Map Keys 2005-02-24

In this edition: Magnetic North on the move; Moble GPS sets as bad as cell phones for driving?; Not the real thing in Shanghai; Google Earth for Panther.

Transit of the Magnetic North Pole, 1600-Present (source http://geo.phys.uit..../articl/magnorpe.gif)

Magnetic North Moves to Siberia

The above chart, excerpted from a graphic at http://geo.phys.uit..../articl/magnorpe.gif, tells an intriguing tale. The magnetic poles are on the move.

Actually, this isn’t a secret; USGS map users and orienteers well know that magnetic north differs from true, and that it varies. The earth’s magnetism seems driven by the fluid nature of our planet’s outer core, and wanders due to forces not yet completely known or understood. What’s remarkable about the current travel of the magnetic poles is that, at current rate and direction of progress, magnetic North will be near Siberia within the next century, and Alaska and northern Canada may lose sight of the aurora borealis within 50 years.

Researchers from Oregon State University announced these findings at a recent meeting of the American Geophysical Society. Also of note was the observation that the rate of travel of the pole has accelerated over the last century, and the earth’s magnetosphere, though it has decreased about 10 percent over the last 150 years, is in no danger of collapsing as some may fear.

Stop Navigating and Drive!

The concept of distraction from cellular telephone use by automobile drivers is a well-known issue, and a concern amongst all who use the public byways. But who would have thought that the same thing may be happening with the GPS-enabled?

According to a study recently released by British auto-insurance company Privilege Insurance, handling a GPS unit while driving can cause an even more serious distraction than navigating with a paper map; 19 percent of GPS users lost concentration while piloting a car, compared to 17 percent who used the dead-tree version.

Amongst the factors cited are drivers inputting routes as they go and not reviewing directions before starting out: modern GPS sets are accurate but may not be 100% aware of such things as the correct direction on one-way streets.

One Night In Shanghai

Map fraud comes in many shapes, colors, and forms. A particularly interesting sort has been shaping up in Shanghai, China, for a while now.

Essentially the way it works is this: take one good authentic map, scan it, and have a printer print up a run of counterfeits. Package it up along with a forged anti-forgery sticker, and put it on offer for as little as half of the cost of the original, then watch the money roll in.

The Shanghai Daily reports that the two steering the scheme have made 10,000 yuan (USD$ 1,234) over a period of several months. The maps, celling for about 1.7 yuan (compare with 3.3 yuan for authentic maps) are described by a spokesman for the local Cultural Protection Department as “of inferior quality and full of mistakes”. The whistle was blown when the legal producer of Shanghai city maps reported seeing a flood of counterfeits.

There is no word yet on what penalties, if any, the counterfeiters stand to suffer.

Panther Prowls Google Earth

The renowned application Google Earth has quietly rolled out a new update (3.1.0617.0 beta), which is available now. Good news for Mac OS X Panther users: Google Earth is good to go for OS X 10.3.9 and up.

That’s all for this edition. Have an interesting bit of news or something weird, wild, and/or wonderful that you’d like us to share? Tip us off!

Credit where due: CCAer, The Map Room, Breitbart.com, Betanews.com, Ogle Earth.