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United States
Oil Leases Suspended
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has ordered a suspension of leases for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has ordered a new environmental review of the leasing program, which had started under the administration of prior President Donald Trump. The bidding for drilling rights in the protected area in January yielded very little interest, generating only $14.4 million, with none of the major energy companies participating and one of Alaska’s own state agencies emerging as the main bidder. Low oil prices and the high costs of drilling in an area with very little supporting infrastructure are believed to have negatively impacted interest in leasing rights in the area. A legal battle over the suspended leases appears likely, pending the results of the Department of the Interior’s review.
This map depicts Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, noting the areas where leases for oil and gas drilling had been issued. Those leases were suspended by the Department of the Interior, pending further environmental impact review. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: BBC
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Iran
Largest Iranian Warship Sinks
Iranian warship The Kharg, the largest in the country’s fleet, sunk this morning in the Gulf of Oman following a fire originating in the engine room. Crew and civilian firefighters fought the blaze for 20 hours but were unable to keep it from destroying other parts of the ship. The 44-year-old British-built ship, named for the island that serves as Iran’s main oil terminal, was primarily a support vessel for replenishing other ships at sea and was on its way to training exercises in international waters. The cause of the fire has not been identified, but the Iranian navy has reported that all crew members were evacuated from the ship safely. The disaster is the latest in a series of setbacks for Iran’s naval forces, which in recent years include the misfire of a missile during training exercises last year that killed 19 sailors and the 2018 sinking of a destroyer in the Caspian Sea.
This map depicts the location where Iranian naval vession The Kharg caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Oman. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: The Sun
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China
Man Contracts Rare Avian Flu
A man in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province has been infected with a strain of bird flu known as H10N3, in what is being considered the first case of the disease among humans. The man, who lives in the city of Zhenjiang, was hospitalized on April 28 with fever symptoms but has since stabilized and will be discharged from the hospital. China’s National Health Commission announced discovery of the case today, and claimed there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Contact tracing and surveillance have not uncovered any additional infections stemming from the Jiangsu case. The World Health Organization is working with the Chinese government to monitor the case.
This map depicts the city of Zhenjiang, in the Jiangsu Province where the case was reported. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Which map projection, believed to be first used by cartographer Jean Cossin in 1570, shows relative size accurately, but distorts shapes and directions?
A: Sinusoidal Projection
Also called the Sanson–Flamsteed or the Mercator equal-area projection, the uninterrupted Sinusodial projection is a pseudocylindrical equal-area map projection, meaning area or size is reflected with relative accuracy. On Sinusodial projections, distortion increases with distance from the intersection of the equator and prime meridian. The Sinosodial projection has been used for maps of continents near the equator, like South America and Africa, centered on their own central meridians.
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Q: Sometimes considered the world’s smallest “desert,” which area of sand dunes is kept dry by the rain shadow of a northern mountain chain?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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