BCS President's Bulletin September 2014

Well, in the end I suppose it was all a bit of a damp squib with the Scottish independence vote being decisively won by the ‘Better Together’ campaign despite some polls predicting a much closer result right up to the day of polling. So we won’t have to re-draw the map of the United Kingdom although lots of versions were being produced right up to the last minutes to show how things might have looked had the vote gone the other way.

And this wasn’t the only geopolitical issue in the news last month, there was also a little bit of a spat between Russia and Canada over the Crimea, and I quote “when diplomats from Canada and Russia engaged in passive-aggressive cartography on social media.” Apparently Canada’s mission to NATO tweeted a map that was aimed at helping Russian soldiers who kept getting lost and not knowing on which side of the border they were and it also clearly labelled the Crimean Peninsula “not Russian”. Not to be outdone, Russian diplomats tweeted their own map that showed Crimea fully under Russian control. The Canadian Tweet was shared 25000 in one day, the Russian Tweet? Just 400.

The BBC also reported last month on the latest development in the South China Sea. You

may remember in my July Bulletin that I included a picture of Vietnamese models wearing map dresses in what was called ‘soft power’ showing their interpretation of the maritime boundaries. Well it would appear that China has taken an altogether more practical approach and is actually constructing new islands in order to bolster its territorial claims. The appearance of these islands has happened suddenly and is a dramatic new move in a longstanding territorial struggle in the South China Sea. At the beginning of this year, the Chinese presence in the Spratly Islands consisted of a handful of outposts, a collection of concrete blockhouses perched atop coral atolls. Now it is building substantial new islands on five different reefs. Full details can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2014/newsspec_8701/index.html

Cartography on the Internet

It’s nice to know that my blog is widely read and thank you to those who have commented

positively on it. This month I have had for the first time, people suggesting stories that I might like to include, so thanks to Mary Spence for pointing out this article, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29330265. Do you play Minecraft? No, me neither, but perhaps I will start as it has now been augmented by Ordnance Survey completing a Minecraft map of the UK. Made from 83 billion blocks, each representing 25m on the ground, It has been designed in such stunning detail, that you should be able to locate your own house on it.

Sue Brett pointed me to another BBC article that reported on recent work done at

Stonehenge to map the underground picture around the monument, a process that has revealed a much large network of sites and related activity that had previously been known. Ground penetrating radar and 3D scanning were used to reveal previously unknown detail that indicates that Stonehenge was not as isolated as previously thought being part of a much large set of Neolithic activity. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29126854

Here’s one for your Christmas list, a game called Cartography. Its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cartographygame doesn’t really give much detail and I’m struggling to find more details about it. It would appear that it hasn’t actually been produced yet and is looking for ‘kickstarter’ funding. But is does say on the website “Please share Cartography with your nerd friends!”

And talking of Christmas lists, you might also like to add ‘Maps; their untold stories’, a new book published by The National Archives and authored by Rose Mitchell and Andrew Janes. Chapters highlight how early mapmakers viewed their world; there are military maps and

sea charts, maps showing exploration and settlement overseas; maps for treaties and diplomacy; and even maps which capture the imaginative element of cartography. Available at £25 from TNA.

As someone who has always marvelled at how accurately some ancient charts appear to depict coastlines and continents, I was really interested to read an article on Portolan Charts. These have been described as one of the most remarkable and mysterious technical advances in the history of navigation. The example first presented in the article is a chart of the Mediterranean so accurate that ships today could navigate with it. Most earlier maps that included the region were not intended for navigation and were so imprecise that they are virtually unrecognizable to the modern eye. The person who made this document — the first so-called portolan chart, from the Italian word portolano, meaning “a collection of sailing directions” — spawned a new era of mapmaking and oceanic exploration. That first portolan mapmaker also created an enormous puzzle for historians to come, because he left behind few hints of his method: no rough drafts, no sketches, no descriptions of his work. http://discovermagazine.com/2014/june/14-the-mapmakers-mystery#.VBMIZzg2e41.twitter

Equally as mysterious is this next map. Whilst we are used to seeing maps of the Moon and

Mars, this is another extra-terrestrial object that has been mapped, the catchily named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Comet. Mapped by the European Space Agency’s satellite, Rosetta, the plan is to identify a suitable site for Rosetta’s probe to land on the surface of the comet. Rosetta is the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet, escort it as it orbits the sun, and will deploy a lander to its surface.

By now we are all familiar with ‘Google Street View’, with details captured for a vehicle mounted camera; some may be aware of ‘Google Trekker’, a man-portable system for monitoring anything from hikes to trails and now comes the ‘Google Cartographer’ to capture details inside buildings. As the website reports,

The Cartographer uses a process called “simultaneous localization and mapping” (SLAM), a

technique that’s typically used for mapping new locations and that Google is now putting to use to map anything from hotels to museums.

As the backpacker walks through a building, the floor plan is automatically generated in real time, Google says. The wearer also uses a tablet to add points of interest while walking around the building (say room numbers in a hotel or the exhibits in a museum).

I know that I have been concerned to ensure people that cartography is not dead, but I am not sure that I had this in mind when I was thinking of the modern day cartographer.


 
Restless Earth

It would appear that we are going to have to update some of the information that we provide to the students who attend the BCS Restless Earth workshops. Research carried out by scientists at the British Geological Survey, in association with the University of Rhode Island and the University of Tokyo, has revealed that a submarine landslide contributed to the enormity of the 2011 tsunami in Japan. Research showed that the very high waves recorded along the northern part of the affected coast could not be explained by the earthquake, because the epicentre was located farther south. The high waves, however, could be explained by a submarine landslide located offshore of the Honshu coast. Using sophisticated modelling of the Japan event a location for the possible landslide was found and seabed imagery showed that there was one present. Modelling of the tsunami from the earthquake and landslide together reproduced the waves that had devastated the north Honshu coast.

ICA Map Carte

Image maps are very familiar to us, but in the 1960s they were still a fairly new concept. Certainly photography was used to compile mapping but in its raw form was thought to be

too detailed and difficult to interpret. This composite map of the moon shows how effective it can be when done well. True, there are no features overlaying the topographic base, but it is a stunning image of something we perhaps take for granted and seldom look at in any detail.










I wonder why the compiler of Map Carte chose Nottingham to illustrate John Speed’s work?!

Beautiful historical cartography that as a print would grace any wall, but is probably beyond the means of most. The bold, vivid colours of Speed’s atlas perhaps look a little garish for modern tastes but reflect the opulence that was often part of the process. Often created as prestigious ways of recognising a royal patron, the brighter the better, and they in no way detract from the maps themselves.


And finally

A reminder that the BCS AGM will be held on Monday 17th November at the RAF Club in London. It will be preceded by an Historical Military Mapping Group event at the British Library and followed by a talk by BBC Weather Presenter Helen Willetts on ‘The Changing Face of the Weather Map’. Check out the BCS website for full details of the day.

Pete Jones MBE FBCart.S CGeog

5th October 2014

E-mail: peter.jones991@mod.uk

Twitter: @geomapnut

Guest Blog: From Kirkbie, Kendal to Sendai, Japan

Restless Earth Geography Workshop at Kirkbie Kendal School – Tuesday 21st February

On a dark, wet and wild morning the British Cartographic Society blew into Kirkbie Kendal School, Kendal. The recently broadcast drought in the Southeast of England seemed a distant memory as Cumbria delivered its famous rain!

During the Restless Earth workshop our GCSE pupils participated in a hazard mapping task based on the Japanese Tsunami 2011. They were able to work in groups each taking on a specific roles within the team; Humanitarian; Military; Search and rescue; Medical; Co-Ordinator roles.
The challenge was to use the maps to produce two hazard maps that would show where helicopters could land, where supplies could be delivered, which roads were accessible, the implication of the Fukushima nuclear power plant exclusion zone and where survivors could be taken.

The Restless Earth workshop enabled our pupils to actively engage with maps and use them for a purpose. It was inspirational to see our mixed ability pupils all engaging with contemporary content and exhibit a real sense of curiosity.

The current Ofsted Geography criteria states that an outstanding department must make , “…very effective use is made of ICT and Geographical Information Systems (where relevant) to promote learning and enable pupils to use data and information sources to search and select, organise and investigate and refine and present information skilfully and independently.” (www.ofsted.gov.uk , Jan 2012).

In the past this has often been difficult to meaningfully implement; the expensive nature of the software packages, difficultly accessing ICT in schools and linking it to the curriculum in a cohesive fashion rather than tacked on are often limiting factors. The BCS workshop allows departments deliver this element successfully.

The way in which the BCS workshop was planned and delivered allowed all our pupils to gain skills and in many cases has been a highlight of this academic year for pupils and staff. Pupil feedback included; “You can think about if you were in that situation what you would do. It also helps you take on a revision but in a different way.”
“I enjoyed solving the problem (e.g. where would the hospital go?) but it did get a little confusing as there were so many things to take in to consideration!!”
“I enjoyed learning more about maps and practising map skills. I also liked the way everyone had their own task to complete.”
“The teamwork, I really enjoyed looking at maps and feeling like we were actually planning it all.” Although we did have one pupil comment that it would have helped if the maps of Japan had not been in Japanese!

It was delightful to see different geography communities collide – the sharing of skills from the British Cartographic Society, the support of the Geographical Association ambassadors, Geography teachers being supported in embedding skills and the opportunity to see pupils engage with new concepts. It was genuinely an exciting experience and we hope that collaborations such as this continue to be an area supported by the BCS and the GA.

Fiona Derbyshire, Head of Geography, Kirkbie Kendal School

Find out more about The BCS Resltess Earth Workshops http://www.cartography.org.uk/schools

Mapping for decision making

With Japan suffering their most severe crisis in the past 65 years since World War II, how can modern technology help with the aftermath of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake suffered on Friday and the subsequent monstrous tsunamis?

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan stated "I strongly believe that we can get over this great earthquake and tsunami by joining together." So by joining together all the information gathered during and after the events can we also help in a humanitarian role and help make decisions that will make a real difference?

The number of people whose whereabouts are unknown currently exceeds 10,000 and Google have created a resource that incorporates many of their integrated businesses and their 'person finder' is to be commended. http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/. The BBC have also created a map which incorporates the mulit-media collated during the last few days.

However more casualties are now feared as the nuclear reactors along the east coast of Japan are under threat and have already started to fail.

Thanks to mapping from The International Nuclear Safety Centre and the Tectonics Observatory (using USGS earthquake catalogue from 2000 to 2008, magnitude of 5.0 M and above data) you get a visual which highlights the worrying fact that there are many nuclear reactors on high magnitude earthquake zones.

Large image at http://twitpic.com/4977x2

With the Austrian and German governments already calling for stress tests across nuclear power stations in Europe, how much influence will this map have on future decisions on nuclear power?