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From Gulf of America to Lake of America or how President Trump changes geography by executive order

This US President and multiple assassination survivor is having too much fun in office!

"The executive order requires that the U.S. Interior Department update geographic information systems. It’s expected that official U.S. documents and communications will include the new name; it likely won’t be recognized by Canada. It isn’t the first time Trump has taken out his frustrations on America’s neighbors by renaming geography—in January, he renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”"

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Earth Embeddings: Toward artificial intelligence-centric representations of our planet

This could be an interesting, new paper (first published December 2025) by Stefano Ermon and team.

From the abstract:

"This paper presents a new perspective for the flexible and efficient representation of geospatial data, tailored to and empowered by AI:Earth embeddings.

Earth embeddings provide a unified and accessible vector representation of local geographic characteristics. They fuse different geospatial data sources across time and space, compress highly-correlated raw geospatial data into one dense representation, can be used to guide interpolation between data observations, and can serve as a universal location token for foundation models.

This provides a powerful alternative to existing geospatial workflows that rely on heterogeneous data, hard-to-acquire expertise, and significant computation by the user: embeddings instead provide convenient representations, easily adaptable for numerous downstream tasks.

We posit that Earth embeddings redefine geospatial analytics, transforming it from fragmented, task-specific modeling into a coherent, generalizable framework for AI.

We approach this from both the users’ and developers’ perspectives, outlining a path for how the rapidly developing technology of Earth embeddings can reshape the way we store, represent, and use geospatial data,evidenced by recent research charting initial directions.

We call on Earth embedding users and developers to align methodological and applied development and deployment within an interdisciplinary, open-source oriented research community."

Earth Embeddings: Toward artificial intelligence-centric representations of our planet | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore (open access???)

Earth Embeddings: Towards AI-centric Representations of our Planet (preprint, open access)

Ferry connecting Taiwan with Japan's Ishigaki island set for maiden voyage

Good news! It is stunning how geographically close some of Japanese islands are to Taiwan. It is a Japanese island chain that stretches almost from mainland Japan all the way to Taiwan.

Get on board if you can! 😊

Ferry connecting Taiwan with Japan's Ishigaki set for maiden voyage - Nikkei Asia "Service expected to buoy high tourist flows, strengthen ties in tense region"

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Iran's very dubious claim of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz

It seems to be an outrageous claim by the fanatic theocratic dictatorship and major global state sponsor of terrorism!

What about the the state of Oman or the United Arab Emirates?

All Western countries and beyond would be well advised to firmly reject this claim!

Take the Strait of Gibraltar as an example:

"The Strait of Gibraltar is classified under international law as a strait used for international navigation. Its legal status is primarily governed by the transit passage regime established by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

This regime guarantees all ships and aircraft the right of free, continuous, and expeditious transit between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, even when traversing the territorial waters of Spain, Morocco, or the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar." (Google AI)

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A complete, topographical map of the bedrock of Antarctica from satellite images. Really!

I have some serious doubts about this approach! Apparently, the available radar data of the bedrock of Antarctica was neither incorporated nor compared to.

"... A new approach could change that. Researchers have created a complete map of Antarctica’s bedrock simply by using satellite images of the surface, they report today in Science. The method, which extrapolates from subtle surface undulations in the ice to ascertain the features causing them at depth, could strengthen models of how Antarctica’s ice flows, a critical factor in how much slides into the sea and adds to sea level rise, the team says. ..."

"... A new approach could change that. Researchers have created a complete map of Antarctica’s bedrock simply by using satellite images of the surface, they report today in Science. The method, which extrapolates from subtle surface undulations in the ice to ascertain the features causing them at depth ...

Scientists have been mapping the world below Antarctica for decades using radar. The low-frequency radio waves can penetrate kilometers of clear ice, bouncing off layers in the ice, water, and the bedrock at the bottom. Still, the radars only see directly below them. These campaigns are sometimes separated by 100 kilometers, leaving wide swaths of the continent’s subsurface unexamined ..."

From the editor's summary and abstract:

"Editor’s summary

What do we know about the landscapes beneath the ice of Antarctica? Less than we know about Mercury. To map the continent’s subglacial topography, Ockenden et al. developed a way to invert ice surface satellite data based on the physics of how ice gets perturbed when flowing over bedrock features ... Their map unveils a variety of terrains, including high-relief alpine valleys, scoured lowlands, and deeply eroded ice stream troughs. The landscapes are more varied than presumed by earlier site-specific geophysical surveys, and the newly resolved topography will help to refine projections of ice loss and sea level rise. ...

Abstract

The landscape shrouded by the Antarctic Ice Sheet provides important insights into its history and influences the ice response to climate forcing. However, knowledge of this critical boundary has depended on interpolation between irregularly distributed geophysical surveys, creating major spatial biases in maps of Antarctica’s subglacial landscape. As stress changes associated with ice flow over bedrock obstacles produce ice surface topography, recently acquired, high-resolution satellite maps of the ice surface offer a transformative basis for mapping subglacial landforms.

We present a continental-scale elevation map of Antarctica’s subglacial topography produced by applying the physics of ice flow to ice surface maps and incorporating geophysical ice thickness observations. Our results enrich understanding of mesoscale (2 to 30 kilometers) subglacial landforms and unmask the spatial distribution of subglacial roughness and geomorphology."

ScienceAdviser

What’s below Antarctica’s ice? New map provides clearest view yet "Technique could improve models of how ice flows, bolstering predictions of sea level rise"

Uncovering Antarctica’s ice-draped landscape (Perspective, open access) "The mesoscale topographical variability beneath a continent-scale ice sheet is revealed"

Complex mesoscale landscapes beneath Antarctica mapped from space (open access)

Fig. 1. IFPA subglacial topography of Antarctica.

Will the Thai Canal finally be built? How eager is China? Will Japan support it?

I must admit either I forgot or I never heard of this major civil engineering project that could well compete with the Panama Canal or Suez Canal!

"The Thai Canal .. also known as the Kra Canal ... or the Kra Isthmus Canal ..., is any of several proposals for a canal that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand. Such a canal is suggested to significantly reduce travel times through heavily-navigated trade routes.

The canal would provide an alternative to transit through the Strait of Malacca and shorten transit for shipments of oil to Japan and China by 1,200 km. China refers to it as part of its 21st century maritime Silk Road. Proposals, as of 2015, measure 102 kilometres long, 400 meters wide and 25 meters deep. ...

A canal through the Kra Isthmus, which would shorten shipping times around Asia, was suggested as early as 1677. Thai King Narai asked the French engineer de Lamar to survey the possibility of building a waterway to connect Songkhla with Marid (now Myanmar), but the idea was discarded as impractical with the technology of that time. ..."

Thai Canal - Wikipedia

Credits: Thailands Jahrhundertentscheidung

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The alien lands once hidden beneath the ocean in Kazakhstan

Recommendable! Beautiful landscapes, canyons etc. As someone living in Arizona, I am getting a little envious! 😊

Google Earth turns 20: A look back on major moments

Happy birthday! I have used Google Earth frequently and found it very useful. It started with Street View.

"For 20 years, Google Earth has helped us explore and understand the world. With billions of images across aerial photography, satellite imagery, Street View and 3D visuals, Google Earth offers a stunning view of our world. ...

2005: Google Earth went viral at launch and was downloaded 100 million times in just its first week. Two months later, Hurricane Katrina hit, and we quickly worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to make updated imagery available to first responders on the ground — a preview of our future impact. ..."

Google Earth turns 20: A look back on major moments "We’re taking a look back at the major launches, moments and milestones that made Google Earth what it is today."

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone.

Bedrock Ocean dredges up $25M to map the seafloor with robots

We still know very little about our oceans! Maybe robotics will finally change that!

"Oceans may cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, but we have better maps of the moon than we do the seabed. There are good reasons for that: The ocean floor is obscured, and the harsh environment makes it hard to send humans down to get a closer look. But as robots improve, we may finally get a clearer picture of the deep abyss. 

There are a number of startups racing to map the ocean in greater detail, but the latest to snag fresh funding is Bedrock Ocean, which recently closed a $25 million Series A-2 round led by Primary and Northzone, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. Autopilot, Costanoa Ventures, Harmony Partners, Katapult, and Mana Ventures participated.

Bedrock Ocean has developed an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that runs for up to 12 hours off its lithium-ion batteries while mapping the floor using its sonar and magnetic sensors. ..."

Bedrock Ocean dredges up $25M to map the seafloor with robots | TechCrunch

Bedrock Ocean

A Vast Portion of the Arctic Ocean seafloor Has Just Been Mapped Out

Amazing stuff! We still do not have maps of the entire ocean floors!

Note the resolution is still only 100 × 100 meter grid cells. Pretty coarse I would say!

"It was never going to be a mean feat, having the entire world’s seafloor mapped out in detail by the year 2030. Particularly when the project officially only got underway in 2017. Nevertheless, it’s a vision now one giant step closer to reality, thanks to a recent triumph in the Arctic Ocean. ..."

"The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project is pleased to announce the publication of the latest version of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO), Version 5.0. This release adds 1.4 million square kilometers of mapping coverage – an area over three times the size of Sweden – to the global seafloor dataset.

This development represents a significant step forward in the mission to achieve a complete map of the seafloor by 2030, offering an unprecedented level of detail for the Arctic Ocean. It also provides vital insights for researchers and policymakers, contributing to safer navigation and more effective ocean exploration. ..."

From the abstract:

"Knowledge about seafloor depth, or bathymetry, is crucial for various marine activities, including scientific research, offshore industry, safety of navigation, and ocean exploration.

Mapping the central Arctic Ocean is challenging due to the presence of perennial sea ice, which limits data collection to icebreakers, submarines, and drifting ice stations. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) was initiated in 1997 with the goal of updating the Arctic Ocean bathymetric portrayal. The project team has since released four versions, each improving resolution and accuracy.

Here, we present IBCAO Version 5.0, which offers a resolution four times as high as Version 4.0, with 100 × 100 m grid cells compared to 200 × 200 m. Over 25% of the Arctic Ocean is now mapped with individual depth soundings, based on a criterion that considers water depth. Version 5.0 also represents significant advancements in data compilation and computing techniques. Despite these improvements, challenges such as sea-ice cover and political dynamics still hinder comprehensive mapping."

Arctic Ocean map an "unprecedented" milestone for Seabed 2030

New Arctic Ocean map marks key milestone in global seafloor mapping (original news release)

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 5.0 (open access)

Credits: A Vast Portion of the Arctic Ocean Has Just Been Mapped Out - Human Progress

Fig. 1 Overview maps illustrating Arctic Ocean bathymetry and source data for the compilation of IBCAO 5.0.

President Trump signs executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America’. Really!

I don't think his was a good idea! E.g. is he trying to annoy Mexico's President Sheinbaum right from the start? He should have put this off like the foreign trade tariffs on China!

Let's hope this was an isolated, one time only, nutty slippage by President Trump!

From Street View To AI — How Google Maps Mapped The World

Very recommendable! Amazing stuff! How Google developed a gigantic business out of these products.

Doldrums debunked: what really causes still water?

We still know very little about climate on earth. Global Warming is a hoax and Climate Change is a religion!

"... The windless equatorial region of the ocean, known as “the doldrums”, became so famous for stranding boats in the Age of Sail that the word has become part of our vernacular. ...

She examined the link between wind speeds and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) – a band of low-pressure air near the equator, which is caused by rising hot air.

The results showed that low wind speeds occurred in about 5% of the region at any given time, although their frequency varied by season.

These low wind speeds also coincided with clear, rainless, weather and cooler temperatures – conditions that imply sinking air masses, rather than rising air. ..."

From the abstract:

"The doldrums are regions of low wind speeds and variable wind directions in the deep tropics that have been known for centuries. Although the doldrums are often associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the exact relationship remains unclear. This study re-examines the relationship between low-level convergence and the Atlantic doldrums. By analyzing the frequency distribution of low wind speed events in reanalysis and buoy data, we show that the doldrums are largely confined between the edges of the ITCZ marked by enhanced surface convergence. While the region between the edges is a region of high time-mean precipitation, low wind speed events occur in the absence of precipitation. Based on these results, we hypothesize that low wind speed events occur in regions of low level divergence rather than convergence."

Doldrums debunked: what really causes still water?

New study sinks an old theory for low-wind equatorial regions (original news release)

The Calm and Variable Inner Life of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone: The Relationship Between the Doldrums and Surface Convergence (open access)

The Intertropical Convergence Zone between South America and Africa

The traditional explanation for low wind speeds in the doldrums

The new view:

One man decided to take on Google Maps, 20 years later OpenStreetMap is still going strong

Competition is good, more competition is better!

Unfortunately, the OpenStreetMap seems to be far less known than Google Maps! I have to admit to be little familiar with it.

One man decided to take on Google Maps, 20 years later OpenStreetMap is still going strong | TechCrunch "One of the internet’s most successful crowdsourcing projects passes the 20 year mark."

The Babylonian Map of the World with Irving Finkel | Curator’s Corner

Very recommendable! Excellent! Irving Finkel is outstanding!

Backed by Microsoft, AWS and Meta, the Overture Maps Foundation launches its first open map data sets

Competition is good, more competition is better!

"It’s not often you’ll find Microsoft, Amazon and Meta in the same room, collaborating toward the same goals. But that’s exactly what we have with the Overture Maps Foundation, an initiative to develop interoperable and open map data.

Launched in December 2022, the Overture Maps Foundation is an attempt to counter Google’s stranglehold on online mapping. The Linux Foundation-hosted outfit has been releasing early previews of its data sets over the past year, and the first beta incarnation arrived this April. But on Wednesday, we’re seeing the first formal fruits of this big collaborative effort: The initiative is launching a quartet of open data sets in general availability (GA). ..."

Backed by Microsoft, AWS and Meta, the Overture Maps Foundation launches its first open map data sets | TechCrunch

Middle East or West Asia?

They say geography and demography is destiny!

Is Europe part of West Asia or Eurasia? It depends on your standpoint or viewpoint.

If one considers the current oceans and population as the most defining criteria, the answer seems easier: There are the Americas, Africa, and Asia and a land bridge between Africa and Asia.

Geography and geopolitics? How do they mix!

As a European, I was very used to accept Middle East as the correct geographic designation. I have to admit, I was not really aware of the term West Asia as regards to the Middle East.

It was the Indian journalist Palki Sharma, who constantly refers to the Middle East as West Asia in her reporting that triggered my curiosity.

How the German cockroach conquered the world from Asia starting about 2,100 years ago

Amazing stuff!

"The German cockroach, the world’s most abundant kind, lives only among humans—and humans may be to blame for its spread. A genetic study published yesterday finds that medieval warfare and colonial trade helped it expand to nearly every corner of the globe.

The ubiquitous pest was first described in Europe in 1776, but DNA shows it had already made epic travels. A family tree based on 281 specimens from 17 countries indicates that its expansion began about 2100 years ago, after the German cockroach diverged from an Asian species, probably in India or Myanmar. It moved westward to the Middle East about 1200 years ago with the expansion of trade and warfare under two Islamic caliphates, the Umayyad and the Abbasid. The insects may have crossed the deserts by hitchhiking in bread baskets, the researchers say.

Next, about 390 years ago, the species expanded eastward to Southeast Asia, riding colonial trade routes. Within about a century, the roaches had arrived in Europe. More recently, steamships and improved housing—heating and plumbing create the warm, moist conditions cockroaches love—enabled the itinerant insects to spread around the globe. “The researchers show that adaptation to the human lifestyle was key for the spread, which I think is really original,” says conservation biologist Cleo Bertelsmeier, who was not involved in the work."

From the abstract:

"The origin of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is enigmatic, in part because it is ubiquitous worldwide in human-built structures but absent from any natural habitats. The first historical records of this species are from ca. 250 years ago (ya) from central Europe (hence its name). However, recent research suggests that the center of diversity of the genus is Asian, where its closest relatives are found. To solve this paradox, we sampled genome-wide markers of 281 cockroaches from 17 countries across six continents. We confirm that B. germanica evolved from the Asian cockroach Blattella asahinai approximately 2,100 ya, probably by adapting to human settlements in India or Myanmar. Our genomic analyses reconstructed two primary global spread routes, one older, westward route to the Middle East coinciding with various Islamic dynasties (~1,200 ya), and another younger eastward route coinciding with the European colonial period (~390 ya). While Europe was not central to the early domestication and spread of the German cockroach, European advances in long-distance transportation and temperature-controlled housing were likely important for the more recent global spread, increasing chances of successful dispersal to and establishment in new regions. The global genetic structure of German cockroaches further supports our model, as it generally aligns with geopolitical boundaries, suggesting regional bridgehead populations established following the advent of international commerce."

Trade and warfare helped a cockroach conquer the world

Solving the 250-year-old mystery of the origin and global spread of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (open access)

Fig. 1 Population genetic structure and global spread routes of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica.

Mappa Mundi: The greatest map of the medieval world

Very recommendable! Amazing stuff!