Arctic journal

Surf trip in the North : 25,000 km in a van over 5 months

This authentic journey is punctuated by enriching human encounters, but also moments of profound solitude.

It is filled with intense happiness, but also challenges and problems to overcome.

“Arctic journal” offers the opportunity to rediscover the true essence of the surf trip, where exploration goes beyond the waves to embrace the diversity of cultures, landscapes, and personal challenges. 

Study reveals shipping companies embrace AI pilots, yet struggle with scaling and trust

Beyond the Hype: What the Maritime Industry Really Thinks About AI….
And Where They’re Making It Work by Thetius in partnership with Marcura.

From The DigitalShip by by Arnel Murga

A new study shows shipping companies are excited about artificial intelligence but still wary of its risks.
While many see efficiency gains, others warn of “misplaced trust”; “poor implementation”; and overreliance and the loss of human judgment.
The challenge is moving from pilot projects to meaningful adoption.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving fast into the maritime sector, long known for its slow pace in adopting new technology.
A new report (Beyond the Hype: What the Maritime Industry Really Thinks About AI….
And Where They’re Making It Work) by Thetius, in partnership with Marcura, suggests that shipping companies are in rapid shift in AI adoption, from 10-15 years as a standard into just 2 to 3 years.

The survey of 130 maritime professionals and multiple in-depth interviews across the industry shows that optimism is high.
82% believe AI can improve operational efficiency and reduce workloads.
81% of respondents say their companies have already launched pilots or small-scale projects.

Yet only 11% have a formal policy to scale AI.
Most are stuck in the experimental stage who are unable to fully integrate new systems into core operations.
A further 18% are still exploring AI with limited hands-on experience.

The benefits of AI are not in doubt.
97% of respondents said the technology is useful for reducing manual workflow inefficiencies, including “augmenting inboxes to automatically flag key data”.
87% said it helps in analyzing charter party contracts, while 85% pointed to its usefulness in both voyage operations and regulatory compliance monitoring.


For some executives, the promise is transformative.
“AI is a real value.
It is not just a technology.
It is solving actual pain points faster, smarter, and at scale,” said Theofano Somaripa, Group CIO at Newport S.A.

At the same time, optimism does not always translate into readiness.
Only 23% of companies are training staff to build confidence in AI.
Even fewer, 17%, are being transparent about how AI makes decisions inside their organization.
This requires both stronger governance and education because early excitement risks stall before meaningful adoption.

A chief engineer for a shipping company with between 251 and 1,000 employees admitted he was unsure about AI’s role in his job.
He said he was “somewhat optimistic about AI but unsure about how it could or should be used” within his role.
This uncertainty reflects a broader gap between leadership vision and frontline reality.

Trust and Human Resistance

The report highlights that the biggest blockers to AI adoption are not technical, but human.
66%of respondents worry that overreliance on AI will reduce human skills and oversight.
37% had personally witnessed an AI project fail.
The study suggests that the industry is learning from mistakes rather than abandoning AI entirely.

“Many operators fear losing control.
They’ve spent decades honing their judgment in high-stakes roles like chartering and operations.
So when AI is introduced, there’s a perception that machines are taking over, not assisting,” said Janani Yagnamurthy, Vice President of Analytics at Marcura.

These concerns are especially strong in high-responsibility jobs.
Charter managers, operations managers and captains often see autonomous systems as a threat to their expertise.
Even when AI is only making recommendations, many feel it is the start of a slippery slope where human judgment could be sidelined.

In commercial roles, the fear is about losing “human touch”.
“In the shipping industry there is still that feeling of the person, the face-to-face relationships and not just the computer,” said Giuseppe Oliveri, Director at d’Amico.

For seafarers, the disconnect is ever broader.
Steven Jones, Founder of the Seafarers Happiness Index, said that AI is still largely absent from day-to-day shipboard operations.
Sales teams may promote new solutions, but crew often face the burden of figuring out how to use them under time pressure.
“Salespeople sell a dream… and then time-stressed seafarers are left trying to unbox and make it work,” Jones said.

Trust issues also stem from experience.
A master mariner with more than two decades at sea said he lost faith in AI tools after incorrect data filtering led to poor results.
“The systems were lacking.
While the intentions were good, the data wasn’t being filtered properly and it was leading to incorrect information output,” he said.

Part of the problem, the report argues, is misleading language.
Referring to systems as “intelligent” or “autonomous” risks over-trust.
In reality, most maritime AI is predictive but not autonomous, and depends on data quality.
As one ship manager explained, the danger is in treating AI as smarter than it is.
“People train their AI models but they don’t train their people.
If the crew and the office do not understand the AI outputs, it could lead to misuse, which creates mistrust.
We need to first train our people and our minds,” he said.

The emotional side of adoption also matters.
Workers who see themselves as “pilots” of AI and actively steer the technology, are more productive and loyal than those who feel like “passengers.” Building this pilot mindset is crucial to bridging the trust gap.

Risks and the Road Ahead

Beyond emotional resistance, there are practical concerns about the risks of AI in maritime.
The most common involve data privacy, job displacement, regulatory uncertainty and overhyped vendor claims.

61% of professionals cited cybersecurity and data breach vulnerabilities as their biggest concern in implementing AI in maritime operations.
Many fear that uploading sensitive charter party or voyage data into generic AI systems could expose confidential commercial information.
Insecure practices, such as pasting data into open platforms, increase this risk.

Job loss remains a sensitive topic.
15% of respondents said they were very concerned about AI replacing roles, while another 23% said they were somewhat concerned.
A maritime consultancy manager with more than 20 years of experience warned, “In five years, it may well make me redundant (or looking for a new job!).”

Yet some executives view AI differently.
A CEO said he was not looking to cut headcount but to “handle 2x the business with the same headcount.” Others stressed that AI should be seen as a way to automate repetitive tasks.
Ai will be freeing staff for higher-value work.

Vendor hype is another major stumbling block.
Nearly a quarter of respondents said they distrust vendor claims, and 37% have seen AI projects fail or cause harm.
Some companies have cut ties with suppliers after finding tools did not match operational needs.
Transparency is seen as the solution.
“The vendors walked us through everything… They answered every question, and that openness built the trust we needed to move forward,” said Ha Eun Ruppelt, a Maritime Transformation Advisor.

The danger of AI “hallucinations” is also large.
Without maritime-specific training, generic AI tools can misinterpret terms.
Yagnamurthy of Marcura offered a telling example.
“A general AI agent might say that SF means standard form, but in shipping, it means storage factor,” she said.

The report suggests that vertical AI, built on maritime data and workflows, will be key to avoiding these pitfalls.
Companies that develop context-specific solutions will gain faster trust and adoption.

For now, most shipping firms remain at the pilot stage.
81% are experimenting, but only a third have progressed into full adoption.
Without clear policies, training, and leadership support, the industry risks moving too quickly on hype, or too slowly out of caution.

“AI will be a part of our life, like it or not.
In a few years, we could not imagine how life was before AI implementation, like we cannot imagine how to live without electricity,” said Newport S.A.’s Somaripa.

The study concluded that “AI in maritime is no longer just a technical project.
It is a governance, cultural and communication challenge.
The companies that succeed will be those that combine transparency, leadership, and industry-specific solutions, while keeping human expertise at the center of decision-making.”

 

Links :

• ITBriefs : Maritime firms upbeat on AI yet struggle to scale beyond pilots
• Maritime Executive : AI Pilot-Assist Technology Has Arrived on the Mississippi River / Study: Maritime Industry is Trying Out AI, But is Still Skeptical 
• Safety4Sea : New research finds maritime professionals rejecting full automation
• ABB : Using AI in the marine industry
• Marine Insight : Mythos AI Installs First-of-its-Kind Navigation Safety System on Southern Devall Tow Vessel 

Local boaters help scientists map the seafloor

Through crowdsourced bathymetry, scientists tap into local boating communities to gather data about water depths.
Credit: Sarah Grasty

From USF by Dyllan Furness, College of Marine Science

A seafloor mapping project is making waves in Tampa Bay and across the globe.

Launched by researchers at the USF College of Marine Science, the innovative program called Crowd the Bay taps into the local boating community to gather data about water depths throughout the region.
The effort supports more detailed seafloor maps for Tampa Bay and serves as a blueprint for augmenting nautical charts across Florida, the nation, and beyond.

A paper detailing the initiative was recently published in the Marine Technology Society Journal.

“Crowd the Bay is our approach to ‘crowdsourced bathymetry,’ which focuses on the collection and distribution of depth measurements using vessels on routine operations,” said Sherryl Gilbert, program manager for the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies(COMIT) and lead author of the recent study.
“We’ve had a lot of success improving seafloor maps for Tampa Bay. Other regions that are under-resourced in terms of depth measurements and related products to promote safe navigation can use our playbook to develop ‘right-sized’ and targeted programs for their specific needs. The tools exist for a grassroots effort.”

Seafloor mapping, or bathymetry, dates back thousands of years.
Ancient mariners used weights attached to ropes to determine the depth of navigable water bodies and develop nautical charts.

Bathymetry today involves far more advanced technologies, including Global Positioning System (GPS) antennae and echosounders, but the goal — safety — remains the same.
High-quality seafloor maps ensure safe navigation for vessels engaged in commercial shipping, fishing, or recreational activities.

The figure above provides a snapshot showing contributions to crowdsourced bathymetry from the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT).
The panel on the left shows pre-COMIT vessel tracks.
The panel on the right shows updated vessel tracks from COMIT.
Gilbert, et al.

“It may come as a surprise that some depth measurements in Tampa Bay are decades old,” said Gilbert.
“In Florida, where coastal regions can change rapidly due to currents, tides, and severe storms, it’s critical that we have up-to-date data about water depth.”

Key to crowdsourced bathymetry is the ease with which boaters can participate.
To take part, vessels need only a National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) network, GPS antenna, depth sounder, and small data logger.
The logger records depth and positional data from the other sensors as the boat goes about its regular business.

COMIT, a cooperative agreement with the Office of Coast Survey at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has partnered with public and private boaters to gather data in Tampa Bay.
Eckerd College, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Pinellas County Environmental Management, Chance Maritime, and Ballyhoo Media, which operates floating billboards, have each participated in the program.
Additional partners include private citizens who’ve volunteered their personal vessels for Crowd the Bay.

The Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies has partnered with boaters from Eckerd College, the U.S.
Geological Survey, and the Pinellas County Environmental Management to improve seafloor maps in Tampa Bay.
Credit: Sarah Grasty

These combined efforts have contributed nearly five million depth soundings to the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), an intergovernmental organization coordinating international seafloor mapping programs.

“As the number of these observations increase, their contributions to improving the quality and value of crowdsourced bathymetric data will continue to significantly grow,” said Jennifer Jencks, director of the IHO Data Center for Digital Bathymetry and head of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information Ocean and Coastal Mapping team.
“This is true whether volunteers are exploring data-sparse areas or spending an afternoon in heavily trafficked places, where chart information might already be vast.”

The broad impact of Crowd the Bay was apparent at a meeting in New Zealand, where seafloor-mapping professionals from around the world gathered to share resources and learn from one another during hands-on sessions.
Kristin Erickson, coordinator of the Florida Coastal Mapping Program (FCMaP) and co-author of the recent paper, attended the meeting to brush up on best practices and learn about new tools in hydrography.

A pleasant surprise came when attendees turned to Erickson and her colleagues at COMIT as the experts in crowdsourced bathymetry.

“It became clear pretty quickly that what we’re doing in Tampa Bay has become a model for researchers globally,” Erickson said.
“There were representatives at the meeting from all over the world.
Time and again they referenced COMIT as a leader in the field and identified Crowd the Bay as a blueprint for how they want to develop their crowdsourced bathymetry programs.”

Back home in Tampa Bay, COMIT continues to refine the program.

Along with graduate student Sophie Chernoch, Erickson is finalizing protocols and standard operating procedures that can be used to streamline on-boarding of new mapping partners.
These protocols will be provided to the IHO for broader distribution.

“The protocols and procedures we’re developing will help other organizations launch their own programs for crowdsourced bathymetry,” said Chernoch, who joined the college to work with COMIT and learn how to incorporate seafloor mapping tools into a broader understanding of climate and sea level history in Florida.
“It’s exciting to contribute to a program like Crowd the Bay that not only improves data for nautical charts in Tampa Bay but has also made an impact outside the region.”

 

Links :

• Ingeta : Partnering with the “Crowd”: Development of a Community Bathymetry Program in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
• GeoGarage blog : NOAA announces launch of crowdsourced bathymetry database / Beta test of crowdsourced bathymetry holds promise for ... / Can a map of the ocean floor be crowdsourced? / smart ocean planning using crowdsourced data / Studying Arctic fjords with crowdsourced science and sailboats / Citizen scientists to help map the reef / World Hydrography Day! In honor of the IHO theme ... / With old traditions and new tech, young Inuit chart their ...

Arctic ice melt has slowed despite record heat. Is that a good sign?

The scientific research vessel Kronprins Haakon moves through a fjord covered with sea ice in eastern Spitzbergen on April 6.
(Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images)  

 

From Washington Post by Kasha Patel

The slowdown may continue for another five to 10 years, though later on, sea ice could melt faster than the long-term average

The melting of Arctic ice has been one of the most profound ripple effects from climate change, an impact often depicted with images of a lone polar bear stranded on a dwindling piece of sea ice.
Now, a new study has found that ice has been melting more slowly over the past two decades across all seasons — even under a record-hot atmosphere.

From 2005 to 2024, scientists say Arctic sea ice has been declining at its slowest rate for any 20-year period since satellite measurements began in 1979.
Using two different datasets, the team found that the melt rate over the past 20 years has been at least twice as slow as the longer-term rate.

The slowdown is temporary, models show.
It may continue for another five to 10 years, and afterward, sea ice may melt faster than the long-term average — offsetting any short reprieve that we may have had.

“Even though there is increased emissions [and] increased global temperatures, you can still get periods where you have very minimal loss of Arctic sea ice for sustained periods,” said Mark England, lead author of the study, published this month in Geophysical Research Letters.

Here’s what to know about variations in how ice declines in the Arctic.

Why is Arctic ice melting more slowly in recent decades?

Let’s boil the factors influencing Earth’s climate down to a simple equation: humans and the planet’s natural cycles.

Human activities are unequivocally warming the planet by releasing greenhouse gases, which trap heat in our atmosphere and accelerate ice melt.AI Icon

But while climate change has been the overriding factor driving ice decline, scientists say natural variations on Earth — such as El Niño or the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation — can also have different effects on our environment across time.

The most common driver in Earth’s natural cycles is the difference in how much energy is exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere, said Alex Crawford, an assistant professor of environment and geography at University of Manitoba in Canada who was not involved in the study.

“There’s always energy going back and forth between the atmosphere and ocean,” Crawford said.
“For various reasons, the oceans can store much, much more energy than the atmosphere.”

In some years, he said the world’s oceans take in a little more energy than normal, which will make the global atmosphere cooler than normal.
If the oceans take in a little less energy than normal, the global atmosphere will be warmer than normal.

“The most famous example of this is El Niño and La Niña, but there’s also longer-term variability that can take place over several decades and either amplify (e.g., the 2010s) or weaken (e.g., the 2000s) the global warming trend,” Crawford said.
“This is all normal.”

Over the past two decades, England said the planet’s natural cycles perhaps helped create cooler waters around the Arctic that favored sea ice growth.
Still, added heat from human activities has counteracted this growth and led to an overall deficit.

For perspective, without climate change, these natural variations perhaps would have even caused the sea ice to grow in these past two decades, England said.

How rare is this slowdown in Arctic ice melt?

Even with high greenhouse gas emissions, scientists have found that periodic slowdowns do occur.

In the study, the team analyzed past climate models that showed these slower ice losses over the past two decades.
They found these slowdowns occurred about 20 percent of the time in simulations.

“This isn’t some infrequent rare event. This is something which should be expected as a part of the way that the climate system evolves,” said England, who conducted the study as a senior research fellow at the University of Exeter and is now an assistant professor at the University of California at Irvine.

In addition, the team found the current slowdown has a 50 percent chance of lasting for five more years and a 25 percent chance of lasting another 10 years.

Polar scientist Alexandra Jahn, who was not involved in the research, said her own work showed slower Arctic sea ice melt occurred commonly across 10-year periods — even in the presence of human-caused warming.

After this slowdown episode ends, Jahn said, “eventually we’ll see a decline again.”

Does this slower ice melt mean climate change is slowing down?

Multiple factors make clear that climate change is not slowing down.
Carbon dioxide concentrations are still at their highest levels in human history, growing at their fastest rate in our observed records.
Earth’s hottest years have all occurred in just the past decade, with multiple record years in the Arctic.

“If you look at global temperatures, they are definitely not slowing down,” England said.
“The debate now is whether they are speeding up.”

Additionally, climate models showed these slowdowns are possible even in a world that continues to warm.
Similar to the past two decades, Earth’s natural cycles may favor more ice growth and slow down melting.

Think of the Arctic sea ice trend as a ball rolling down a hill, explained climate scientist Ed Hawkins.
The ball may hit some bumps that slow it down, but it will be heading toward the bottom as greenhouse gas emissions continue.

Is Arctic ice in good health now?

Even though the rate of Arctic ice melt has slowed, ice is still declining in large quantities.

Using two different datasets, study authors found the melt rate over the past 20 years has been about 0.35 million and 0.29 million square kilometers per decade (depending on the dataset).
Since 2010, the team found, the volume of ice loss amounted to about 0.4 million cubic kilometers each decade.

Overall, sea ice conditions at the end of the summer are at least 33 percent lower now than they were 45 years ago.

The decades-long loss of ice has increased ship traffic in the region, making travel easier for tourists and ships.

Communities around the Bering and Chukchi seas have reported substantial die-offs of sea birds, such as ducks and puffins, probably due to starvation and low sea ice.
The sea ice retreat has forced Indigenous hunters to travel farther and spend more time hunting walruses and bowhead whales, also facing higher waves because of less sea ice.

Although the Arctic is low, England said it’s better than the area being completely ice-free.
But he expects an accelerated loss once this period subsides.
On average, he said sea ice loss has amounted to about 0.8 million square kilometers per decade over the long term.
The subsequent ice melt could be 0.6 million square kilometers per decade faster than the broader long-term decline, the study found.

“This temporary period can’t go on forever,” England said.
“It’s bit like a kind of sugar rush.
It feels good … and at some point it will kind of crash.”

India’s influence in Indian Ocean will be shaped more by undersea surveys than warships

 

File photo of INS Imphal | Commons

From ThePrint by Abhijit Singh  

China’s growing deployment of survey vessels in the Indian Ocean underscores a reality only recently acknowledged in the wider strategic discourse: hydrography is geopolitical currency.

In the contested waters of the Indo-Pacific, strategic power is increasingly being shaped not by the aggressive manoeuvring of warships, but by the quiet, deliberate movementof survey vessels.
In the South China Sea, China’s hydrographic expeditions are mapping every contour and feature of the seabed, driving Beijing’s expansive maritime claims in contested waters.
In places like Spratlys Islands and Paracel Islands, data gathered through seabed surveys drives Beijing’s legal claims to sovereignty — claims that bolster strategic infrastructure development and enable the precise deployment of naval and paramilitary forces.
The message is clear: whoever maps the sea, masters it.

China’s survey ambitions are no longer confined to the Pacific.
Its research and hydrographic vessels have been sighted with increasing frequency in the Indian Ocean — off the coasts of Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and even Myanmar.
Last month, a French maritime intelligence firm flagged a Chinese research vessel operating in the Bay of Bengal, raising concerns in New Delhi.
Ostensibly conducting scientific research, such vessels are widely known to be collecting bathymetric data in strategic channels and exclusive economic zones where China holds no sovereign stake.
For regional navies, the pattern is hard to ignore: hydrography is no longer a benign, technocratic pursuit for China.
It is, in fact, an enabler of maritime influence, a precursor to a wider strategic presence.
 

Strategic utility of maritime survey

China’s growing deployment of survey vessels in the Indian Ocean underscores a reality long evident to naval practitioners, but only recently acknowledged in the wider strategic discourse: hydrography is geopolitical currency.
It provides the means to assert maritime jurisdiction, to enable safe navigation, and — crucially — to shape the legal and physical architecture of maritime space.
In a maritime environment increasingly defined by low-end competition and grey-zone operations, the ability to chart waters and build marine capacity is increasingly vital to influence-building.


China’s maritime activism has been noted in India, whose own approach rests on very different foundations.
Where Beijing’s maritime forays raise concerns of covert surveillance and unilateralism, New Delhi’s outreach is shaped by transparency, partnership, and a deepening of trust.
Over the past two decades, India has leveraged its hydrographic and meteorological expertise to become a sought-after partner in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) — not through the assertion of hard power, but by enabling littoral states to unlock their maritime potential.

Mauritius offers a compelling case in point.
With India’s assistance, the island nation recently completed a hydrographic survey of more than 25,000 square nautical miles — a quiet but consequential step toward strengthening maritime infrastructure, planning coastal development, and managing marine resources sustainably.
Indian survey ships have also undertaken multiple missions in the waters of Seychelles, covering key areas around the nation’s three main islands: Mahé, La Digue, and Praslin.
Under a 2015 MoU, India providedhydrographic data, training, and chart-making support, which culminated in a 2020 survey whose updated nautical charts are now helping drive Victoria’s blue economy initiatives.
In the Maldives, too, Indian hydrographic ships were active in mapping regional seas until the current administration blocked the renewal of a pact for joint surveys.
Crucially, for New Delhi, collaborative efforts with Sri Lanka are helping define fishing zones, easing maritime tensions, and promoting shared stewardship of the seas.

India’s hydrography endeavours

At the heart of India’s cartographic diplomacy is the Indian Navy’s hydrographic department— an arm that has rarely drawn headlines but has steadily worked to extend India’s influence.
Naval survey ships, operating across the waters of the Indian subcontinent and the east coast of Africa, have carried out precision mapping of littoral zones, handing over modern, navigable charts to partner nations.
Crucially, they have done so without triggering the anxieties that often accompany the presence of foreign vessels.
There is no ambiguity in India’s intent; no dual-use argument cloaked in scientific jargon.
The credibility of these missions lies in their open, collaborative character.

The commissioning of INS Sandhayak — the first in its class of next-generation survey ships — in February 2024 has given this capability a significant boost.
The vessel marks a technological leap in India’s maritime mapping efforts, featuring advanced sonar systems, digital processing suites, and enhanced operational endurance.
It also marks a shift in mindset, with India now viewing hydrography not merely as a support function, but as a frontline tool of engagement and influence.

Another consequential aspect of India’s maritime engagement is human capital development.
As of June 2024, over 800 professionals from 41 countries, the vast majority from IOR states, have received training at India’s National Institute of Hydrography in Goa.
These are not mere technical apprenticeships; they are genuine capacity-building initiatives that empower countries to independently survey, map, and safeguard their maritime spaces.
Notably, India offers these capabilities without hidden costs — freely sharing tools, with no licensing fees or political quid pro quos.

No longer a backstage discipline

For all its strategic utility, hydrography remains under-recognised in India’s maritime imagination.
Still seen by many as a technical support function, it lacks the gravitas of more visibly combat-oriented missions.
That mindset needs to change.
As maritime competition shifts toward peacetime shaping and strategic presence, rather than force projection alone, the ability to map, monitor, and interpret the marine environment will be a decisive enabler of influence.

Undersea survey may lack the sheen of combat, but it is fast becoming central to maritime credibility, enabling presence where it matters, when it matters, in quiet and persistent ways.
In the years ahead, India’s leadership in the Indian Ocean will hinge less on the firepower of its warships and more on the precision of its technocratic engagement.
More often than not, that journey will begin with a map.

African Union joins calls to end use of Mercator map that shrinks continent’s size

 

From The Guardian by Reuters

Member states back Correct the Map campaign that urges governments and organisations to use more accurate map

 
The African Union has backed a campaign to end the use by governments and international organisations of the 16th-century Mercator map of the world in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa’s size.

Created by the cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, the projection distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles like North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America. 

“It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not,” the African Union Commission deputy chair, Selma Malika Haddadi, told Reuters, saying the Mercator fostered a false impression that Africa was “marginal”, despite being the world’s second-largest continent by area, with more than 1 billion people. The union has 55 member states.

 

 

View image in fullscreenA 16th-century map of Africa from Mercator’s atlas. Photograph: Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images

Such stereotypes influence media, education and policy, she said.

 

Gerardus Mercator. 

Photograph: Archive Photos/Getty Images

Criticism of the Mercator map is not new, but the Correct the Map campaign led by the advocacy groups Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa has revived the debate, urging organisations to adopt the 2018 Equal Earth projection, which tries to reflect countries’ true sizes.

“The current size of the map of Africa is wrong,” said Moky Makura, the executive director of Africa No Filter. 

“It’s the world’s longest misinformation and disinformation campaign, and it just simply has to stop.”

Fara Ndiaye, a co-founder of Speak Up Africa, said the Mercator affected Africans’ identity and pride, especially children who might encounter it early in school.
“We’re actively working on promoting a curriculum where the Equal Earth projection will be the main standard across all [African] classrooms,” Ndiaye said, adding she hoped it would also be the one used by global institutions, including Africa-based ones. 

 

Haddadi said the AU endorsed the campaign, adding it aligned with its goal of “reclaiming Africa’s rightful place on the global stage” amid growing calls for reparations for colonialism and slavery.
The AU will advocate for wider map adoption and discuss collective actions with member states, Haddadi added.
The Mercator projection is still widely used, including by schools and tech companies. 

Google Maps switched from Mercator on desktop to a 3D globe view in 2018, though users can still switch back to the Mercator if they prefer.

 

Links :

• DowntoEarth : Gerardus Mercator: Why the 16th century Fleming cartographer is in the African Union’s crosshairs
• GeoGarage blog : Mercator projection : the Greenland problem / Mechanics of map projections : the myth of Mercator / World Mercator projection with true country size added / First NOAA nautical map in Mercator projection / Princeton astrophysicists re-imagine world map, designing ... / The world map of the future might be vertical / The shape of the World, according to old maps / Why your mental map of the world is (probably) wrong / Gerardus Mercator : father of modern mapmaking / Japan's 'Good Design Award' goes to this crazy accurate ... / Google Maps now has a "Globe" projection instead of Web ... / These are the cleverest, weirdest mapping ideas ever ... / Advisory notice on "Web Mercator" / From Ptolemy to GPS, the brief history of maps / The end of the map : why the World looks the way it does / Lies, damned lies and maps / Finally, a world map that's all about oceans
  
  
  
  

Like a ballet in the deep blue

An indescribable diving encounter when a whale approaches the diver on its own pic.twitter.com/JtwHskpW5R

— ViralRush ⚡ (@tweetciiiim) August 22, 2025