these data-sets that Carbon Brief has mapped. 

If you select any one of the thousands of 'proxy data-sets' shown on the map you can learn more about the period of Earth's history that it covers, the site name and a link to NOAA's reference webpage for the data-set.

Discovering Local History and Culture

Clio is an interactive map based tool for discovering nearby historical and cultural sites across the United States. Enter your address into Clio and it will show you the location of nearby historical sites, museums, monuments, landmarks and other sites of cultural or historical significance.

When you search for a location on Clio all the nearby sites of historical importance are shown on an interactive map using numbered map markers. You can either click on the individual markers to learn more about the mapped historical site or you can view each entry listed beneath the map. 

Clio users can also contribute entries to the map, to add important cultural or historical sites which aren't already listed. To add a site to the map you need to register with Clio. Clio moderates all submitted sites, therefore if you add an entry it won't be immediately added to the map.

Clio can be used to create walking tours of local places of historical importance. For example in New York you could create a walking tour around local historic theaters. Creating a tour is easy for registered users and really only requires you to select individual historic sites from the map. Clio will create the walking route automatically to visit all your chosen sites. If you don't like route designed then you can simply reorder the chosen locations to change the route of your personal walking tour.