Samurai in early 1600s Spain!

This follows on from a map story here. A follow-up is here.

Update: fascinating twist in failed outreach by Elizabeth I to China below.

Update 2: mid-19th c. 2nd mission to France mapped the same way @ bottom.

I thought that So. Cal. Spanish missions were early (mid-18th c.)... well here's an earlier story of intrepid early diplomats & missionaries - not seasoned sailors as Longest tall ships routes here - after long-distance missionaries of the Apostolic Levant here. Perplexity opens here as:

More map art, Part II

This follows on a map story here. The next one is here. 

The original "More map art" is  here: a world map in Natural Earth projection with Mean Annual Climate Temperatures and Natural Earth countries.

Update: "It's an Ocean World - Campaign for Our Ocean Planet" (WHOI) promotes the Spilhaus projection... & won a Webby award for it!

Equal Earth vs. Spilhaus projection, masking onshore areas

The original post starts as "a few years ago I used Charlie Frye's online lesson Explore future climate projections to learn how to use NetCDF and map temperature regimes - it's shown below in Patterson & Savaric's Equal Earth Projection..."

2050 Scenario? Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

This follows on a map story here.  The next one is here.

After revisiting a number of topics for just over a year here, let's address an item of some urgency: stalling the Gulf Stream may end Western Europe's historic privilege; to be a warm enclave between two 'normal' bands at its latitudes. It's not an Ice Age but think how much colder New York and Montreal are than London or Paris. 

It may be hard to wrap our minds around cooling at a time where climate warming hits the headlines - and rightfully so -  and before climate deniers jump on this, please consult the scientific consensus behind all this under two Microsoft Copilot headings at the bottom: AMOC update, a political declaration of Nordic countries affected and estimated timeline of its collapse.

Update 1: AMOC collapse effect presented at the National Emergency Briefing last week in London here HT YouTube @JustHaveaThink

Update 2: data support my graphics under Precisions just before Bonus at the bottom.

Longest haul flights, longest rivers, longest tall ships routes & bonus map

This follows on a map story here. The next one is here.

A series of maps are posted here; they're in desktop and map or poster but not web format as explained here & here; sit back folks, relax & enjoy the map story time...

I repost a cool map on long haul flights: I grew up taking earlier ones over 50 yrs. ago; one of the carriers I used, Qantas just announced here jets that can fly Sydney to New York or London direct! Next is a new map of the longest rivers from a website priding itself of its visualisations: I used previous techniques and cannot decide which works best; perhaps you the reader can help?

Update: added a long section on longest sailing routes by 18-19 c. tall ships (think Cutty Sark here).

Update 2: this post here follows on this series of offline maps

Exhuming my thesis, part III

Update 3: follow here for the last post closing the series with AI to the rescue.

Update 2: added an intriguing speculation on the adjacent Sudbury Nickel Irruptive

Update 1: follow-on post here on a series revisiting maps or posting off-web.

Following on Parts I & II here & here, respectively, here is an article on the breakup of Nuna Province in current N China: it gives new impetus to plate tectonics around 1.5GA - see Part II for another example -  such dynamic processes were proposed in my thesis paper over 40 yrs. ago here, where I applied recent plate dynamics to the Proterozoic of Southern Province of N Ontario Canada of similar age and make-up of Nuna Province. I looked at it from a structural geologic perspective, using intrusives cross-cutting relationships as date markers. The new paper actually dated similar intrusives in present day N China.

More maps, in 3D now

Update 3: follow on next post "Even more maps, with a twist" here.

Update 2: found a textbook example of  "carving upstream" in this gorgeous video of the Uinta Mountains of Wyoming.

Update 1: more offshore canyons crowning Antarctica found with new digital terrain data and give us a beautiful map @ bottom.

This follows on the previous map story here. The next one is here for maps & here for geomorphology. 

My web footprint

Let me highlight the importance of the recent topic of AI my Community Interest Company delved into and I used in various forms shared in the last post here. Open this blog's  desktop version here, look at the stats at its right... and you'll see why the curve below spikes at far right here!

click to enlarge, original here

Andrew's AI crash-course

Last update by the numbers at bottom, with a dash of humour

One more for the road: Andrew Zolnai Private Blog, AI help example

Ongoing 'AIding' Tool closed, above videos & at bottom

Updated last Medium Pro. post just above Medium Perso.

Added: AI generated GIS maps, under Flickr

Added fact-checking tip & shortcut under: AI's little helpers, halfway down

New channels: Kuwaiti blog, YouTube Shorts and Other

New how-tos: building AI agents + disaster response

New human-centeredness: with a little help from AI

New tools: Copilot help & Perplexity summaries

New twist: look for AI-assisted story-telling below

Update 4: a three-part manifesto closes this review

Update 3: added a note on "AI's little helpers"

Update 2: a French look into the future of AI

Update 1: ongoing collection of AI mods on Flickr 

Have I mentionned that AI will need skilled writers more than skilled coders? Forbes wrote here about a US efforts in that regard. [ 6 mo. update: Fortune reiterated that here. ] The one thing AI won't replace,  acc. to the starred "AI-ding Tool" example below is curiosity:  it mirrors Steve Jobs' "stay hungry, stay foolish" at Stanford 2005 Commencement Address here.

Another map request

Update 2: added a new map post here in my ongoing series of revisiting here

Update 1: added at bottom a new map adding to an existing Antarctic project

Pyrénées

When visiting the nearby village of Pontacq (Flickr & village site), the glorious sunshine showed the Pic do Midi de Bigorre (Wikipedia) so clearly we could see the observatory atop! It's the left peak in the central massif below.

Reposting stories from original website

As I prepare to end this blog, let's follow on recent updates: 

Aug. '24: A return to my roots
Oct. '24: "Where in the world...", updated
Oct. '24: Global sea level rise revisited
Oct. '24: Northwest Passage Reloaded
Nov. '24: Cumbria classic revisited...
Dec. '24: Exhuming my thesis area... & Jan. '25: update
Jan. '25: London Thames Barrier... & Feb. '25: update
Feb. '25: Beechey Island update
Feb. '25: East Anglia Peatlands revisited