[Geospatial] FW: MapLab: Inside the 'the most real of fictional places'

Fri May 6 10:49:24 PDT 2022

Hi all,

I wanted to share this week’s MapLab with you – interesting angles on (0,0)!

(I believe I’ve found myself there many a time when loading a scanned map for georeferencing.)

Also, note that the last two items in the Map Links section are of local interest.

Happy Friday!

Janet Reyes
Geospatial Information Librarian
UCR Library | University of California, Riverside

From: Bloomberg CityLab [mailto:citylab at bloomberg.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 4, 2022 2:32 PM
To: Janet Reyes <janet.reyes at ucr.edu>
Subject: MapLab: Inside the 'the most real of fictional places'

The intersection of the Equator and the Prime Meridian lands somewhere west of the coast of Africa, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The
[https://sli.bloomberg.com/imp?s=827513&li=27599727&m=f3bd98f6c81f988eaa0713f43fb30b14&p=27640755&stpe=default&]<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly9zbGkuYmxvb21iZXJnLmNvbS9jbGljaz9zPTgyNzUxMyZsaT0yNzU5OTcyNyZtPWYzYmQ5OGY2YzgxZjk4OGVhYTA3MTNmNDNmYjMwYjE0JnA9Mjc2NDA3NTUmc3RwZT1kZWZhdWx0Jg/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB1212bb2e>

View in browser<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmxvb21iZXJnLmNvbS9uZXdzL25ld3NsZXR0ZXJzLzIwMjItMDUtMDQvbWFwbGFiLWluc2lkZS1udWxsLWlzbGFuZC10aGUtbW9zdC1yZWFsLW9mLWZpY3Rpb25hbC1wbGFjZXM_Y21waWQ9QkJEMDUwNDIyX01BUExBQiZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9bmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fdGVybT0yMjA1MDQmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPW1hcGxhYg/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB048e0312>
[Bloomberg]
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[https://sli.bloomberg.com/imp?s=827525&li=27599727&m=f3bd98f6c81f988eaa0713f43fb30b14&p=27640755&stpe=default&]<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly9zbGkuYmxvb21iZXJnLmNvbS9jbGljaz9zPTgyNzUyNSZsaT0yNzU5OTcyNyZtPWYzYmQ5OGY2YzgxZjk4OGVhYTA3MTNmNDNmYjMwYjE0JnA9Mjc2NDA3NTUmc3RwZT1kZWZhdWx0Jg/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aC67286ce0>

The intersection of the Equator and the Prime Meridian lands somewhere west of the coast of Africa, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. These are coordinates (0,0) in map coordinates system WGS84, the most commonly used system in web mapping. Physically speaking there is nothing there — apart from station 13010<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmRiYy5ub2FhLmdvdi9zdGF0aW9uX3BhZ2UucGhwP3N0YXRpb249MTMwMTA/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB1fd11af6>, a lone buoy named Soul that records weather data.

But if you dig into web maps and geographic databases, you’ll get the impression that there’s a lot happening at coordinates (0,0). Among other things: people running and cycling, cyberattacks, and a lot of Covid cases.

Welcome to “Null Island.” It doesn’t actually exist. But it shows up on countless maps as a default home for data that couldn’t be properly geocoded.
[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/irgnPSeWXEK8/v0/-1x-1.jpg]
[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/irgnPSeWXEK8/v0/-1x-1.jpg]
The location of “Null Island” — a place that doesn’t exist outside of databases. In a new paper, researchers refer to it as “the most real of fictional places.” Credit: Levente Juhasz and Peter Mooney

Take Strava, for example. The fitness tracker app relies on user-generated data and geo-coordinates fed by smartphones and smart watches from runners and bikers to record information about their performance and routes. But when the system messes up, the result is a puzzling cluster of activity in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean at coordinates (0,0) on the Strava heatmap<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3RyYXZhLmNvbS9oZWF0bWFwIzEwLjQ0Ly0wLjA2NjIyLy0wLjAwNDkyL2hvdC9hbGw/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB147a7f49>.
[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iD7pmCFtJYgo/v0/-1x-1.png]
[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iD7pmCFtJYgo/v0/-1x-1.png]
Strava activity heatmap on “Null Island.” Credit: Strava

The confusion over these data clusters has led to some frustration and even some conspiracy theories over the years, which inspired the title of a new paper on Null Island: “I think I discovered a military base in the middle of the ocean,” referring to a theory a user posted on Reddit<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucmVkZGl0LmNvbS9yL2NvbnNwaXJhY3kvY29tbWVudHMvbXJyc21zL2lfdGhpbmtfaV9kaXNjb3ZlcmVkX2Ffc2VjcmV0X2NoaW5lc2VfbWlsaXRhcnkvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2hhcmUmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1pb3NfYXBwJnV0bV9uYW1lPWlvc3NtZg/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB04840eba>.

The preprint paper<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcnhpdi5vcmcvcGRmLzIyMDQuMDgzODMucGRm/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aBafed1080>, by Levente Juhasz, a geomatics researcher at Florida International University, and Peter Mooney, lecturer at Maynooth University, looks into the history of the phenomenon, how it occurs, and its implications.

“There is this concept in geography that’s called liminal places; it means ‘between places,’” Juhasz said. “If you go to an airport, it’s not a destination. It doesn’t really mean anything to you that you are at the airport, but still, it’s a physical place. Null Island is similar to that because it connects the imaginary to the real. Because in a sense it’s real: It’s in databases. And it can be mapped.”

According to their research, developer Steve Pellegrin first coined the term “Null Island” in 2008 to refer to coordinates (0,0). The pair traces the first appearance of the concept back to a cartoon called Colonel Bleep in 1957. Colonel Bleep builds his headquarters on Zero Zero Island<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb2xvbmVsLWJsZWVwLmZhbmRvbS5jb20vd2lraS9aZXJvX1plcm9fSXNsYW5k/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aBab92ac03>, at the intersection of the Prime Meridian and the Equator.
[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iNkw1IZFCYvY/v0/-1x-1.png]
[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iNkw1IZFCYvY/v0/-1x-1.png]
Colonel Bleep’s headquarters on Zero Zero Island. Credit: colonel-bleep.fandom.com

Null Island isn’t the only set of coordinates that’s become a destination for imprecise geolocations. When PhD candidate Ensheng Dong was building the Johns Hopkins Covid Dashboard, which provides data feeds on Covid cases and deaths worldwide, he started out with another popular default set of coordinates for some cases: the geo-centroid of the U.S., which happens to fall in Kansas, somewhere near the town of Lebanon.

Dong used that Kansas location to map the hundreds of Covid-19 cases that came from a Diamond Princess cruise ship in February 2020 — the cases became hard to track as people were evacuated and brought to hospitals around the world.

“The next day we got calls from the local residents because they found that our red dot was on top of their [homes],” Dong said. “They were so angry.” They reached out to their mayor, their local pastor and even the White House to complain about the red bubble. Residents of this Kansas region have reason for frustration: They’ve experienced their fair share of<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly9zcGxpbnRlcm5ld3MuY29tL2hvdy1hbi1pbnRlcm5ldC1tYXBwaW5nLWdsaXRjaC10dXJuZWQtYS1yYW5kb20ta2Fuc2FzLWYtMTc5Mzg1NjA1Mg/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB7d813587> problems due to being at the geographic center of the U.S., including visits from FBI agents and federal marshals.

So after talks with representatives of the residents, Dong and his team found another solution: He placed all cases that couldn’t be attributed to a precise location at coordinates (0,0), Null Island, but this time without visibly showing those cases on the map to prevent further confusion.
[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iOfAhSqJAvfE/v0/-1x-1.png]
[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iOfAhSqJAvfE/v0/-1x-1.png]
The Johns Hopkins Covid dashboard does not show cases that cannot be georeferenced, and does not visibly link data to “Null Island.” Credit: Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

For scenarios like Dong’s, having somewhere to aggregate this data serves a useful purpose. The problem is when that purpose is not communicated to map users, Juhasz says: “I think what’s important is that we have an understanding of it and that people are aware of its existence.”

Map Links
·         Crimes against history: mapping the destruction of Ukraine’s culture (Guardian<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL3dvcmxkLzIwMjIvYXByLzI0L2NyaW1lcy1hZ2FpbnN0LWhpc3RvcnktbWFwcGluZy10aGUtZGVzdHJ1Y3Rpb24tb2YtdWtyYWluZXMtY3VsdHVyZQ/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB45a18896>)
·         Video: Aerial snow mapping grows across U.S. west (USA Today<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudXNhdG9kYXkuY29tL3ZpZGVvcy9uZXdzL25hdGlvbi8yMDIyLzA1LzA0L2FlcmlhbC1zbm93LW1hcHBpbmctZ3Jvd3MtYWNyb3NzLXVzLXdlc3QvOTY0NTA4MDAwMi8/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aBda0b247d>)
·         The tale of Dallas’s inequities can be told with these two maps (D Magazine<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZG1hZ2F6aW5lLmNvbS9mcm9udGJ1cm5lci8yMDIyLzA1L3RoZS10YWxlLW9mLWRhbGxhcy1pbmVxdWl0aWVzLWNhbi1iZS10b2xkLXdpdGgtdGhlc2UtdHdvLW1hcHMv/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB3e0f50c7>)
·         National Democrats make last-gasp push to keep N.Y. district maps (New York Times<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wNS8wMi9ueXJlZ2lvbi9yZWRpc3RyaWN0aW5nLWRlbW9jcmF0cy1hcHBlYWwuaHRtbD9wYXJ0bmVyPXNsYWNrJnNtaWQ9c2wtc2hhcmU/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB77207ee6>)
·         Love maps and want to save California’s wild spaces? This site is for you (Los Angeles Times<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGF0aW1lcy5jb20vZW52aXJvbm1lbnQvbmV3c2xldHRlci8yMDIyLTA0LTE0L2xvdmUtbWFwcy1hbmQtd2FudC10by1zYXZlLWNhbGlmb3JuaWFzLXdpbGQtc3BhY2VzLXRoaXMtc2l0ZS1pcy1mb3IteW91LWJvaWxpbmctcG9pbnQ/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aB7285ade6>)
·         Op-Ed: We mapped the warehouse takeover of the Inland Empire. The results are overwhelming (Los Angeles Times<https://link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/27599727.41028/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGF0aW1lcy5jb20vb3Bpbmlvbi9zdG9yeS8yMDIyLTA1LTAxL2lubGFuZC1lbXBpcmUtd2FyZWhvdXNlLWdyb3d0aC1tYXAtZW52aXJvbm1lbnQ/60affe36eb76902f5a6e790aBe996679d>)
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