Choosing A World Map

This book offers a much-needed critical approach to the intelligent use of the wide variety of map projections that are rapidly and inexpensively available today. It also discusses the distortions that are immanent in any map projection. A well-chosen map projection is one in which extreme distortions are smaller than those in any other projection used to map the same area and in which the map properties match its purpose. Written by leading experts in the field, including W. Tobler, F.C. Kessler, S.E. Battersby, M.P. Finn, K.C. Clarke, V.S. Tikunov, H. Hargitai, B. Jenny and N. Frančula. This book is designed for use by laymen. The book editors are M. Lapaine and E.L. Usery, Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of the ICA Commission on Map Projections for the period 2011-2015.

A map projection fundamentally impacts the mapmaking process. Working with Map Projections: A Guide to Their Selection explains why, for any given map, there isn’t a single "best" map projection. Selecting a projection is a matter of understanding the compromises and consequences of showing a 3-D space in two dimensions. The book presents a clear understanding of the processes necessary to make logical decisions on selecting an appropriate map projection for a given data set. The authors discuss the logic needed in the selection process, describe why certain decisions should be made, and explain the consequences of any inappropriate decision made during the selection process. This book also explains how the map projection will impact the map’s ability to fulfill its purpose, uses real-world data sets as the basis for the selection of an appropriate map projection, and provides illustrations of an appropriately and inappropriately selected map projection for a given data set. The authors take a novel approach to discussing map projections by avoiding an extensive inventory of mathematical formulae and using only the mathematics of map projections that matter for many mapping tasks. They also present information that is directly applicable to the process of selecting map projections and not tied to a specific software package. Written by two leading experts, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone studying or working with geospatial data, from students to experienced professionals, and will help readers successfully weigh the pros and cons of choosing one projection over another to suit a map’s intended purpose.

March 5th 2012 marks the 500th birthday of map-maker Gerhard Kremer, aka Mercator. There are many wishing the Flemish map maker well! From blogs to books the man who has shaped for many our world view is celebrated as often as vilified. Four centuries later, Arno Peters created what many see as a fair view of our world, but others see as a distorted or misleading map! Across the centuries it is maps that link these men and their impact on current human activity. This landmark book - How Maps Change Things: A Conversation About the Maps We Choose and the World We Want - looks at maps by these two men and others. This examination goes beyond maps as nouns, as tactile objects that show locations and distances. "Maps are verbs ... don't be fooled" we are told at the outset of How Maps Change Things. The book examines maps as change agents, reflecting intentions and setting agendas, stating who has what, and who has not. What are the messages sent by maps? What were Mercator, Peters and other map makers setting out to do with each of their creations? Ward Kaiser, author, publisher, pastor, and historian was instrumental in bringing the Peters Equal Area Map to North America. He has been leading the discussion of what maps mean and the power of maps in framing human activities. In How Maps Change Things Kaiser takes a passionate view of how maps illustrate and influence the significant paths humans pursue. Rather than looking for definitive answers, Kaiser focuses on asking thought-provoking questions. "What does our world, through the view of maps, really look like and what does the perspective (or frame of reference or bias) of the viewer mean to the map and its view? Are all maps simply propaganda for the hidden agenda of the map-maker? What is the world we get and what is the world we want ... and who cares and why?" Kaiser has stimulated an impressive and important conversation.

The selection process for map projections is a mystery to many mapmakers and GIS users. Map projections ought to be selected based on the map's geographic extent and the required distortion properties, with the goal of minimizing the distortion of the mapped area. Despite some available selection guidelines, the selection of map projections is not yet automated. Automated selection would help mapmakers and GIS users to better select a projection for their map. The overall goal of this dissertation is to take a step towards this automation and explore user preferences with an objective to provide additional criteria for selecting world map projections. An additional goal is to optimize automatic map projection selection for web maps. The results presented in this work are mathematical models (new map projections for world maps, polynomial equations for selecting standard parallels) and new selection criteria for world maps. They improve our knowledge about map projection selection for world maps and web maps. As a result of the research presented in this doctoral dissertation, we know more about the map projection preferences of map-readers and have improved techniques for adapting map projections for scalable web maps and GIS software. Altogether, four concrete research questions were addressed. The first research question explores user preferences for world map projections. Many small-scale map projections exist and they have different shapes and distortion characteristics. World map projections are mainly chosen based on their distortion properties and the personal preferences of cartographers. Very little is known about the map projection preferences of map-readers; only two studies have addressed this question so far. This dissertation presents a user study among map-readers and trained cartographers that tests their preferences for world map projections. The paired comparison test of nine commonly used map projections reveals that the map-readers in our study prefer the Robinson and Plate Carrée projections, followed by the Winkel Tripel, Eckert IV, and Mollweide projections. The Mercator and Wagner VII projections come in sixth and seventh place, and the least preferred are two interrupted projections, the interrupted Mollweide and the interrupted Goode Homolosine. Separate binominal tests indicate that map-readers involved in the study seem to like projections with straight rather than curved parallels, and meridians with elliptical rather than sinusoidal shapes. The results indicate that map-readers prefer projections that represent poles as lines to projections that show poles as protruding edges, but there is no clear preference for pole lines in general. The trained cartographers involved in this study have similar preferences, but they prefer pole lines to represent the poles, and they select the Plate Carrée and Mercator projections less frequently than the other participants. The second research question introduces the polynomial equations for the Natural Earth II projection and tests user preferences for its graticule characteristics. The Natural Earth II projection is a new compromise pseudocylindrical projection for world maps. It has a unique shape compared to most other pseudocylindrical projections. At high latitudes, the meridians bend steeply toward short pole lines resulting in a map with highly rounded corners that resembles an elongated globe. Its distortion properties are similar to most other established world map projections. The projection equation consists of simple polynomials. A user study evaluated whether map-readers prefer Natural Earth II to similar compromise projections. The 355 participating general map- readers rated the Natural Earth II projection lower than the Robinson and Natural Earth projections, but higher than the Wagner VI, Kavrayskiy VII, and Wagner II projections. The third question examines how Wagner's transformation method can be used for improving map projections for scalable web maps, and its integration into the adaptive composite map projections schema. The adaptive composite map projections schema, invented by Bernhard Jenny, changes the projection to the geographic area shown on a map. It is meant as a replacement for the commonly used web Mercator projection, which grossly distorts areas when representing the entire world. The original equal-area version of the adaptive composite map projections schema uses the Lambert azimuthal projection for regional maps, and three alternative projections for world maps. In this dissertation, it is explored how the adaptive composite map projections schema can include a variety of other equal-area projections when the transformation between the Lambert azimuthal and the world projections uses Wagner's method. In order to select the most suitable pseudocylindrical projection, the distortion characteristics of a pseudocylindrical projection family were analyzed, and a user study among experts in the area of map projections was carried out. Based on the results of the distortion analysis and the user study, a new pseudocylindrical projection is recommended for extending the adaptive composite map projections schema. The new projection is equal-area throughout the transformation to the Lambert azimuthal projection, has better distortion characteristics than small-scale projections currently included in the original adaptive composite map projections schema, and aligns with map-readers' preferences for world map projections. The last research question explores how the selection of the standard parallels of conic projections can be automated. Conic map projections are appropriate for mapping regions at medium and large scales with east-west extents at intermediate latitudes. Conic projections are appropriate for these cases because they show the mapped area with less distortion than other projections. In order to minimize the distortion of the mapped area, the two standard parallels of conic projections need to be selected carefully. Rules of thumb exist for placing the standard parallels based on the width-to- height ratio of the map. These rules of thumb are simple to apply, but do not result in maps with minimum distortion. There also exist more sophisticated methods that determine standard parallels such that distortion in the mapped area is minimized. These methods are computationally expensive and cannot be used for real-time web mapping and GIS applications where the projection is adjusted automatically to the displayed area. This article presents a polynomial model that quickly provides the standard parallels for the three most common conic map projections: the Albers equal- area, the Lambert conformal, and the equidistant conic projection. The model defines the standard parallels with polynomial expressions based on the spatial extent of the mapped area. The spatial extent is defined by the length of the mapped central meridian segment, the central latitude of the displayed area, and the width-to-height ratio of the map. The polynomial model was derived from 3825 maps--each with a different spatial extent and computationally determined standard parallels that minimize the mean scale distortion index. The resulting model is computationally simple and can be used for the automatic selection of the standard parallels of conic map projections in GIS software and web mapping applications.

"Filled with wonder and sorrow and happiness." --Alison McGhee, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Someday A heartfelt story of a young girl seeking beauty and connection in a busy world. As the seasons change, so too does a young Hmong girl's world. She moves into a new home with her family and encounters both birth and death. As this curious girl explores life inside her house and beyond, she collects bits of the natural world. But who are her treasures for? A moving picture book debut from acclaimed Hmong American author Kao Kalia Yang.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of the widely acclaimed The Book of Ruth comes a harrowing, heartbreaking drama about a rural American family and a disastrous event that forever changes their lives. "It takes a writer of rare power and discipline to carry off an achievement like A Map of the World. Hamilton proves here that she is one of the best." —Newsweek The Goodwins, Howard, Alice, and their little girls, Emma and Claire, live on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Although suspiciously regarded by their neighbors as "that hippie couple" because of their well-educated, urban background, Howard and Alice believe they have found a source of emotional strength in the farm, he tending the barn while Alice works as a nurse in the local elementary school. But their peaceful life is shattered one day when a neighbor's two-year-old daughter drowns in the Goodwins' pond while under Alice's care. Tormented by the accident, Alice descends even further into darkness when she is accused of sexually abusing a student at the elementary school. Soon, Alice is arrested, incarcerated, and as good as convicted in the eyes of a suspicious community. As a child, Alice designed her own map of the world to find her bearings. Now, as an adult, she must find her way again, through a maze of lies, doubt and ill will. A vivid human drama of guilt and betrayal, A Map of the World chronicles the intricate geographies of the human heart and all its mysterious, uncharted terrain. The result is a piercing drama about family bonds and a disappearing rural American life.

Cartographers have long grappled with the impossibility of portraying the earth in two dimensions. To solve this problem, mapmakers have created map projections. This work discusses and illustrates the known map projections from before 500BC to the present, with facts on their origins and use.

The use of computers in cartography has made it easier for map makers to transform data from one map projection to another and experiment with alternative representations of geographical data. This has created new challenges and opportunities for map projection scientists. Small Scale Map Projection Design focuses on numerical map projection research and is written from the perspective of the map projection user. It demonstrates how advances in the measurement of map projection distortion and in the development of low error map projections can help map makers decide what type of map projection is best for their purpose, and shows how they can eventually design their own map projections.

300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves. Selected by an international panel of cartographers, academics, map dealers and collectors, the maps represent over 5,000 years of cartographic innovation drawing on a range of cultures and traditions. Comprehensive in scope, this book features all types of map from navigation and surveys to astronomical maps, satellite and digital maps, as well as works of art inspired by cartography. Unique curated sequence presents maps in thought-provoking juxtapositions for lively, stimulating reading. Features some of the most influential mapmakers and institutions in history, including Gerardus Mercator, Abraham Ortelius, Phyllis Pearson, Heinrich Berann, Bill Rankin, Ordnance Survey and Google Earth. Easy-to-use format, with large reproductions, authoritative texts and key caption information, it is the perfect introduction to the subject. Also features a comprehensive illustrated timeline of the history of cartography, biographies of leading cartographers and a glossary of cartographic terms.