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United States
Mobility Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Transport Geography, restrictions on travel and movement only influenced the mobility of Americans for a short period of time during the pandemic. The study, which analyzed the movements of people living in the United States via anonymized cell phone signals from March 1 – September 30, 2020, identified two distinct waves of mobility patterns during the study period. From March – June, mobility in the U.S. followed a V-shape trend: first declining significantly, but recovering to pre-pandemic levels. In the second wave, from June – September, mobility barely decreased at all despite mobility restrictions and increasing number of COVID-19 cases. Mobility patterns were closely associated with political partisanship, poverty level, and the strictness of mobility restriction policies.
This map depicts the mobility of U.S. citizens during 2020. Click on the map to learn more.
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Mexico
Deadly Train Overpass Collapse
Twenty-three people are dead and dozens more are injured after the collapse of a Mexico City Metro train overpass near Olivos station in the southeastern borough of Tlahuac on Monday night. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said a beam collapsed as a train travelled over the overpass around 10:30 PM local time, causing debris from the overpass and the train itself to crash into cars on the road below. Mexico City’s subway system is the second-largest in the Americas, carrying over four million passengers a day. The collapse occurred on the system’s newest subway line, Line 12, leading to questions about poor design and construction quality.
This map depicts the location where a train overpass collapsed in Mexico City. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: BBC
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World
Rocket’s Uncontrolled Reentry
A 21-ton rocket booster launched by the Chinese space program is now following an uncertain path and could potentially crash into the Earth. The Long March 5B rocket was launched from Wenchang Launch Center last week and successfully placed the first module for China’s new space station into orbit. It entered into a temporary orbit but has since been observed travelling around the world once every 90 minutes, tumbling and descending in an uncontrolled fashion. While debris from a crash landing is likely to fall into the ocean, the unpredictable nature of its current path leaves the possibility it could come down in any area between 41 degrees north and south of the equator, including heavily populated areas as far north as New York City, Madrid, and Beijing or as far south as Sydney or Wellington. The rocket is expected to return to Earth within the next 4-8 days.
This map depicts the area across the globe in which China’s Long March 5B could potentially crash to Earth. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: At 350 miles (563 km) long and traversed by over 400 vessels per day, which is the world’s busiest shipping lane?
A: The English Channel
The English Channel, through which over 400 vessels travel per day is the world’s busiest shipping lane, and at its narrowest point, the Strait of Dover, traffic can reach upwards of 500-600 vessels on the busiest days. The English Channel is the most direct connection from the some of the important capitals and ports of northern Europe to the Atlantic Ocean, as well a route for North Sea oil and gas to the rest of Europe and across the world. The sheer volume of traffic moving through the channel has spurred numerous innovations in vessel tracking and coordination.
Source
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Q: Located at 54.8 degrees south, where can you find the world southernmost functioning railway station?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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