EVS-Islands

My Map of Bikini Atoll used in the Movie Godzilla - 1-Second of Movie Fame.

2015-01-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

Bikini Atoll RM

My 1-second of movie fame! Back in April/May, 2014, I got a call from a fellow representing Warner Bros Pictures. He asked if they could use my Bikini Atoll map in their upcoming movie, Godzilla. I said, "Sure, but it is going to cost you." Just prior to the movie's release, I was interviewed by a local newspaper columnist, Diane Bell. All of my students were pumped that their goofy teacher had a map in a movie.

As I said at the beginning of this post, 1-second is all that my map was on screen. Now that the movie is on television, I had my wife pause the movie so we could admire the map. Instead of a color version, they put the map into a grey news article, which was pasted on the apartment wall of Brian Cranston's character. The map flashed by and I smiled. How cool is that!

Enjoy!

Now You See Me - Too Long Between Posts

2015-01-21T10:25:00.001-08:00

Back to mapping! These past few years have been rather busy. Made many island maps, but none for this site. Well, that is going to change. Here are my goals as it relates to this site.

Post images of the islands that I have mapped over the past 2-years plus. They include low islands of Micronesia, islands throughout Melanesia (Papua New Guinea and surrounding area), the Falkland Islands, and assorted others.
Get started mapping and posting new and interesting islands.
Comment and share interesting news articles that focus on islands.
Post my completed maps into Wikipedia.
Learn how to add my completed maps into OpenStreetMap.
On occasion, make a few bucks off of my island mapping work.

That said, I'm certain that life will get in the way. Since I'm retired, I will strive to manage these disruptions and keep them out of the way of my mapping work. So glad to be back!

Titan's Mystery Island - My History with Titan's Methane Seas and My Contribution Toward Understanding this Mystery

2014-06-24T10:26:00.001-07:00

Now you see it. Now you don't. Titan's Mystery Island has lit up news feeds around the world and I have followed many of them with a keen, vested interest (more to follow). The original article, Transient features in a Titan sea, in Nature Geoscience, is the scholarly report on a transient feature that the news feeds are calling "Titan's Mystery Island". The free news feeds are numerous. My favorite article is contained in Sci-News.com. It is entitled Planetary Scientists Discover Mysterious Geologic Object on Titan. The article is well written and contains interesting images which help to clarify this interplanetary phenomenon.

First, let's give you some of my involvement with Titan's methane seas. On February 23, 2008, while visiting with my son's family, I made a map of an unnamed methane sea located on Titan, a moon of Saturn. Using Cassini derived PIA100008 imagery as my base image, I created a vector map entitled, "Titan's Unnamed Methane Sea".

PIA100008

My EVS Precision map of Ligeia Mare (formal name)

This map turned out to be one of my most popular. I even had a call from Spin wanting to write up the scientist behind this first map of an interplanetary liquid sea. After a brief phone interview, they weren't impressed that an ordinary "Joe" could make a quality map. It was fun none the less.

Back to my day job, teaching, and Titan's Unnamed Methane Sea was just a pleasant memory. Two days ago the "Transient Geologic Object" hit the news. As I read more and studied the image that displayed the transient object, I realized that it was a portion of the shoreline of my 2008 map.

Before (left) and After (right) and After, After (left)

This is not an insignificant portion of the shoreline. It covers an area of approximately 5600 sq kms (75 x 75 km). The sea, Ligeia Mare, is comparable in size to Lake Superior.

Just for the heck of it, I decided to study the phenomenon in more detail. I loaded the Before and After image into Global Mapper and began inspecting the image. The After portion seemed fatter than the Before. That would be my study question, just how much fatter is the After image then the Before image? I decided to divide the Before and After image into smaller panels to work with.

Before and After (Panel's Left, Middle Right)

The first panel seemed less complicated and allowed me to see how much fatter the After is compared to the Before.

Before and After, Panel Left

Since I love working with vector files, I figured that would be a good beginning. Right off, I didn't like the color differentiation. The various shades of brown did not, in my opinion, give me the comparison accuracy I desired. Global Mapper allows one to use color blend modes that can be applied to images. One of my favorites is Color Burn. With the proper background interesting color differentiation takes place. First I tried a white background.


Before and After, Panel Left with white (255,255,255) background

Yeah, it didn't work. Just a white image. Can't work with a blank canvas to accomplish what I wanted to do. I tried a number of other background colors. The best was a light blue (218,240,253) which made features on the image clearly definable.

Special Study Panel 1, Color Burn and light blue background

After studying the color burn, light blue background image, I decided to create a vector file that traced the green outlines of the pale blue area within the limits of the dark blue areas. The light blue areas appeared to define and match the lighter browns in the original image.

Digitizing the areas within the green outline and dark blue areas

I digitized my areas of interest. It took a couple of hours and lots of zooming to ensure the vectors were reasonably aligned with the green outlines. I digitized both Before and After creating polygons.

Special Study Panel 1, Color Burn and light blue background with digitized polygons

Special Study Panel 1, Color Burn and white background with digitized polygons

Special Study Panel 1, Original image with digitized polygons

The Before image contained 49 polygons with an area of 5.9633. Since my base image was not georectified, I wasn't concerned with the units of measurement, just the final figure that I would compare against the After image figure. The After image contained 40 polygons with an area of 7.2873. I divided 7.2873 by 5.9633 and arrived at 1.2220. Yes, the Before image is only 88% of the After image in areas within the green outlines. Seeing how the polygons line up on the original image, I'll go out on a limb (no peer review, please) and state that the After image geologic features on Panel 1 are approximately 22% larger than the geologic features in the Before image.

Is 22% significant? I think so. I intend to create polygons, using the same mapping processes, for Panels 2 and 3. At that time I will give my final results and I suspect they will read something like this, "After is Fatter than Before".

Until then, Enjoy!

Motu One, Marquesas islands, FP - How to Make a Good Map, Better.

2014-06-22T20:15:00.004-07:00


Motu One, Marquesas Islands, FP (Red Dot)

Let me begin by stating that this map is a redo. Back in April, 2006 I posted my first mapping effort of this little known reef located in the northern Marquesas (along with Eiao and Hatutu Islands). I constructed my first map of Motu One using Landsat ETM+ imagery and a Johnson Space Center image. Oh, how my craft has evolved.

Motu One - Original Map (April, 2006)

The basic shape of the reef was captured. The georeferencing of the base image was okay. In 2006, I did my digitizing using Global Mapper (still my favorite) and doing my final map composition in Marplot. The map is functional, but could use some work. by the way, thanks to German Wikipedia for using this map along with many of my others. In my retirement I am devoting myself to making island maps and this one has always fascinated me (the above water feature is a sandbar), I decided to redo it using some new base image resources.

STS033-74-43 Original Image (left) and 50° Right Tilted Image (right)

I took the original image, STS033-74-43 (left) and tilted it 50° to the right which is the approximate alignment of the three islands. Using GSHHS shorelines and Global Mapper's georectifying module, I was able to position the tilted image in it's proper geographical position (georectified it).

Motu One Image Mosaic (1:50,000)

Using my unnamed source (got to keep some secrets), I created a mosaic of Motu One. I georectified it using the STS033-74-43 tilted image. With this new imagery, details of the reef were revealed. It was time to redo my map of Motu One. Actually, I made a more detailed, accurate map of Motu One and with a better, more appealing presentation.

Motu One, FP - EVS Precision Map (1:50,000)

I do have a couple of reservations about this map. The sandbar/islands, shallow sand and shallow reef layers are accurate per my base image. The depressed portion in the center of the reef identified as middle sand and middle is reasonably digitized for my purposes, The deeper reef, mid-deep, is unfortunately the least accurate layer of this reef. The left portion is a guess, the right is a follows a deep reef. The guess work associated with the deeper reef can be corrected with better imagery. That, however, will have to wait for another day.

To my German and French wikipedians, I think this map is better then my April 2006 map. You are welcome to use it.

Enjoy!

Gough Island, SH - It's For the Birds!

2014-06-13T21:38:00.004-07:00

Gough Island, SH - EVS Precision Map (1:52,000)

Gough Island Location

It has been a long time! Too long between posts. Suffice it to say, I have been very busy in my day job, teaching and making maps of islands, but not having the time to post them. As of next Wednesday, June 18th, I am retired. People ask me if I will be able to keep busy. Yes, I tell them. I will make maps of islands. Enough about me. Let's talk about birds, graduate students, South African nautical charts and fiddling with a map layout.

The only people semi-permanently living on Gough Island are meteorologists. An occasional scientist will pay a visit, a few months at a time to check out the birds. Gough Island is an Important Bird Area according to Birdlife International. Three days ago I got an email from a South African graduate student on a months long stay on Gough Island counting birds and researching their habitats. He needed a vector map with reasonable contours. He wants to spatially display his findings on my map. Good for him!

Now about this South African nautical chart, SA-23. I was able to use the feature information on the chart to complete my map. Follow the above link and you can check the chart out.

This island is isolated, desolate and often surrounded by violent weather. But the birds love it! And so do I.

Enjoy!

Thoughts - Quantum GIS, Africa and 6th Graders, A Recipe for Mapping Success.

2012-01-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

If you have followed my posts you know that I do most of my mapping work in Global Mapper, a solid mapping program that is easy to use and handles very large format image files with ease (Landsat, SRTM, GeoTIFF). However, it costs real dollars. Big bucks for me and unaffordable bucks to outfit each student workstation with a mapping package. I have spent the last year learning how to make maps using Quantum GIS (QGIS), a well-maintained and powerful open-source mapping package.

I teach middle school students between the ages of 11 to 14, social studies which includes world history, US history and geography. We spend a good deal of time working with open-source software (OpenOffice, Irfanview, Audacity, etc.) to learn about our world and how to make effective use of technology in the classroom. I have always wanted to bring mapping into the classroom. This year I decided to give QGIS a try with my students. I was determined to teach my students how to identify and display spatial data on a map. That brings me to the West Africa map and QGIS..

This year all of my students are learning to make maps. They have learned the difference between vector files and raster images. They are becoming adept at labeling countries, cities, empires and city-states. They love to use all the wrong colors and fonts, but I let them because they are having fun making maps. So far the projects have been relatively simple, but challenging in a mapping sort of way.

Today, my 6th graders (11-years old) were identifying and labeling countries in Africa using QGIS and a variety of vector files and a large format raster image of Africa taken from the Natural Earth website. They finished the country identification phase of the mapping project and wondered what to do next. I said, "Make a capital city point file and identify and label African country's capital cities." In the past, I would have labored long and hard to teach them how to make and use a point file. We would have spent a great deal of time setting up the symbology and label parameters. However, today within minutes all of the students created their capital city point file, defined parameters and were busy plotting capital cities. How cool is that!

Enjoy! I know I sure am!

Samana Cay BF - Columbus' First New World Landfall?

2011-12-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

Samana Cay - Locator Map
Samana Cay - Landsat ETM+ Image N-18-20_2000(1:85,000)
Samana Cay - EVS Precision Map (1-85,000)
My interest in Samana Cay was the result of a serendipitous moment. A few evenings ago while editing my Islands of the World point file, I became curious about the Turks and Caicos Islands. Using my GSHHS World Shoreline map, I located the Turks and Caicos Islands. Not an area I have done much mapping in, but interesting. To the northwest was a small island off by itself, Samana Cay. Nothing particularly outstanding, just a nice little island facing the Atlantic Ocean. Curious soul that I am, I checked out the Wikipedia article and Wow! Some scholars think this might be the site of Christopher Columbus' first landfall in the New World. Pretty cool.

I identified the Landsat ETM+ mosaic, loaded it into Global Mapper and began mapping. The completed map is nice. The Landsat image is pretty cloudy. More research and my next Wow! Samana Cay is the largest uninhabited island in the Bahamas. An uninhabited island close to home (USA). How cool.

All of you Florida readers hunting for your Crusoe Getaway, Samana Cay could be your island. People from Acklins Island visit periodically to collect cascarilla bark. Other than the occasional Acklins Island visitors, you could be all alone contemplating whatever it is you want to contemplate.

Enjoy!

Data - The Latest Edition of the WPI (World Port Index) from NGA Maritime Safety Information

2011-04-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

One of the more popular data files offered from this site is the NGA Maritime Safety Information World Port Index. In 2006, I secured a copy of the WPI database in KML file format. For 2-years I made this abbreviated version of the WPI available to any wanting a copy.

In 2008, I secured a copy of the WPI in MS Access format. I reworked the data, getting an MS Excel spreadsheet which was ultimately converted into an ESRI shapefile which I made available to any wanting a copy.

I am not a regular visitor to NGA Maritime Safety Information, but today I chanced to visit it. In looking at the WPI and what was being offered, I was pleased to discover that they now offer the WPI in ESRI shapefile format.

So, here is the deal. If you want to download the WPI data directly from the NGA MSI unit follow this link. If you want to download the WPI shapefile and a pdf file of the WPI 150 book follow this link.

Enjoy!

Marmara Island TR - Modifying SRTM v4 TIF with EVS Precision Coastal Vector File

2011-01-17T22:50:00.000-08:00

Turkey - SRTM with EVS Vector Modifications

The map of Turkey on the left is a portion of a 600-MB World Map created by Tom Patterson. His excellent and informative website, Shaded Relief, contains a wide variety of shaded relief maps. He explains how you could create your own shaded relief maps. I have been content to download his finished maps and use them in my classroom. The students love working with them.

I have been a long time user of SRTM data. Using tools within Global Mapper, I was able to generate interesting 3D views of islands. Last week I came across SRTM v4 data at CGIAR Consortium for Spatial Information (CGIAR-CSI), which I call Cigar (See-gar) for short. I downloaded a number of SRTM TIF images covering Turkey, where I am plotting Roman era towns and cities. Using the Shaded Relief Natural Earth 1 world map I was able to plot at scales of 1:1500000 to 1:1000000. When I attempted to work closer the map became a screen full of pixels. What to do?

Marmara Island - SRTM EVS Modifications Before and After (1:25,000)

The SRTM v4 data offered me some intriguing possibilities. First, I was able to zoom into areas at scales between 1:500,000 down to 1:50,000. At 1:50,000 I had to contend with pixels. The vertical side of a pixel in the part of the world I am working in is 90 meters, the horizontal side is 70 meters. Clunky looking when working at 1:50,000. It was then that I had my "ah-ha" moment. I loaded Landsat imagery on top of the SRTM imagery. I then digitized shorelines using the Landsat imagery (section 1). I switched off the Landsat imagery and my EVS precision shoreline cut through SRTM v4 pixels (section 2) and allowed me to determine the shoreline on the SRTM image. The SRTM modified shoreline is now useful to scales as fine as 1:25,000 (section 4).

I know! A 14.5 meter pixel defining a 90-meter pixels leads to potential problems. However, for my purposes, plotting Roman era towns and cities, these SRTMs modified with EVS precision shorelines work just fine.

Marmara Island Vicinity - SRTM with EVS Modifications Before and After (1-250,000)

And at 1:250,000, they look great!

A word about my custom hypsometric tints. The colors I initially took from the Shaded Relief website. But I have since tweaked them a number of times. The current version, certainly not my last, looks great for this part of the world.

I am slowly, but surely working my way around the shoreline of the Sea of Marmara, a place I spent time as a young man. I do hope this was both informative and interesting.

Enjoy!

Clipperton Island FR - It Has Been a Long Time Between Maps and Why.

2010-11-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

Clipperton Island - DigitalGlobe Image taken from Google Earth

Clipperton Island - EEVS Precision Map (1:17030)

I have been a busy map maker these past four months. My day job, as many of you know, is a middle school teacher. That means that every weekday I attempt to teach meaningful Social Studies lessons to a room full of less than eager students. This year I am trying something different, I teach Social Studies lessons using both Google Earth and Quantum GIS mapping software.

For example, we just completed a unit on Mesopotamia. Instead of a textbook only lesson, first we toured modern day Mesopotamia (Iraq) using Google Earth. After our preliminary inspection of the area, we used a raster image of a world map (Natural World II) from Shaded Relief as our base image and applied a number of vector layers to enable better orientation. Then the students created point files of various Mesopotamian city-states. They also created transparent polygons which detailed the extent of various ruling empires

We have just began our unit on Africa and will be exploring West Africa using Google Earth and Quantum GIS. So far, so good! The students are gaining a working understanding of spatial data and how it can be displayed and used. They are even learning "map speak" - polygons, shape files, symbology, etc.

So, I haven't had much time to make island maps. In fact, Clipperton Island is my first in over four months. I love making island maps, but I love teaching students the craft of map making even more. Let's see if I can indulge in both of these fine activities.

Enjoy!

Thoughts - Music from the Tahitian Choir, Rapa Iti.

2010-07-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Rapa Iti Island - Ikonos Image (1:55,000)

The Tahitian Choir

Tahitian in name only, this NPR segment introduces the music of Rapa Iti.

Enjoy!

How To Digitize Vegetation and Land Layers using Landsat Imagery at 1:12,500 Scale

2010-06-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Faaite Atoll FP - Comparison - Landsat Image, EVS Precision Map, DigitalGlobe Image (1:12,500)

I keep telling all of you that I typically digitize off of Landsat imagery at approximately 1:12,500 scale. Checking out the above montage you will see a Landsat image of a portion of Faaite Atoll FP. Beneath it are two layers of information I digitized using Landsat as base imagery, vegetation and land. The final DigitalGlobe image from Google Earth is of the same stretch of atoll. The Landsat image has a green hue over all of the land and vegetation features. However, having digitized so many islands the sand or low vegetation, which I classify as land is identifiable. My Landsat derived vegetation layer is a decent approximation based on the vegetation shown on both Landsat and DigitalGlobe's hires imagery. The digitized land layer, I believe, is a strong match.

Why should one care at what scale one is able to digitize using Landsat as base imagery? Ask any photogrammetrist and they will tell you Landsat is reliable between 1:125,000 to 1:62,500. Each pixel covers a ground area of 14.5 meters by 14.5 meters. However, working at 1:12,500 does not render an image useless, but allows one to discern details in a rough but usable fashion. I can't make out individual trees, but I can identify stands of vegetation and most often the density of that vegetation. The most difficult feature on an atoll to reliably digitize is that portion of the reef which is awash depending on the time of day (high tide or low tide) and the amount of vegetation found growing on the reef. It is often difficult to determine whether the feature is above water land or below water shallow reef. Typically, if I'm uncertain I classify the feature as above water land.

Who knows, one day you might want to try your hand at island map making and you will want advise as to what scale you might expect to work at using Landsat as your base imagery. Digitizing at 1:12,500 should work just fine. Give it a try.

Tepoto Nord FP - A Redo of a Redo of a Small Coral Island

2010-06-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Tepoto Nord FP - Landsat Image from S-07-10_2000 (1:20,000)

Tepoto Nord FP - ISS002-E-8862 Image

Tepoto Nord FP - EVS Precision Map (1:20,000)

My first map of Tepoto Nord was completed on March 31, 2006. I used Landsat as my base imagery. Most of my finish work was done using Marplot, a fine poor-man's GIS program. In December 2006 , I came upon the ISS image of Tepoto Nord. I decided to redo my original work using the ISS imagery to digitize from.

I look at my completed Tepoto Nord mapping project today and contemplate how far my map making skills have progressed. My digitizing of shorelines, vegetation and reefs remains fairly consistent. I routinely work at between 1:12,000 to 1:8,000, depending on my base imagery and the ultimate objective for my map. I am content to map four to five layers of information taking what Landsat is able to provide. The first time I mapped this island, I remember being frustrated by the Landsat imagery. The odd colors and blurred appearance of the island made digitizing problematic. Eventually, I came upon the ISS image and was able to redo my mapping of this small island in a more satisfactory manner. I reposted the map and base imagery in December 2006 and gave this small island no more thought.

That is until I received a question from an EVS Islands reader. He wanted to know everything he could about this small island. I answered that he should contact Alex W du Prel, publisher of Tahiti-Pacifique magazine. If anyone could give information about this small island, Alex is the man. After answering the reader's question, I checked out my map of the island. Unsatisfactory! The map presentation choices I make today are far superior to those I made in 2006. I decided to redo my redo of this small coral island.

Tepoto Nord FP - DigitalGlobe Image from Google Earth (1:12,000)

Tepoto Nord FP - EEVS Precision Map (1:12,000)

I checked out Google Earth, as almost all of the islands within the Tuamotus are covered by DigitalGlobe's hires imagery. Sure enough, Tepoto Nord has excellent, cloud-free imagery from which I could redigitize various layers of information with a high degree of confidence. Seven layers of information later my redo of the redo is done. Since I have no designs to offer the map for commercial purposes, I decided to use DigitalGlobe imagery as my base imagery. I have worked on this redo of a redo for about two weeks. Not because it was particularly difficult, but I've been busy with school. Finally, I have a Saturday with no pressing projects. Only this, to finish my Tepoto Nord FP map. Pretty nice, huh?

Enjoy!

Reao Atoll FP - Finished . . . At Last!

2010-04-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

Reao Atoll

Reao Atoll - ISS004 Image Mosaic (1:70,000)

Reao Atoll - EEVS Precision Map (1:70,000)

Reao or Natūpe is an atoll in the eastern expanses of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. The closest land is Pukarua Atoll, located 48 km to the WNW.

Reao is 24.5 km long and its maximum width is 5 km. The whole length of its north-eastern rim is occupied by a single long island. There is no navigable pass into the lagoon.

Reao Atoll's population is 344 inhabitants.

That is about it for Reao Atoll on the internet. There might be some scattered bits of information, but nothing of newsworthy significance. Why? It could be the location. Unlike many of the other atolls making up the Tuamotus that receive numerous pleasure cruisers, Reao Atoll is situated away from the normal cruising routes. In addition the lagoon has no entrance for sailing vessels making for percarious landings on and off of the main island.

Even with the geographical difficulties associated with Reao Atoll, I wouldn't mind visiting. The southern end of the atoll looks a bit on the wild side. If not real wild, it looks to be far from the population center of the island located on it's northern end. One could perhaps find an isolated small motu along the atoll's western edge. There are in the neighborhood of 50 motus along this edge of the atoll. I am certain one of these small motus could offer one a few days of solitude. If not a few days, for sure a few hours.

Now for a few comments on the map. First, the base imagery is from ISS004. I took 3 excellent images and assembled them into a mosaic of the entire island. I rotated the image about 37° to align it with the atoll's true alignment. I had created a shoreline of Reao Atoll a few years back, but had not saved the georectified image. All I had to work with was the island polygons which came from the ISS004 imagery. I used over 37 GCPs (ground control points) to georectify the ISS004 image mosaic. It wasn't until this weekend that I had both time and energy to complete my typical four vector layers - island polygons, vegetation polygons, shallow reef polygon and lagoon polygon. I completed all of the layers as Phil Mickelson was busy winning the Masters for the 3rd time.

P.S. - Later that day, I compiled my first OSM formatted vector file consisting of the island polygons. Ultimately my goal is to place my EVS copyright free vectors onto OpenStreetMap. That is another story for later time.

Marutea Atoll Nord FP - An Uninhabited Atoll...Kind Of

2010-03-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

Marutea Atoll Nord FP

Marutea Atoll Nord FP - Landsat ETM S-07-15_2000 Image (1:150,000)

A portion of the Landsat ETM+ image looks great, the other portion is cloud covered. If I had only used the Landsat image to create my EVS precision map, it would have been an incomplete effort. Fortunately, ISS imagery helped to fill in the gap.

Marutea Atoll Nord FP - ISS006E37438 Image Modified (1:150,000)

First I had to rotate the ISS image and georectify it to my Landsat base image. I was able to do it after much tweaking of the ISS image it was positioned properly for my mapping purposes. Many of the coral heads, which I classify as shallow reef, were derived from the ISS image.

Marutea Atoll Nord FP - EVs Precision Map (1-150,000)

And here is the finished map! If one requires hi-res imagery, it can be found in Google Earth. Located at the channel leading into the lagoon are a few houses. I suspect they are used by coconut or black pearl harvesters. Although the island is uninhabited, people frequent the atoll doing the things that people do, harvesting resources.

Looking at the DigitalGlobe imagery found in Google Earth, large stretches of the island appear to be without a sand covering. It looks as if the island was washed over by a typhoon or a storm surge. Perhaps someone with first hand knowledge might share more about this uninhabited atoll...kind of.

Enjoy!

Thoughts - Which Color Scheme Works Best for EVS Maps?

2010-02-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

King George Islands FP

King George Islands FP - Landsat ETM S-06-10_2000 Image (1:175,000)

King George Islands FP - EVS Precision Map (1:175000)

Takapoto Atoll FP - EVS Precision Map (1:80,000)

I spent today digitizing the King George Islands located in the Tuamotu Islands FP. The top atoll, Takapoto, was just completed using my new NIMA color scheme. Not only am I limiting layers to EVS island projects to island polygon, reef shallow, lagoon and island water feature, but I've changed my color scheme to match NIMA's nautical charts. My current color scheme is as follows:

island polygon is R-245 G-245 B245

reef shallow polygon is R-205 G-225 B-235

lagoon is R-225 G-250 B-255.

Takaroa Atoll FP - EVS Precision Map (1:80,000)

Takaroa Atoll, completed a few months ago, contains my old color scheme:

island polygon is R-240 G-232 B-217

reef awash is R-208 G-234 B-224

reef shallow is R-153 G-214 B-236

lagoon is R-090 G-169 B-211

In both projects the vegetation layer R-157 G-179 B-151 and the deep ocean layer R-165 G-207 B-231 are unchanged.

For visual appeal, I like the old style. The NIMA nautical chart style gives a cleaner, crisper look. What do you think?

Enjoy!

Nosy Antaly-Be, MA - Fishermen, Tourists and WWII Japanese Midget Submarines

2010-02-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

Nosy Antaly-Be, MA,

Nosy Antaly-Be, MA - DigitalGlobe Image from Google Earth (1:12,500)

Nosy Antaly-Be, MA - EEVS Precision Map (1:12,500)

Every so often I like to scout a coastline in Google Earth to find an interesting island to map. Nosy Antaly-Be's image is cloud-free, hi-resolution and located along the eastern shore of the northern peninsula of Madagascar. The two islands I mapped are the northern most of a cluster of islands that are just off shore as one enters Diego-Suarez Bay. I mapped these two islands because I was bored with my current project, remapping Papua New Guinea, a very big job. I wanted to make a pretty map and to use DigitalGlobe imagery. So far, so good!

I mapped the islands quickly and completed all of the additional details using Global Mapper. My cursory check for information concerning these two islands initially turned up nothing of great interest. The semi-permanent population was made up of fishermen and tourists. Then came the WWII Japanese midget submarines. In 1942 Japan flush with a number of victories in Southeast Asia looked to control the entire Indian Ocean. A key area to control was the northern end of Madagascar. From this vantage point they would have been able to intercept allied shipping with ease. They attacked ships located in Diego-Suarez Bay in May, 1942. One ship was damaged and another was sunk with a lose of 6 crewmen. If you would like to know more about the "Whys" and "What Fors" follow this link, Imperial Submarines. The article will give you loads of background information concerning Japanese midget submarines and the war in Madagascar.

Life never fails to intrigue me. I select two nondescript islands and they turn out to be used to screen Japanese ships prior to an attack on ships in Diego-Suarez Bay. Who would have thunk it.

Enjoy!

Caspian Sea Isobaths from Russian Topographic Maps

2010-02-15T13:59:00.000-08:00

Caspian Sea Isobaths - Taken from 1:1,000,000 Mapping

Caspian Sea Isobaths - Entire Sea (1:5,000,000)

If I'm not careful, I can turn a finite mapping project into a never ending task, one that requires tweaks on top of tweaks. My Caspian Sea isobaths fall into that type of project. I have worked on the Caspian Sea shoreline and now isobaths since 2006 and I'm still not finished. The northern shore, including the Volga River delta remain my final shoreline to map. At my current rate I should be finished around 2012. In the mean time I would like to share my recently completed Caspian Sea isobaths. These isobaths were taken from Russian topographic maps downloaded from Poehali.org. One can download Russian topographic maps for free. The maps are georeferenced and load easily into most mapping programs. My Caspian Sea topographic map is a mosaic of 65 individual maps at scales between 1:500,000 to 1:100,000. All of these maps contain isobaths. Using the most detailed scale, I constructed the following isobaths: -10m, -20m, -50m, -100m, -150m, -200m, -300m, -400m, -500m, and -700m. Compared to the other Caspian Sea isobaths, mine differ. I hesitate to claim my isobaths are more accurate. I suspect they are, as they were derived from 1:500,000 to 1:100,000 scale maps. The other isobaths were taken from 1:1,000,000 scale maps.

Caspian Sea Isobaths - Baku Vicinity (1:250,000)

Where my isobaths prove most interesting is when one zooms into an area. An interesting area to study these isobaths is around Baku, the site of many oil rigs. The isobaths twist and turn in and around oil rigs as one would expect.

Caspian Sea Isobaths - Baku Vicinity Offshore (1:62,500))

Currently, my Caspian Sea isobaths are quietly residing on my hard drive. Before I do anything with them, other than my own mapping, I need to secure permission from Poehali.org. I know I did an excellent job tracing these unique isobaths. Not sure this is going to be a "give away". Would love to make a buck or two off of this data set. We'll see.

Enjoy!

Thoughts - North Sentinel Island Five Years After the "Big" One

2009-12-30T20:20:00.000-08:00

North Sentinel Island - Pre December 26, 2004

North Sentinel Island is home to a few hundred of the most isolated people on the earth. This group of people has chosen to remain separate from all other peoples. To the credit of India, they have been allowed to remain separate. Prior to December 26, 2004, the inhabitants were content to hunt and gather on their small forest covered island. Then came the dreadful 9.0 earthquake that caused death and destruction throughout this part of the world. North Sentinel Island was not spared. It is unclear if any of the inhabitants were killed as a result of the earthquake. What is clear is that the island underwent a dramatic transformation. This small island was thrust upward. The submerged reef was no longer submerged.

North Sentinel Island - February 2005

The February 2005 image shows the once submerged reef exposed above water. The forest is intact, but the island's fringing reef is now permanently above water. The stark white indicates that the reef is a new comer to the above-water environment.

North Sentinel Island - November 20, 2009

Fast forward to last month and one sees the reef still above water, but undergoing a gradual color change. As the once bone white reef remains in contact with the outside air, dust particles are blown onto the reef daily, algae colonies live and die and organic debris flows out from the island proper onto the reef, all of this contributing to the raised reef's gradual discoloration.

North Sentinel Island - EEVS Precision Map (1:62,500)

My post-earthquake map still gives a good picture of this small uplifted island. I'm glad it remains isolated and it's inhabitants have yet to encounter the world of modern man.

Enjoy!

Thoughts - All I Really Wanna Do Is, Baby, Make Highly Detailed and Accurate Island Shoreline Maps With You

2009-12-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

A Small Island Using NIMA Nautical Chart Colors (1:10,000)

I've been making highly detailed island maps for almost five years. In that time, I've mapped 1,000s of island shorelines. Always striving to make my finished island maps accurate and quality presentations, I've found myself adding many layers of information to my basic island shoreline maps. Most of my island maps contain a number of vegetation, reef, land and label layers. Some of my island maps contain in excess of 20 plus layers of information. Wow!

However, my zeal to continually add more information to my island maps has taken me far from my original objective - to make highly detailed and accurate island shoreline maps using Landsat ETM+ circa 2000 imagery as base imagery.

Currently, I am mapping islands within the Solomons. As I map them, I see a myriad of potential layers - mangroves, heavily forested areas, grass land, and the reefs that beg to be mapped in varying layers depicting depths based on shades of blue. I am resisting the temptation to map these fascinating layers. I am holding true to my original objective, to create highly detailed and accurate island shoreline maps. Posting these finished products will result in rather boring island maps, but so be it.

Life is too short! If I keep wandering away from my initial objective, I will never finish the island mapping I would like to accomplish in the 15 to 20 years I am both physically and mentally able.

Here is my renewed commitment to my original objective - keep your eyes, hands and mapping abilities on the prize! That prize being to construct a body of vector mapping containing highly detailed and accurate island shorelines.

And that I will enjoy!

Thoughts - They Aren't as Good as EVS Precision and That's the Fact , Jack!

2009-11-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

Olimarao Atoll Locator Map

You all remember my last post, Olimarao Atoll? I spent a few days prior to posting it doing research into available online mapping. I checked out the standard mapping packages for Olimarao Atoll vicinity maps. Check out my results below...

Olimarao Atoll - Vicinity Map from Google Maps - Some land polygons, no labels.

Olimarao Atoll - Vicinity Map from Yahoo Local Maps - Nothing here.

Olimarao Atoll - Vicinity Map from Bing Maps - And nothing here.

Olimarao Atoll - Vicinity Map from OpenStreetMap - Land polygons and labels.

Google, Yahoo and Bing Maps rely on satellite imagery. The underlying maps of these oceanic island areas are largely neglected in map coverage. Google Maps provides land polygons from a mapping file similar to WVS 1:250,000. OpenStreetMap uses NGA PGS polygons along with NGA Country name files. Clearly the superior map product for oceanic islands is found on OpenStreetMap. But wait! What about a vicinity map using what I call EVS rough precision digitizing. Using Landsat ETM+ imagery, I could quickly digitize island polygons and reefs giving a much clearer map of the island.

Elato, Lomolior and Olimarao Atolls - Landsat N55-05_2000 Coverage

Landsat N55-05_2000 is the imagery I initially tried to work with. As you can see, The vicinity is not covered. It is a blank. So I did what any good mapper would do, improvised. Using Google Earth, I found the blank area and DigitalGlobe had hi-res imagery of the islands located within the blank area.

Elato and Lomolior Atolls - DG Preview Image from GE

Elato and Lomolior Atolls - DG Preview Image from GE Cropped

I decided to use the DG Image Preview from GE. I copied it, cropped it and georectified it. From there, I was able to complete the digitizing within a few minutes. I did this for all islands within the Landsat blank area. Atolls should have reefs digitized as they make up a critically important aspect of this feature. My finished map uses five layers - 1) land polygon 2) reef shallow 3) reef deep 4) ocean and 5) name labels. My island name layer is an extract from NGA's country files.

Olimarao Atoll - Vicinity Map from EVS Rough Precision (1-500,000)

This was all done using Global Mapper. The scale for the above map is 1:500,000. Now that is what I call a real oceanic island vicinity map.

Enjoy!

Olimarao Atoll FM - A Northern Pacific Island Jewel and Uninhabited Too

2009-11-25T07:31:00.001-08:00

Olimarao Atoll - DG Island Image from GE (=~1:25,000)

Olimarao Atoll - EEVS Precision Map (1:25,000)

After almost five years of EVS precision island mapping projects, countless comments from the curious and, most often, complimentary guests and thousands of hours of work aimed at making this website better...

1) I have struck a deal with a corporate "sugar daddy" that will pay me to make EVS and EEVS precision island maps as I see fit.

2) My wife finally put her foot down and instructed me to "shut it down"! I told her to back off and she left me for a younger, computer illiterate man.

3) I'm still making island maps, with my wife's blessing, and am still without a corporate "sugar daddy".

Okay, I'm at Option 3) and enjoying it. However, sometimes our complicated lives cause us to wish for profound simplicity. A place where one can get away from the pressures of "big city" living and spend a day making a single decision, that being to make no decisions.

By far, my most popular posts over the past few months have been about the challenge of locating and living on uninhabited islands. It started with my post "Thoughts - An Uninhabited Island and What You'll Need to Inhabit it 'Robinson Crusoe' Style" and continued with my post "Thoughts - How Many Uninhabited Islands in the World?". These two posts alone have generated over 1,000 page views. As the world's economies continue to struggle and the economically downtrodden victims hunt for ways out, a Google search of "uninhabited islands" will lead the desperate to my aforementioned posts.

Olimarao Atoll could be their Eden. The atoll is small, but affords one fairly secure anchorage near the large motu. The large amount of vegetation suggests an adequate supply of water, most probably in the form of a fresh water lens. The small size of the island might lead one to "island claustrophobia", manifest by a longing for continental security. However, according to the occasional yachtsperson stopping for a short stay, the island is beautiful beyond imagination. Could Olimarao Atoll be your Eden? More to follow...

Enjoy!

Thoughts - Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities

2009-11-08T12:27:00.000-08:00

Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities

When I first exchanged emails with Frank Jacobs, it was shortly after my "Titan's Unnamed Methane Sea" had hit the internet. The subject of the map hit a hot button that translated into 1,000s of visits to this web site. Frank introduced himself and asked if I had visited his blog, Strange Maps. I had and shared that I thought it was a "kick". He revealed that he, likewise, was a follower of my mapping efforts. He most especially liked my Titan map and wondered if he might use it in a book he was going to have published. He quickly added, that he had no money to pay for the use of the map, but would make sure I got a copy of his completed book. "Of course!" I said, "You are welcome to use my map. Just give me proper credit." Deal done!

Now let me tell you what I really thought. Oh, sure. This guy is going to publish a book about strange maps. I'll probably get a pdf copy or a link to his self-published effort. Unfortunately, I do have a healthy streak of skepticisim. After our exchanges I forgot about Frank and his book.

Silly me! I will never doubt Frank Jacobs again. True to his word, last week Fedex delivered a package from the UK. Inside was a slick copy of Strange Maps, Frank's book. I quickly leafed through it and there was my Titan map on pages 206-207. A nice writeup is included speculating on a name for this methane sea. And, sure enough, a paragraph about the author of the map, me.

Buy the book! Amazon.com lists it at $19.80. Support a fellow map lover!

Titan's Unnamed Methane Sea with Lat-Lon Grid (1-750,000)

And, once again, this is my map of Titan's Unnamed Methane Sea. It is still an interesting effort and now my first published map.

Enjoy!

Thoughts - Since My Last Post

2009-09-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

Bennet Island - Landsat Image N-54-75_20000 - A Partial View (1:44,260)

Bennet Island - EVS Precision Map - A Partial View (1:44,260)

So, Mr Minton, what have you been up to since July 30th, the date of your last post? Let me tell you...

1. I'm back at school. My day job is teaching middle school students social studies, science (physics) and religion. Teaching is always a challenge, however this year the challenge is two-fold. Not only am I teaching curriculum, but I'm doing 90% of the lessons using computers. This summer I installed 28 Dell GX620s in my class room with Windows XP Pro as my operating system. I have installed a number of open-source programs, the primary one being Open Office on each computer. The challenge is to teach my curriculum entirely within a digital world. After two weeks of school all of us are starting to get into a solid routine. My goal is to teach the students how to work with word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, mapping, and various drawing programs to enhance their school work and to send them on into high school with an extensive set of software skills that will enable them to be both successful and competitive students at the next and future levels.

2. Yes, I am still working on mapping projects. All of them are in various stages of near completion. I am creating isobaths within the Caspian Sea. I am extracting them from Russian topographic maps from 1:100,000 scale for the -5 to -10 meter isobaths and 1:500,000 scale topos for all other isobaths. These isobaths are considerably different in appearance and, hopefully, considerably more accurate than the ones available at the Caspian Environment Programme. I have completed all isobaths from -5 m to -150 m.

3. I continue working on Tuamotu Island maps. Also I am working on some far northern Arctic islands. Bennett Island is one of these Arctic islands.

4. This summer, I completed an EVS precision mapping project of the Falkland Islands. The entire island group was meticulously mapped for a client I've worked with in the past and I even made a few bucks for my work ($250 for 10 hours of mapping work). On my "for profit" projects, I only use Landsat ETM+ as my base imagery as the copyright restrictions enable one to use these excellent orthorectified image mosaics to generate "for profit" mapping projects.

5. I still dream of working as an island map maker full time and of earning a fair wage while doing what I love to do. However, my reality is also quite enjoyable, teaching, using quality technology, is a blast! I am invigorated as a teacher! And between 10 PM to 2 or 3 AM, I am a map maker. Isn't life swell?

Enjoy!

Thoughts - 239 EVS Precision Island Mapping Projects Since April 2006

2009-07-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

EVS Islands Projects - 239 Projects Since April 2009

I've been creating EVS precision island maps since April, 2006. During this three years plus time frame, I've posted all of the above island projects to this website. My island mapping and the satisfaction gained from having mapped an island few others have mapped at the level of detail I typically work at, continues to invigorate me, but my busy life keeps getting in the way of my ability of create more and better island maps. If you have any questions concerning past projects or possible future projects, drop me a line. Let's talk.

Enjoy!

P.S. Thanks to all of you readers, map lovers, island dreamers and the curious for spending time at EVS Islands. On July 23, 2009 EVS Islands received it's 100,000th page view. My goal with this website continues to be to provide quality maps, images and comments to educate and entertain. Hopefully, that is what I've managed to do.

EVS-Islands

My Map of Bikini Atoll used in the Movie Godzilla - 1-Second of Movie Fame.

Now You See Me - Too Long Between Posts

Titan's Mystery Island - My History with Titan's Methane Seas and My Contribution Toward Understanding this Mystery

PIA100008

My EVS Precision map of Ligeia Mare (formal name)

Before (left) and After (right) and After, After (left)

Before and After (Panel's Left, Middle Right)

Before and After, Panel Left

Before and After, Panel Left with white (255,255,255) background

Special Study Panel 1, Color Burn and light blue background

Digitizing the areas within the green outline and dark blue areas

Special Study Panel 1, Color Burn and light blue background with digitized polygons

Special Study Panel 1, Color Burn and white background with digitized polygons

Special Study Panel 1, Original image with digitized polygons

Motu One, Marquesas islands, FP - How to Make a Good Map, Better.

Motu One, Marquesas Islands, FP (Red Dot)

Motu One - Original Map (April, 2006)

STS033-74-43 Original Image (left) and 50° Right Tilted Image (right)

Motu One Image Mosaic (1:50,000)

Motu One, FP - EVS Precision Map (1:50,000)

Gough Island, SH - It's For the Birds!

Thoughts - Quantum GIS, Africa and 6th Graders, A Recipe for Mapping Success.

Samana Cay BF - Columbus' First New World Landfall?

Data - The Latest Edition of the WPI (World Port Index) from NGA Maritime Safety Information

Marmara Island TR - Modifying SRTM v4 TIF with EVS Precision Coastal Vector File

Clipperton Island FR - It Has Been a Long Time Between Maps and Why.

Thoughts - Music from the Tahitian Choir, Rapa Iti.

How To Digitize Vegetation and Land Layers using Landsat Imagery at 1:12,500 Scale

Tepoto Nord FP - A Redo of a Redo of a Small Coral Island

Reao Atoll FP - Finished . . . At Last!

Marutea Atoll Nord FP - An Uninhabited Atoll...Kind Of

Thoughts - Which Color Scheme Works Best for EVS Maps?

Nosy Antaly-Be, MA - Fishermen, Tourists and WWII Japanese Midget Submarines

Caspian Sea Isobaths from Russian Topographic Maps

Thoughts - North Sentinel Island Five Years After the "Big" One

Thoughts - All I Really Wanna Do Is, Baby, Make Highly Detailed and Accurate Island Shoreline Maps With You

Thoughts - They Aren't as Good as EVS Precision and That's the Fact , Jack!

Olimarao Atoll FM - A Northern Pacific Island Jewel and Uninhabited Too

Thoughts - Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities

Thoughts - Since My Last Post

Thoughts - 239 EVS Precision Island Mapping Projects Since April 2006