GeoGarage blog: 1/19/14

Saturday, January 25, 2014

The next big spill (the Baltic Sea traffic visualized)

One day of marine traffic in the Baltic Sea.
An unofficial visualization technology preview made originally for HELCOM (Baltic Marine Environment Protection Comission).

Friday, January 24, 2014

UK & misc. update in the Marine GeoGarage

As our public viewer is not yet available

(currently under construction, upgrading to Google Maps API v3 as v2 is officially no more supported),

this info is primarily intended to our B2B customers which use our nautical charts layers in their own webmapping applications through our GeoGarage API.

Today 955 charts (1822 including sub-charts) from UKHO
are available in the 'UK & misc.' chart layer

regrouping charts for different countries :

UK
Argentina
Belgium
Netherlands
Croatia
Oman
Portugal
Spain
Iceland
South Africa
Malta

635 charts for UK
(3585 Harbours and Anchorages in South Georgia &
3665 Victoria Nyanza (Southern portion)
withdrawn from previous update
3404 United Arab Emirates, Ports in Ras al Khaimah (Ra's al Khaymah) &
3405 United Arab Emirates, Ports in 'Ajman, Sharjah and Umm al Qaywayn
added from previous update )

24 charts for Argentina :

226 International Chart Series, Antarctica - South Shetlands Islands, Deception Island.
227 Church Point to Cape Longing including James Ross Island
531 Plans on the Coast of Argentina
552 Plans on the Coast of Argentina
557 Mar del Plata to Comodoro Rivadavia
1302 Cabo Guardian to Punta Nava
1331 Argentina, Approaches to Bahia Blanca
1332 Isla de los Estados and Estrecho de le Maire
1751 Puerto de Buenos Aires
1982B Rio Parana - Rosario to Parana
2505 Approaches to the Falkland Islands
2517 North-Western Approaches to the Falkland Islands
2519 South-Western Approaches to the Falkland Islands
3065 Punta Piedras to Quequen
3066 Quequen to Rio Negro
3067 Rio Negro to Isla Leones
3106 Isla Leones to Pto San Julian
3213 Plans in Graham Land
3560 Gerlache Strait Northern Part
3566 Gerlache Strait Southern Part
3755 Bahia Blanca
4063 Bellingshausen Sea to Valdivia
4200 Rio de la Plata to Cabo de Hornos
4207 Falkland Islands to Cabo Corrientes and Northeast Georgia Rise

27 charts for Belgium & Nederlands :

99 Entrances to Rivers in Guyana and Suriname
110 Westkapelle to Stellendam and Maasvlakte
112 Terschellinger Gronden to Harlingen
120 Westerschelde - Vlissingen to Baalhoek and Gent - Terneuzen Canal
122 Approaches to Europoort and Hoek van Holland
124 Noordzeekanaal including Ijmuiden, Zaandam and Amsterdam
125 North Sea Netherlands - Approaches to Scheveningen and Ijmuiden
126 North Sea, Netherlands, Approaches to Den Helder
128 Westerschelde, Valkenisse to Wintam
207 Hoek Van Holland to Vlaardingen
208 Rotterdam, Nieuwe Maas and Oude Maas
209 Krimpen a/d Lek to Moerdijk
266 North Sea Offshore Charts Sheet 11
572 Essequibo River to Corentyn River
702 Nederlandse Antillen, Aruba and Curacao
1187 Outer Silver Pit
1408 North Sea, Harwich and Rotterdam to Cromer and Terschelling.
1412 Caribbean Sea - Nederlandse Antillen, Ports in Aruba and Curacao
1414 Bonaire
1503 Outer Dowsing to Smiths Knoll including Indefatigable Banks.
1504 Cromer to Orford Ness
1546 Zeegat van Texel and Den Helder Roads
1630 West Hinder and Outer Gabbard to Vlissingen and Scheveningen
1631 DW Routes to Ijmuiden and Texel
1632 DW Routes and Friesland Junction to Vlieland
1874 North Sea, Westerschelde, Oostende to Westkapelle
2047 Approaches to Anguilla

13 charts for Croatia :

201 Rt Kamenjak to Novigrad
202 Kvarner, Kvarneric and Velebitski Kanal
269 Ploce and Split with Adjacent Harbours, Channels and Anchorages
515 Zadar to Luka Mali Losinj
680 Dubrovnik
1574 Otok Glavat to Ploce and Makarska
1580 Otocic Veliki Skolj to Otocic Glavat
1996 Ports in Rijecki Zaljev
2711 Rogoznica to Zadar
2712 Otok Susac to Split
2719 Rt Marlera to Senj including Approaches to Rijeka
2773 Sibenik, Pasmanski Kanal, Luka Telascica, Sedmovrace, Rijeka Krka
2774 Otok Vis to Sibenik

7 charts for Oman :

2853 Gulf of Oman, approaches to Sohar
2854 Northern approaches to Masirah
3171 Southern Approaches to the Strait of Hormuz
3409 Plans in Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates
3511 Wudam and Approaches
3518 Ports and Anchorages on the North East Coast of Oman
3762 Oman - South East coast, Ad Duqm

124 charts for Spain & Portugal :

45 Gibraltar Harbour
73 Puerto de Huelva and Approaches
83 Ports on the South Coast of Portugal
85 Spain - south west coast, Rio Guadalquivir
86 Bahia de Cadiz
87 Cabo Finisterre to the Strait of Gibraltar
88 Cadiz
89 Cabo de Sao Vicente to Faro
91 Cabo de Sao Vicente to the Strait of Gibraltar
93 Cabo de Santa Maria to Cabo Trafalgar
142 Strait of Gibraltar
144 Mediterranean Sea, Gibraltar
307 Angola, Cabeca da Cobra to Cabo Ledo
308 Angola, Cabo Ledo to Lobito
309 Lobito to Ponta Grossa
312 Luanda to Baia dos Tigres
366 Arquipelago de Cabo Verde
469 Alicante
473 Approaches to Alicante
518 Spain East Coast, Approaches to Valencia
562 Mediterranean Sea, Spain - East Coast Valencia
580 Al Hoceima, Melilla and Port Nador with Approaches
659 Angola, Port of Soyo and Approache
690 Cabo Delgado to Mikindani Bay
886 Estrecho de la Bocayna and Approaches to Arrecife
1094 Rias de Ferrol, Ares, Betanzos and La Coruna
1096 Ribadeo
1110 La Coruna and Approaches
1111 Punta de la Estaca de Bares to Cabo Finisterre
1113 Harbours on the North-West Coast of Spain
1117 Puerto de Ferrol
1118 Ria de Ferrol
1122 Ports on the North Coast of Spain
1133 Ports on the Western Part of the North Coast of Spain
1142 Ria de Aviles
1145 Spain - North Coast, Santander
1150 Ports on the North Coast of Spain
1153 Approaches to Gijon
1154 Spain, north coast, Gijon
1157 Pasaia (Pasajes) and Approaches
1172 Puertos de Bermeo and Mundaka
1173 Spain - North Coast, Bilbao
1174 Approaches to Bilbao
1180 Barcelona
1189 Approaches to Cartagena
1193 Spain - east coast, Tarragona
1194 Cartagena
1196 Approaches to Barcelona
1197 Plans on the West Coast of Africa
1215 Plans on the Coast of Angola
1216 Baia dos Tigres
1290 Cabo de San Lorenzo to Cabo Ortegal
1291 Santona to Gijon
1448 Gibraltar Bay
1453 Gandia
1455 Algeciras
1460 Sagunto
1514 Spain - East Coast, Castellon
1515 Ports on the East Coast of Spain
1589 Almeria
1595 Ilhas do Principe, de Sao Tome and Isla Pagalu
1684 Ilha da Madeira, Manchico and Canical
1685 Nisis Venetico to Nisos Spetsai including the Channels between Akra Maleas and Kriti
1689 Ports in the Arquipelago da Madeira
1701 Cabo de San Antonio to Vilanova I la Geltru including Islas de Ibiza and Formentera
1703 Mallorca and Menorca
1704 Punta de la Bana to Islas Medas
1724 Canal do Geba and Bissau
1726 Approaches to Canal do Geba and Rio Cacheu
1727 Bolama and Approaches
1730 Spain - West Coast, Ria de Vigo
1731 Vigo
1732 Spain - West Coast, Ria de Pontevedra
1733 Spain - West Coast, Marin and Pontevedra
1734 Approaches to Ria de Arousa
1740 Livingston Island, Bond Point to Brunow Bay including Juan Carlos 1 Base and Half Moon Island
1755 Plans in Ria de Arousa
1756 Ria de Muros
1762 Vilagarcia de Arosa
1764 Ria de Arousa
1831 Arquipelago da Madeira
1847 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
1850 Approaches to Malaga
1851 Malaga
1854 Motril and Adra
1856 Approaches to Puerto de La Luz (Las Palmas)
1858 Approaches to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Puerto de San Sebastian de la Gomera, Santa Cruz de la Palma and Approaches
1869 Gran Canaria to Hierro
1870 Lanzarote to Gran Canaria
1895 Ilha de Sao Miguel
1950 Arquipelago dos Acores
1956 Arquipelago dos Acores Central Group
1957 Harbours in the Arquipelago Dos Acores (Central Group)
1959 Flores,Corvo and Santa Maria with Banco Das Formigas
2742 Cueta
2761 Menorca
2762 Menorca, Mahon
2831 Punta Salinas to Cabo de Formentor including Canal de Menorca
2832 Punta Salinas to Punta Beca including Isla de Cabrera
2834 Ibiza and Formentera
2932 Cabo de Sao Sebastiao to Beira
2934 Africa - east coast, Mozambique, Beira to Rio Zambeze
2935 Quelimane to Ilha Epidendron
3034 Approaches to Palma
3035 Palma
3220 Entrance to Rio Tejo including Baia de Cascais
3221 Lisboa, Paco de Arcos to Terreiro do Trigo
3222 Lisboa, Alcantara to Canal do Montijo
3224 Approaches to Sines
3227 Aveiro and Approaches
3228 Approaches to Figueira da Foz
3257 Viana do Castelo and Approaches
3258 Approaches to Leixoes and Barra do Rio Douro
3259 Approaches to Setubal
3260 Carraca to Ilha do Cavalo
3448 Plans in Angola
3578 Eastern Approaches to the Strait of Gibraltar
3633 Islas Sisargas to Montedor
3634 Montedor to Cabo Mondego
3635 Cabo Mondego to Cabo Espichel
3636 Cabo Espichel to Cabo de Sao Vicente
3764 Cabo Torinana to Punta Carreiro
4114 Arquipelago dos Acores to Flemish Cap
4115 Arquipelago dos Acores to the Arquipelago de Cabo Verde
Ilha de Madeira, Ponta Gorda de Sao Lourenco including the Port of Funchal

14 charts for Iceland :

2733 Dyrholaey to Snaefellsjokull
2734 Approaches to Reykjavik
2735 Iceland - South West Coast, Reykjavik
2897 Iceland
2898 Vestfirdir
2899 Iceland, Noth Coast, Horn to Rauoinupur
2900 Iceland, North East Coast, Rauoinupur to Glettinganes
2901 Iceland, East Coast, Glettinganes to Stokksnes
2902 Stokksnes to Dyrholaey
2955 Iceland, North Coast, Akureyri
2956 Iceland, North Coast, Eyjafjordur
2937 Hlada to Glettinganes
2938 Reydarfjordur
4112 North Atlantic Ocean, Iceland to Greenland

49 charts for South Africa :

578 Cape Columbine to Cape Seal
632 Hollandsbird Island to Cape Columbine
643 Durban Harbour
665 Approaches to Zanzibar
1236 Saldanha Bay
1806 Baia dos Tigres to Conception Bay
1846 Table Bay Docks and Approaches
1922 RSA - Simon's Bay
2078 Port Nolloth to Island Point
2086 East London to Port S Johns
2087 Port St John's to Durban
2088 Durban to Cape Vidal
2095 Cape St Blaize to Port S. John's
3793 Shixini Point to Port S Johns
3794 Port S Johns to Port Shepstone
3795 Port Shepstone to Cooper Light
3797 Green Point to Tongaat Bluff
3859 Cape Cross to Conception Bay
3860 Mutzel Bay to Spencer Bay
3861 Namibia, Approaches to Luderitz
3869 Hottentot Point to Chamais Bay
3870 Chamais Bay to Port Nolloth
4132 Kunene River to Sand Table Hill
4133 Sand Table Hill to Cape Cross
4136 Harbours on the West Coasts of Namibia and South Africa
4141 Island Point to Cape Deseada
4142 Saldanha Bay Harbour
4145 Approaches to Saldanha Bay
4146 Cape Columbine to Table Bay
4148 Approaches to Table Bay
4150 Republic of South Africa, South West Coast, Table Bay to Valsbaai
4151 Cape Deseada to Table Bay
4152 Republic of South Africa, South West Coast, Table Bay to Cape Agulhas
4153 Republic of South Africa, South Coast, Cape Agulhas to Cape St. Blaize
4154 Mossel Bay
4155 Cape St Blaize to Cape St Francis
4156 South Africa, Cape St Francis to Great Fish Point
4157 South Africa, Approaches to Port Elizabeth
4158 Republic of South Africa - South Coast, Plans in Algoa Bay.
4159 Great Fish Point to Mbashe Point
4160 Ngqura Harbour
4162 Approaches to East London
4163 Republic of South Africa, South East Coast, Mbashe Point to Port Shepstone
4170 Approaches to Durban
4172 Tugela River to Ponta do Ouro
4173 Approaches to Richards Bay
4174 Richards Bay Harbour
4205 Agulhas Plateau to Discovery Seamounts
4700 Port Elizabeth to Mauritius

5 charts for Malta :

36 Marsaxlokk
177 Valletta Harbours
211 Plans in the Maltese Islands
2537 Ghawdex (Gozo), Kemmuna (Comino) and the Northern Part of Malta
2538 Malta

57 international charts from NGA

3 Chagos Archipelago
82 Outer Approaches to Port Sudan
100 Raas Caseyr to Suqutra
255 Eastern Approaches to Jamaica
256 Western Approaches to Jamaica
260 Pedro Bank to the South Coast of Jamaica
333 Offshore Installations in the Gulf of Suez
334 North Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda
386 Yadua Island to Yaqaga Island
390 Bahamas, Grand Bahama Island, Approaches to Freeport
398 Grand Bahama Island, Freeport Roads, Freeport Harbour
457 Portland Bight
462 The Cayman Islands
486 Jamaica and the Pedro Bank
501 South East Approaches to Trinidad
700 Maiana to Marakei
766 Ellice Islands
868 Eastern and Western Approaches to The Narrows including Murray's Anchorage
920 Chagos Archipelago, Diego Garcia
928 Sulu Archipelago
959 Colson Point to Belize City including Lighthouse Reef and Turneffe Islands
1043 Saint Lucia to Grenada and Barbados
1225 Gulf of Campeche
1265 Approaches to Shatt Al 'Arab or Arvand Rud, Khawr Al Amaya and Khawr Al Kafka
1450 Turks and Caicos Islands, Turks Island Passage and Mouchoir Passage
1638 Plans in Northern Vanuatu
2006 West Indies, Virgin Islands, Anegada to Saint Thomas
2009 Sheet 2 From 23 deg 40 min North Latitude to Old Bahama Channel
2065 Northern Antigua
2133 Approaches to Suez Bay (Bahr el Qulzum)
2373 Bahr el Qulzum (Suez Bay) to Ras Sheratib
2374 Ra's Sharatib to Juzur Ashrafi
2658 Outer Approaches to Mina` al Jeddah (Jiddah)
2837 Strait of Hormuz to Qatar
2847 Qatar to Shatt al `Arab
3043 Red Sea, Ports on the coast of Egypt.
3102 Takoradi and Sekondi Bays
3175 Jazirat al Hamra' to Dubai (Dubayy) and Jazireh-ye Sirri
3179 UAE and Qatar, Jazirat Das to Ar Ru' Ays
3310 Africa - east coast, Mafia Island to Pemba Island
3361 Wasin Island to Malindi
3432 Saltpond to Tema
3493 Red Sea - Sudan, Bashayer Oil Terminals and Approaches.
3519 Southern Approaches to Masirah
3520 Khawr Kalba and Dawhat Diba to Gahha Shoal
3522 Approaches to Masqat and Mina' al Fahl
3530 Approaches to Berbera
3709 Gulf of Oman, United Arab Emirates, Port of Fujairah (Fujayrah) and Offshore Terminals.
3723 Gulf of Oman, United Arab Emirates, Approaches to Khawr Fakkan and Fujairah (Fujayrah).
3785 Mina' Raysut to Al Masirah
3907 Bahama Islands and Hispaniola, Passages between Mayaguana Island and Turks and Caicos Islands.
3908 Passages between Turks and Caicos Islands and Dominican Republic
3910 Little Bahama Bank including North West Providence Channel
3912 Bahamas, North East Providence Channel and Tongue of the Ocean
3913 Bahamas, Crooked Island Passage and Exuma Sound
3914 Turks and Caicos Islands and Bahamas, Caicos Passage and Mayaguana Passage
3951 Sir Bani Yas to Khawr al `Udayd

Don't forget to visit the UKHO Notices to Mariners : NTM for 2013

UKHO chart catalogue availability

So today, for a cost of 9.9 € / month ('Premium Charts' subscription), you can have access to 2588 additional updated charts (4332 including sub-charts) coming from 3 international Hydrographic Services (UKHO, CHS, AHS and France).

Image of the week : the London array, the world’s largest wind farm just planted off of the mouth of the River Thames

NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Caption by Michael Carlowicz.

(acquired April 28, 2013)

From NASA

Twenty kilometers (12 miles) from England’s Kent and Essex coasts, the world’s largest offshore wind farm has started harvesting the breezes over the sea.
Located in the Thames Estuary, where the River Thames meets the North Sea, the London Array has a maximum generating power of 630 megawatts (MW), enough to supply as many as 500,000 homes.

The wind farm became fully operational on April 8, 2013.
Twenty days later, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite captured this image of the area.
The second image is a closeup of the area marked by the white box in the top image.
White points in the second image are the wind turbines; a few boat wakes are also visible.
The sea is discolored by light tan sediment—spring runoff washed out by the Thames.

To date, the London Array includes 175 wind turbines aligned to the prevailing southwest wind and spread out across 100 square kilometers (40 square miles).
Each turbine stands 650 to 1,200 meters apart (2,100 to 3,900 feet) and 147 meters (482 feet) tall.
Each is connected by cables buried in the seafloor, and power is transmitted to two substations offshore and to an onshore station at Cleve Hill.
With construction operations working out of Ramsgate, the Array is eventually supposed to grow to 245 square kilometers (95 square miles).
The wind farm sits on two natural sandbanks, with water as deep as 25 meters (80 feet).
The site was chosen because of its proximity to onshore electric power infrastructure and because it stays out of the main shipping lanes through the area.

Promoters of the London Array project assert that it will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 900,000 tons, equal to the emissions of 300,000 automobiles.
Critics of the project and its second phase are concerned that the wind farm will decimate the population of red-throated divers and other bird species.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Samuel de Champlain, navigator, soldier, explorer, cartographer, and diplomat

Map of New France (1613)

From RedOrbit

Samuel de Champlain, known as The Father of New France, was a Frenchman with many titles including navigator, soldier, explorer, cartographer, and diplomat.
Born Samuel Champlain in 1574 to a family of mariners, exploration was in his blood and he took his first voyage as a young man in 1603, led by François Gravé Du Pont.
In his early years, Champlain learned to navigate, create nautical charts, draw, and make applied reports.
From 1594 or 1595 to 1598, he learned fighting skills in the King Henry IV army during the late stages of France’s religious wars against Brittany, which would equip him with the necessary defense skills required to be at sea on a French vessel.

Some of Champlain’s early travels include a two-year trip aboard his uncle’s ship, the Saint-Julien, which he was given watch duty over while it traveled with a Spanish fleet to the West Indies.
When he returned to Cadiz in 1600, his uncle asked him to take over his business affairs due to illness and a year later, after his uncle passed away, he inherited his estate, 150-ton ship, a yearly pension from the king, and his commercial properties located in Spain.
This gave him the ability to explore without needing to please financial backers.
Between the years of 1901 and 1903, he worked as a geographer for King Henry, traveling to French harbors and learning about North America from fishermen that traveled seasonally to an area ranging from Nantucket to Newfoundland.

Champlain prepared several maps of New France, much of which land he had himself traversed.

This map (1632), which accompanied his description of the country, is remarkable partly because of its cartographic techniques of hachured hill symbols, and vegetation and settlement symbols, and partly because of the concepts of western and northern geography which he presented.

He believed that the Arctic Ocean (Mer du Nort Glacialle) extends south to the west of Hudson Bay, and to a short distance north of Lake Superior (Grand Lac).

In effect, what is now Manitoba would be fundamentally located in these icy waters.

Champlain’s map is significant, not so much for what it depicts of the western area, but because it was a mother map [base map] whose features were used by many later cartographers in conjunction with their new ideas to illustrate their concepts of Western geography.

Champlain took his first voyage to North America on a fur trading ship, although he did this only as a passenger.
François Gravé Du Pont, who would later become a good friend to Champlain, led the expedition and taught Champlain how to navigate North America.
He joined a second expedition to North America in 1604, promising to update the king if there were any new discoveries.
Pierre Dugua de Mons, who owned the monopoly on fur trading in New France directly from the king, led this expedition and allowed Champlain to choose where the crew would stay during the winter.

Painting showing the arrival of Samuel de Champlain with the 'Don de Dieu' vessel on the future site of Quebec City, 1608

In 1608, Dugua requested that Champlain establish a French Colony along the St. Lawrence shore, where the two had previously explored.
Three ships were attained for this mission, including the Don-de-Dieu, which was captained by Champlain and the Lévrier, which was captained by Du Pont.
The city of Quebec was founded because of this expedition.

Map of Canada (1677)

When King Henry was murdered in 1610, Champlain lost many of his financial backers, including Dugua, because the new king, then nine years old, and his regent Marie de’ Medici did not feel that exploration was important.
Champlain was forced to return to France to make new connections within the court. It is thought that his marriage to twelve year old Marie de’ Medici, the daughter of an important man who helped carry out orders within the court, only occurred for this purpose.
She eventually joined a convent and Champlain later adopted three Montagnais girls.

Samuel de Champlain's journeys through Ontario

While exploring the area that would become New France, Champlain established relations with many native tribes including the Algonquin, the Montagnais, Wendat, and Etchemin tribes, all of whom lived in the St. Lawrence River area.
These tribes requested aid from Champlain and his men to fight with the Iroquois, and after a short yet successful battle, Champlain returned to France to attempt to restore Dugua’s fur monopoly, but this failed.

extract from Allard atlas

When Champlain returned to New France in 1613, he decided to explore the Huron country and look for what is now considered Hudson Bay.
With the help of native tribes who were threatened by the Iroquois, he was able to explore other areas and document his travels between the years of 1604 and 1612.
In 1615, he helped wage a war against the Iroquois, against his better judgment, and ended up getting lost and wintering with another tribe, returning to France in 1616.

In 1620, Champlain returned to New France to strengthen the administration of the area and create more relationships with natives in the area.
He spent the rest of his life working in the area, during which time he made a peace treaty with the Iroquois, tried to find a route to China, and published his book Voyages de la Nouvelle France.
After an encounter with the Kirke brothers, which resulted in the surrender of Quebec and the removal of the people there, Champlain was forced to travel to London.
Despite the fact that a peace treaty had been signed three months before this, Champlain would not rebuild Quebec until 1634.

Champlain passed away in 1635 from a severe stroke, but he did not leave any heirs.
Records show that he left much of his property in France to his wife, Hélène, but his estate went to his cousin Marie Camaret after she challenged it in court.
Champlain’s remains were buried in a church for a short time, but his permanent burial site remains unknown to this day.

Links :

Musings on Maps blog : Samuel de Champlain

Samuel de Champlain, known as The Father of New France, was a Frenchman with many titles including navigator, soldier, explorer, cartographer, and diplomat. Born Samuel Champlain in 1574 to a family of mariners, exploration was in his blood and he took his first voyage as a young man in 1603, led by François Gravé Du Pont. In his early years, Champlain learned to navigate, create nautical charts, draw, and make applied reports. From 1594 or 1595 to 1598, he learned fighting skills in the King Henry IV army during the late stages of France’s religious wars against Brittany, which would equip him with the necessary defense skills required to be at sea on a French vessel.
Some of Champlain’s early travels include a two-year trip aboard his uncle’s ship, the Saint-Julien, which he was given watch duty over while it traveled with a Spanish fleet to the West Indies. When he returned to Cadiz in 1600, his uncle asked him to take over his business affairs due to illness and a year later, after his uncle passed away, he inherited his estate, 150-ton ship, a yearly pension from the king, and his commercial properties located in Spain. This gave him the ability to explore without needing to please financial backers. Between the years of 1901 and 1903, he worked as a geographer for King Henry, traveling to French harbors and learning about North America from fishermen that traveled seasonally to an area ranging from Nantucket to Newfoundland.
Champlain took his first voyage to North America on a fur trading ship, although he did this only as a passenger. François Gravé Du Pont, who would later become a good friend to Champlain, led the expedition and taught Champlain how to navigate North America. He joined a second expedition to North America in 1604, promising to update the king if there were any new discoveries. Pierre Dugua de Mons, who owned the monopoly on fur trading in New France directly from the king, led this expedition and allowed Champlain to choose where the crew would stay during the winter. In 1608, Dugua requested that Champlain establish a French Colony along the St. Lawrence shore, where the two had previously explored. Three ships were attained for this mission, including the Don-de-Dieu, which was captained by Champlain and the Lévrier, which was captained by Du Pont. The city of Quebec was founded because of this expedition.
When King Henry was murdered in 1610, Champlain lost many of his financial backers, including Dugua, because the new king, then nine years old, and his regent Marie de’ Medici did not feel that exploration was important. Champlain was forced to return to France to make new connections within the court. It is thought that his marriage to twelve year old Marie de’ Medici, the daughter of an important man who helped carry out orders within the court, only occurred for this purpose. She eventually joined a convent and Champlain later adopted three Montagnais girls.
While exploring the area that would become New France, Champlain established relations with many native tribes including the Algonquin, the Montagnais, Wendat, and Etchemin tribes, all of whom lived in the St. Lawrence River area. These tribes requested aid from Champlain and his men to fight with the Iroquois, and after a short yet successful battle, Champlain returned to France to attempt to restore Dugua’s fur monopoly, but this failed.
When Champlain returned to New France in 1613, he decided to explore the Huron country and look for what is now considered Hudson Bay. With the help of native tribes who were threatened by the Iroquois, he was able to explore other areas and document his travels between the years of 1604 and 1612. In 1615, he helped wage a war against the Iroquois, against his better judgment, and ended up getting lost and wintering with another tribe, returning to France in 1616.
In 1620, Champlain returned to New France to strengthen the administration of the area and create more relationships with natives in the area. He spent the rest of his life working in the area, during which time he made a peace treaty with the Iroquois, tried to find a route to China, and published his book Voyages de la Nouvelle France. After an encounter with the Kirke brothers, which resulted in the surrender of Quebec and the removal of the people there, Champlain was forced to travel to London. Despite the fact that a peace treaty had been signed three months before this, Champlain would not rebuild Quebec until 1634.
Champlain passed away in 1635 from a severe stroke, but he did not leave any heirs. Records show that he left much of his property in France to his wife, Hélène, but his estate went to his cousin Marie Camaret after she challenged it in court. Champlain’s remains were buried in a church for a short time, but his permanent burial site remains unknown to this day.

Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/education/reference_library/general-2/explorers/1113040645/samuel-de-champlain/#kl2YiBt8vLjZcCtA.99

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Taiji Cove dolphins: Japanese government defends 'lawful' slaughter as hunters prepare to kill 200 animals

Japanese fishermen transporting slaughtered dolphins in Taiji harbour; the water of the cove is red with the blood of dead animals.

Locals brand criticism of the cull 'cultural imperialism'

From The Telegraph

Hundreds of dolphins are killed in a remote Japanese bay during hunting season.
The town argues it is an important tradition, but conservationists maintain the bloody practice is inhumane

Japanese fisherman have begun the slaughter of hundreds of bottlenose dolphins this morning, campaigners said, amid an international outcry over the annual hunt.
Members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), which is monitoring the cull, said fisherman had begun killing the dolphins corralled into the Taiji cove earlier this week at 7.30am.

A group of dolphins trapped by Japanese fishermen were killed on Tuesday (January 21), after fishermen herded them onto the shore in a cove in central Japan.
At least 30 dolphins, trapped in the now infamous Taiji cove since Friday (January 17), were seen being driven by fishermen using nets and boat engines towards a killing area.
Fishermen waiting in the shallows, some in wet suits, wrestled the dolphins into submission and tied their tails with ropes to stop them from escaping.

Washington and Tokyo, normally the staunchest of allies, have been drawn into an unexpected diplomatic spat over the slaughter of the mammals in the secluded cove.

Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga, defended the controversial cull in the town of Taiji as “lawful”, swatting away criticism from the US ambassador, Caroline Kennedy.
Ms Kennedy, the only surviving child of the assassinated US President John F Kennedy, joined the chorus of global outrage this week when she said her government opposed the practice.
“Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing,” she tweeted, as fresh images appeared online showing apparently bloodied dolphins being herded into the cove for the slaughter, which is expected to take place today.

Conservationists say a rare albino dolphin is among about 250 of the animals thrashing behind nets overnight.
“Babies and mothers will be torn from each other’s sides as some are taken for captivity, some are killed, and others are driven back out to sea to fend for themselves,” said the SSCS.

The hunts are notoriously brutal.
Fishermen on boats surround pods of migrating dolphins, lower metal poles into the sea and bang them to frighten the animals and disrupt their sonar.
Once the dolphins are herded into the narrow cove, the fishermen attack them with knives, before dragging them to a harbour-side warehouse for slaughter.
The best-looking dolphins are separated and sold to aquariums.

Ms Kennedy’s message was translated into Japanese and retweeted thousands of times, prompting a backlash by nationalists who resent Western criticism of the cull.
“Laughable,” wrote one anonymous post to an online bulletin board.
“What about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the indiscriminate bombings of Japanese cities and US killings in the Middle East?”

Traditionalists say dolphin and whale have been eaten locally for centuries.
Restaurants and shops offer dolphin and whale sashimi and blubber, along with tuna and shark-fin soup.
Dolphin meat sells for around £6-£10 a pound.
Some local fishermen say the cull is necessary to keep dolphins from eating too many fish.

The Cove ~ A Documentary Film 2009

Taiji was exposed to worldwide scrutiny four years ago in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, which followed a party of eco-activists as they battled fishermen and police to stop the cull.
The documentary was attacked by Japanese ultra-rightists who threatened cinemas that showed it, and by Taiji officials who said the documentary-makers had “psychologically tortured” the fishermen.

The Cove triggered a brief, heated debate in the Japanese media, which had largely ignored the practice until then.
Many activists, including the most famous – Ric O’Barry, a former dolphin trainer-turned-campaigner – predicted the global spotlight would end the tradition.
“I honestly believe when the world finds out about this it will be abolished,” he said.

But the annual cull of about 2,000 small porpoises and dolphins has continued.
The former Guns n’Roses drummer Matt Sorum is among the latest high-profile campaigners to visit the town. “In what boats did they chase these dolphins with centuries ago?” he tweeted.
“Lies… this has only been in the last 30 years… Greed not tradition.”

Last year the local prefecture announced plans to build a marine mammal park where it said tourists would be able swim alongside dolphins and whales, and sample local cuisine – including whale and dolphin meat.
The plans drew yet more international flak but Taiji’s mayor Kazutaka Sangen was undeterred.
“We are not going to change our plans for the town based on the criticism of foreigners,” he said.

If anything, Taiji’s growing infamy has widened the cultural gulf between the town and the rest of the world.
Taiji, which has a population of about 3,000 people, has installed a 24-hour police box to deal with the steady stream of activists making their way to the cove.
Locals bristle at the sight of Westerners.

Conservationists say the fishermen have already killed over 170 dolphins and small whales this year and taken 24 captive since the start of the new year.
A tweet from a team of activists overlooking the cove said the animals had spent a fourth night without food and would be slaughtered today by a party of about 40 to 60 fishermen.

“I’ve been here for three years and this is absolutely the largest I’ve seen driven into the cove,” Melissa Sehgal, leader of the Sea Shepherd group, told Australian media.

Ms Kennedy’s intervention has again produced a flurry of stories in the Japanese media.
The state broadcaster NHK said the ambassador was known as an animal lover and her comments were likely to be taken in that light.
“The debate is likely to continue,” it said.
The message from Mr Sangen was more uncompromising. “The hunting of whales and dolphins has been carried out since long ago and is performed on scientific grounds,” he told Japanese reporters last night.
“I will protect this tradition.”

Links :

CNN : Japan officials defend dolphin hunting at Taiji Cove
Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians
GeoGarage blog : Whaling in Faroe Islands, grindadrap

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Mapping the Earth’s Polar Regions

Ross Island with Beaufort & Francklin islands

From GISLounge

The Earth’s Polar Regions, Antarctica and the area within the Arctic Circle, are the most inhospitable places on the planet for humans.
Yet, scientists and researchers continue to explore and map these regions in order to get a better understanding of their importance.
It is widely believed that the Polar Regions hold keys to unlocking other scientific mysteries and can reveal what the future holds for the Earth and all of its inhabitants.
In order to better understand the Arctic and Antarctica, there is a constant need for better-quality maps to be produced.

Southern Hemisphere, NGA

One of biggest steps taken towards supplying better maps of the Polar Regions has been recently completed by the Polar Geospatial Center (PGC).
The center, located at the University of Minnesota, has released and made available a series of web-based applications using high-resolution images and maps showing the Arctic and Antarctica in unparalleled detail.
These images are of an improved resolution and more up-to-date than earlier mapping projects of the Earth’s extremities.

Previous mapping projects of Antarctica include LIMA, a mosaic of Antarctic images based on NASA’s Landsat satellite program.
High-quality images of the continent were compiled into an all-encompassing satellite view and released in 2007 as The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA).
LIMA was the result of collaborative efforts from the U.S. Geological Society, NASA, The British Antarctic Survey, and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
What is distinctive about LIMA was the quality of its images.
The project brandished images in 15-meter resolution, and it was the first true color, seamless map of Antarctica that was virtually cloudless.

The LIMA mosaic is based on approximately 1,100 images taken from 1999 to 2001 from the Landsat-7.
The project was developed as part of the International Polar Year back in 2007-2008 in order to educate people about Antarctica and demonstrate how scientists use GIS data to study the continent.
One disadvantage, however, is that the LIMA mosaic does not cover the whole continent.
A portion is left off of its satellite view from the South Pole at 90 degrees latitude to 82.5 degrees south latitude because of gaps in Landsat’s coverage.

Franklin Island to McMurdo Sound

Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO)

Nevertheless, the Polar Geospatial Center has taken polar mapping to the next level with their web-based applications.
Using commercial imagery from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, these maps of Antarctica offer a resolution 900 times better than that from LIMA and come within thirty kilometers of the geographic South Pole.
According to the PGC’s director Paul Morin, their maps and applications can show every rock outcropping, every penguin colony, and every crevasse.
Moreover, the Polar Geospatial Center has the ability to shoot images of Antarctica that are at a 50-centimeter resolution every forty-five days.

Map of South Pole (1843)

In 2007, the Polar Geospatial Center was established in order to provide geospatial services to Antarctica. It mainly supported the U.S. Antarctic Program and was funded by the National Science Foundation.
Since then, the PGC has expanded into doing its own fieldwork using geospatial data for the purpose of solving critical questions concerning the Polar Regions.
The PGC also produces geospatial products for individual use.
Their Imagery Viewers allow its users to create their own maps of locations in Greenland and Alaska as well as Antarctica.

US Navy Operation Deep Freeze IV 1958-59

Web applications based on those types of high-resolution maps have incredible, almost limitless potential.
The Polar Geospatial Center’s online maps can handle just about any request they get from scientists and researchers.
The project was hardly simple, however.
It took the PGC over eighteen months to complete, and one of the biggest challenges was fixing the orientation on an immense number of images.
Instead of being shot at a vertical, these images were shot at an angle from commercial satellites owned by DigitalGlobe, Inc. and had to be corrected.

PGC Antarctic viewer

To make these images of the Polar Regions more accessible to scientists and researchers, the Polar Geospatial Center has developed several web-based mapping applications, and they can be utilized in GIS software.
The Imagery Viewers are three such mapping applications which cover much of Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica.
Some of the features of the maps include placename search, satellite imagery basemaps, and georeferenced maps.
Unfortunately, the Imagery Viewers are only accessible to federal government employees and researchers with federal funding, not to the general public.

Rapid Ice viewer

However, the PGC offers other web based applications.
One of them, called the Antarctic Air Photo Viewer, enables users to search, view, and download Antarctic aerial photography.
These photos are offered in two different resolutions.
Plus, users of PGC’s RapidIce Viewer can search for and download over 500,000 unique satellite images of pre-set places in Greenland and Antarctica.
These web-based mapping applications can provide a large variety of uses.
For example, Joe Levy, a scientist at the University of Texas at Austin used the images to study the melting of buried ice at a specific location in Antarctica.

Overall, the hope is that improved maps of the Polar Regions will give scientists and researchers enhanced tools for solving the mysteries of the planet.
Tools like LIMA and the web-based mapping applications from the Polar Geospatial Center proves that remote sensing technology can greatly increase our understanding of even the most forbidding and barren areas on the Earth.

The monthly Sea Ice Index provides a quick look at Arctic-wide changes in sea ice.

From the National Snow and Ice Center.

Links : Polar Mapping Resources:

Monday, January 20, 2014

Inside the secret shipping industry

Almost everything we own and use, at some point, travels to us by container ship, through a vast network of ocean routes and ports that most of us know almost nothing about.
Journalist Rose George tours us through the world of shipping, the underpinning of consumer civilization.

Deep Sea and Foreign Going: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry that Brings You 90% of Everything

In this fascinating book, Rose George explores the hidden world of shipping.
Once a major part of our national identity, the seafaring world is now obscure, badly regulated and yet, with more than 100,000 freighters on the seas carrying 90 percent of world trade, far more influential to our daily lives than at any time in history.
George’s pursuit of the shadowy truths behind the industry that brings us almost everything we eat, wear and work with takes her across the globe, from Felixstowe to Singapore via the Bay of Biscay, Suez Canal, Gulf of Aden and the Malacca Straits.
She follows the vast and circuitous routes travelled by mercantile and naval fleets, pirate gangs and illegal floating factories, meeting seafarers, dockworkers, tycoons, missionaries, stevedores, ship-spotters, beachcombers, environmentalists and even whales along the way.
She reports on those who spend their working lives on ships, their experience at sea burdened by boredom and loneliness but tempered by the occasional survival story.
She investigates the poor regulation endemic in the shipping industry which leaves crews with little protection and allows companies to deny their responsibilities.
With stories of pirates, pollution, wreckage, rescue, whales and dolphins, mapping, navigation and invisibility, this is essential reading for anyone curious about the complex systems behind our convenient modern world.

Links :

The Guardian : book review
Forbes : Shipping: Globalization's Lifeblood

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Don Walsh: "Going the Last Seven Miles"

Captain Don Walsh stops by the Googleplex to discuss: "Going the Last Seven Miles - a Personal Odyssey."
Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard were the first people to go to the Marianas Trench over 50 years ago.
Only James Cameron has been back since.
Don jokes that he should have written a book called "The Right Stuff, Wrong Direction", alluding to how much public interest space has generated related to the deep ocean, our own innerspace.
He advises the XPRIZE, is an Ocean Elder, and has captained a nuclear submarine.
Next year he'll be on a National Geographic Lindblad expedition through the Northwest Passage.