Plenty of Nothing

Sackville Under Water, 2055

A 2012 publication of the Atlantic Climate Adaptation Solutions Association, entitled Adapting to Climate Change: Infrastructure at Risk, Tantramar Marsh, New Brunswick (available as a PDF here) includes this map projecting the effect of a once-in-ten-year flood on the town of Sackville in the year 2055, when sea levels will be higher. The Tantramar Marsh, Trans-Canada Highway, CN tracks, and much of the downtown are beneath the waves. The inhabitants of Sackville are no different than other humans, which means they probably won't do much about it until too late, but now would be a good time to begin shifting the town uphill. Step One: rezone. Compare this projection.

Montagnais Impact Crater

The Montagnais Impact Crater is 50 million years old, and at 45 km in diameter is the 19th-largest known impact crater on Earth, and it's only about 200 km SSW of Halifax. Map source.

Pliocene Japan

What boggles my mind about the world of five million years ago is that there were horses, dogs and elephants running around, but countries like Japan, Italy and Panama hadn't finished raising out of the sea. See here for a guide to how the Japanese archipelago formed.

The Real Map of Ireland

The Marine Institute of Ireland publishes a map of the part of the sea floor over which Ireland has jurisdiction, called the Real Map of Ireland. That is some fascinating topography. And naming. Yes, the Edoras Bank and Eriador Seamount come from Tolkien.

Skellefteå mot MODO

A world map of metal bands per capita.

Which town is the greater metal band town, Skellefteå or Örnsköldsvik? Skellefteå is the home of Andreas Hedlund, who has performed with Otyg, Vintersorg, Havayoth, Borknagar, Fission, Waterclime, and Cronian. Örnsköldsvik produced Tomas Haake and Mårten Hagström of Meshuggah. You decide.

On the last day of February SAIK visited last-place Rögle BK in Ängelholm and won 2 - 3. This win locked up first place for SAIK, and twelfth place for Rögle. On March 2nd SAIK went to Frölundaborg Isstadion and lost 2 - 1 to Frölunda in overtime. SAIK entertained MODO yesterday and beat them 3 - 2 in overtime. Bud Holloway scored the game winner. SAIK finish the season in first place with 114 points. Holloway wins the scoring race with 20 golas and 51 assists. Teammates Joakim Lindström and Oscar Lindberg finish third and eighth respectively. SAIK face Brynäs in the quarterfinals.

The HockeyAllsvenskan has finished. Leksand, Södertälje and VIK Västerås came in one, two, three. They'll meet Timrå and Rögle in the Kvalserien. But first BIK Karlskoga, Djurgården, Örebro and Oskarshamn compete for the sixth spot.

Japan as an East Coast Thing

If you slide Japan around the globe until Cape Breton is about as far from the northern tip of Hokkaido as Sakhalin is in real life, it makes a pretty nice fit. The new Sea of Japan is about the same size and shape as the old one. Hokkaido looks about right as a Maritime Province. The USA stands in for China very well. But the likeliest substitute for Korea, Florida, is out of place and should really share a border with Pennsylvania. The weather would be very interesting. I imagine that the Gulf Stream would follow Japan's east coast. But what if it went up the west coast? The New Sea of Japan would be very stormtost during the hurricane season.

Cumbre Vieja Tsunami

If the Cumbre Vieja Volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canaries were to slough its western slope into the ocean in an enormous avalanche, as volcanic islands have been known to do, it would set off a tsunami that would devastate the northeastern coast of South America, the Caribbean, and the eastern coast of North America, including Halifax NS. (Read all about it in The Coast.)

Though in the heart of Europe, Geneva Switzerland was swept by a tsunami in the year 563. (Read about it in The Economist.)

Morris House Moves Upstairs

Morris House, a wooden building salvaged from the Victoria Arms demolition of 2009, and subsequently dated to 1764 by dendrochronology, was hauled through downtown Halifax this weekend to a new site at Charles and Creighton in the North End. Route map:

The part that makes this a feat is the Sackville Street leg, which if you know Halifax you know is about as steep as a staircase. [Two front-end loaders assisted the transport truck up Sackville Street. Video.]

The Glasgow Underground

Via @c_9.

Sometimes It's Better Just To Stay In

Radar is an awesome invention. Play with it at Environment Canada's website.