PR – Children are set to benefit from the first
educational wall map to clearly show the worldwide impact of global warming. Dynamic World, produced by British cartographic
company Global Mapping, offers a unique way to view the areas most at risk due
to the consequences of human activity and natural phenomena.
How the world is changing can clearly be seen on both
the map sheet and a series of information boxes.
Examples include dramatic changes in the extent of
Arctic sea ice, leaving the famous North West
passage in Canada
completely free of ice for the first time in human memory during summer 2007.
This has raised the possibility of shipping using a route that has
traditionally eluded explorers.
Dynamic World shows that rising ocean temperatures
have increased the frequency and strength of hurricanes in the Caribbean. In Siberia,
global warming is causing the permafrost to thaw affecting the size of lakes in
the region.
The map also illustrates changes to the Gulf Stream
that could increase rainfall in the North Atlantic and cause falling
temperatures in Scotland, Norway and Iceland.
The map was researched and designed over the past 18
months by Global Mapping’s Mary Spence MBE, President of the British
Cartographic Society. Leading organisations involved in monitoring global
warming, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have provided
analysis.
The aim was to distil the essence of a highly complex
subject into a clear, graphical representation.
“We wanted to offer a resource that is
interesting, accurate and easy to interpret,” says Global Mapping’s
Managing Director, Alan Smith. “The map demonstrates that human activity
and natural phenomena such as volcanoes, earthquakes, plate tectonics and
tsunamis are constantly shaping our environment.”
Dynamic World measures 1 metre by 70cm and is
available at 1: 40,000,000 and 1:30,000,000 scales. It can be ordered direct
from www.mapstop.co.uk.
