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Liquifying natural gas is a more expensive, energy-intense alternative to pipelines in the delivery of natural gas. Several European countries are trying to bring more liquified natural gas (LNG) capacity online as quickly as possible to replace Russian, pipeline-delivered gas. This geo-graphic from Statista looks at which countries are currently the biggest suppliers of LNG: www.statista.com/chart/27839/biggest-liquefied-natural-gas-exporters
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Soil composition is a vital but often-neglected component of physical and biogeography. Like the American Midwest, Ukraine and southern Russia have some of the world's most productive soil, called chernozem (in Eurasia and Canada) or mollisol (in the U.S). This article from Science News looks at ways in which war has a lasting impact on the underlying soil chemistry, hydrology, structure, and physical composition: www.sciencenews.org/article/ukraine-russia-war-soil-agriculture-crops. (For a map that shows soil types around the world, check out this one from the USDA: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/use/?cid=nrcs142p2_054013.)
Half way between Tasmania and Antarctica lies one of the only spots in the world where the earth's mantle is actually above sea level. Macquarie Island, considered part of Australia, was created by a collision of two tectonic plates that pushed rock that had been kilometers beneath the seafloor above water. Because of its unique geology, Macquarie Island is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. www.atlasobscura.com/places/macquarie-island
Earth Day is next week. This map shows (in green) the parts of the world's terrestrial surface least impacted by humans. The darker the green, the less human activity in that region. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/where-people-arent
World Water Day was earlier this week. This map, developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit based on projections from the World Resources Institute, shows anticipated stresses on world water supplies by 2040. The UN defines a territory as water stressed when it has withdrawn 25% of its freshwater resources. The EIU report includes a number of other interesting maps related to too much or too little water around the world. (Map from impact.economist.com/sustainability/project/water-optimisation/download/water-opt-report-EIU-version.pdf.)
Climate Central is a US-based nonprofit using science, big data, and proprietary machine-learning mapping to identify coastal areas likely to be underwater or subject to frequent flooding by 2050. According to Climate Central's interactive map, hard-hit areas in Ireland are likely to be Dublin's waterfront and sections of southwestern Ireland, including Shannon's airport and parts of Limerick and County Clare. coastal.climatecentral.org/  As the world looks for oil and gas options to replace Russia's, Africa's petroleum-producing capacity comes to the fore. This map from Statista shows the continent's major oil-producing countries: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/26878.jpeg (Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, and Libya are also significant producers of natural gas.)
Students in my geography classes learn about the Cascadian subduction zone and why it's considered a major threat to U.S. security. The maps in this article illustrate the reach of a tsunami triggered by a 9.0 earthquake in the Cascadian subduction zone -- an event scientists consider a one-in-nine probability in the next 50 years -- in a handful of communities in the Pacific Northwest. A major earthquake in the Cascadian subduction zone would likely kill tens of thousands along the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/tsunami-northwest-evacuation-towers.html
California may be spurring a new gold rush. But this time it's "white gold" -- lithium, the "gold" of the digital age, used in powering everything from electric cars to laptops to smartphones -- and the destination is southern California's Salton Sea. "The geothermal reservoir under the Salton Sea area is capable of producing 600,000 metric tons a year of lithium carbonate, according to estimates from the California Energy Commission. That level of output would surpass last year’s global production." This article from The Wall Street Journal looks at the potential -- and challenges -- for commercial lithium production from the saline Salton Sea. www.wsj.com/articles/where-is-there-more-lithium-to-power-cars-and-phones-beneath-a-california-lake-11644037217
It has been widely reported that last month's volcanic eruption in Tonga was one of the biggest in decades. To better appreciate the size of the ash plume generated by the eruption, this article from Reuters shows the ash plume, as caught on satellite, and superimposes it on a series of maps of more familiar places, from the UK to Florida to the Horn of Africa. 👀 graphics.reuters.com/TONGA-VOLCANO/lgpdwjyqbvo/index.html
Earthquakes caused by fracking have pushed Texas regulators to change some of the rules governing fracking in the Permian Basin of west Texas. In 2021, there were 176 earthquakes in west Texas with a magnitude of 3.0 or more. (In 2019, by comparison, there were 9 earthquakes in the same area.) This map shows the geographic distribution of 2021's earthquakes. (Map from www.wsj.com/articles/texas-earthquakes-prompt-new-fracking-rules-11642424582.)
Indonesia is officially moving its capital from Jakarta: earlier this week the Indonesian legislature authorized building a new capital, Nusantara, on the island of Borneo. This map from Statista looks at other national capitals that have moved (and why): cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/25119.jpeg
Foreign correspondent and geography author Tim Marshall has a new book out The Power of Geography: Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World. Marshall argues that rivers, mountains, deserts, and sea lanes shape a nation’s behavior as much as the ideological and cultural factors that get more attention. In The Power of Geography, Marshall looks at 10 countries/regions -- Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Greece, Turkey, the Sahel, Ethiopia, Spain and outer space -- "chosen for their potential as geopolitical hotspots. These are places where we can expect things to happen, and soon. The big issues are all relevant here; these are places grappling with climate change, religion and struggles over resources, and are, above all, figuring out their place in the new world order." The Power of Geography is a sequel to Marshall's 2015 bestseller, Prisoners of Geography, which is also worth reading. (Quote from https://geographical.co.uk/reviews/books/item/4056-the-power-of-geography-ten-maps-that-reveal-the-future-of-our-world-by-tim-marshall-book-review.)
According to a recent report from First Street, nearly a quarter of U.S. critical infrastructure -- airports, police stations, utilities, hospitals, etc. -- are at risk of being inundated by floods, either from rivers or the seas. This article from Bloomberg provides a short summary of key findings and links to the entire 160+ page report: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-flood-risk-critical-infrastructure/
Groundwater supplies half of the world's drinking water and 40% of the water used for irrigation. The Western U.S.'s besieged Ogallala Aquifer, for example, is the source of drinking water for more than 80% of the people who live in the High Plains yet this water is thousands of years old and will take thousands of years to recharge. This article looks at the use and science of aquifers and the geography of aquifer recharge across the U.S. theconversation.com/ancient-groundwater-why-the-water-youre-drinking-may-be-thousands-of-years-old-167982
Atmospheric rivers -- narrow bands of moisture-laden air -- are ranked like hurricanes according to intensity. This week northern California experienced a Category 5 atmospheric river, bringing mudslides, power outages, and extreme flooding to the region. On the plus side, the rain brought billions of gallons of water to depleted reservoirs. This map shows water levels in key California reservoirs (blue shows % of capacity; the red line shows historical average): www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/Charts-show-where-California-reservoir-totals-16566209.php
The world's tropical glaciers are melting away as air temperatures heat up. This article from Atlas Obscura introduces what was once the world's highest ski resort, with an elevation higher than Mount Everest's base camp. Chacaltaya Ski Resort, near La Paz, Bolivia, was closed in 2009 when the Andean glacier upon which it depended melted. www.atlasobscura.com/places/abandoned-chacaltaya-ski-resort
Released earlier this month, this animation illustrating comparative ocean depths is worth checking out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5C7sqVe2Vg Carbon dioxide accounts for roughly half of the increase in global temperatures observed over the last 250 years. But methane -- a byproduct of agriculture, oil/gas production, and waste management practices -- accounts for nearly a quarter of the rise in global temperatures. This map from Bloomberg shows how the primary contributors of methane vary by country and region. (For more on this issue, including more maps and a look at the chemistry of CO2 vs. methane see the original article: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-methane-impact-on-climate/)
Did you know that there are waterfalls underwater?? The largest waterfall in the world is the Denmark Cataract, 2000 feet under the ocean in the Denmark Strait that separates Iceland and Greenland. Cold, dense water flows over the top of an undersea ridge and rapidly sinks two miles to the ocean floor, creating a "downward flow estimated at well over 123 million cubic feet per second," making this the world's largest and highest waterfall by a long shot. (For comparison, Angel Falls is 0.6 miles tall, and average flow over Victoria Falls is 33 thousand cubic feet per second.) oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/largest-waterfall.html
Fall in the Northern Hemisphere means seasonal Arctic sea ice is reforming, creating pathways across what, in the summer, would be open water. This map shows the path of a single Arctic fox that walked from Norway (Svalbard) across Greenland to Canada (Ellesmere Island) in 2018. www.researchgate.net/figure/Large-scale-movements-of-a-young-female-Arctic-fox-from-Svalbard-tracked-through-Argos_fig1_334026698
Earlier this week, two freight trains operated by the Russian aluminum giant Rusal collided in the west African country of Guinea. The trains were carrying bauxite, the ore that is the primary source of aluminum. Guinea has the world's largest bauxite reserves; a recent coup in Guinea had already sent aluminum prices to their highest level in a decade. This map shows the world's largest known bauxite deposits: www.researchgate.net/profile/Weidong-Sun-5/publication/251702332/figure/fig3/AS:267643634581526@1440822623455/Distribution-of-the-superlarge-bauxite-deposits-in-the-world-After-Bogatyrev-etal.png
Six U.S. states are now categorized entirely as experiencing drought -- California (most of which is under "extreme" or "exceptional" drought, the two most severe categories), Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah -- with 94% of the West experiencing drought conditions. This article from San Jose, CA's Mercury News includes not just the weekly drought map produced by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln but also maps that show streamflow and expected precipitation (spoiler alert: not much for the West) as well as discussing the impact on crops, hydropower, drinking water, fishing, bathing, and grazing land. www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/16/the-wests-historic-drought-in-3-maps-3/
I have shared this site before, but I think it's worth doing again. Ventusky feeds real-time data into its system to create interactive weather maps showing temperature, precipitation, wind speed, snow cover, and more. In the fall, because the Atlantic hurricane season continues through the end of November, Ventusky allows users to watch potential storm systems develop off West Africa and move across the Atlantic. www.ventusky.com/
Scientists from the University of Copenhagen accidentally discovered the world's northernmost island -- and added 20,000 square feet to Denmark's territory in the process -- when they went, by helicopter, to collect biological samples from a remote island off the northeastern coast of Greenland named Oodaaq (shown in green on this map), previously believed to be the world's northernmost island, and instead put down on an as-yet-unnamed mound of silt and gravel 780 m. further north. Islands of sediment shaped by the currents, like the newly discovered island, are often transitory, coming and going with major storm action.  |
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