8 replies to this topic

[Hans van der Maarel]

Recently I was asked by a friend if I could make a map for her educational project about environmental concerns and sea level rise. Specifically, she wanted me to show which parts of the country are below sea level and which parts are between sea level and +7 meters.

So this is what I came up with:

 Nederland_overstromingsgevaar.png   53.7K   329 downloads

I first produced a basic elevation map in Global Mapper using SRTM, then used that as a guide to draw in the areas in MAPublisher. Provincial boundaries and cities are added for reference. Normally a "bathtub" model isn't too good for modeling sea-level rise, but from what I've gathered, if there is a 7 meter rise we're in deep trouble here anyway...

This is the web-version, there's also a print version with the texts haloed. However, at this size the halos don't come out well in raster.

The goal of the map is to let the students (highschool) draw their own conclusions about the danger of sea-level rise based on this map and accompanying text.

Mainly looking for any suggestions as to what I could have done differently or better. I'm pretty happy with it and so is my friend, but there's always room for improvement of course.

[Charles Syrett]

Looks pretty good to me. I'm glad you didn't use text haloes -- too often, they just look like an admission of design failure. Perhaps the darker blue could be a little lighter, while still contrasting with the lighter blue. Then the text would read a little better.

I'm curious about what you said about the "bathtub model". Can you elaborate?

Altogether an interesting look at your country, and it certainly explains why it's called "Netherlands"!

Charles Syrett
Map Graphics
http://www.mapgraphics.com

[frax]

I guess there would be no point in displaying shaded relief... ?

I would extend the coastline into the neighboring countries, and maybe have them labeled as well.

[Hans van der Maarel]

I'm curious about what you said about the "bathtub model". Can you elaborate?

I'm not sure whether it's the correct term, but I think I can best explain it by a practical example:
My front door is at sea level. However, a sea level rise of 2 meters would not mean I get flooded because I'm behind dikes that go up to 4 or 5 meters above sea level. However, most software used for generating elevation visualisations would happily tell me I'd get wet feet.

The actual situation, with dikes and dams and everything, is much more complicated to model (heck, I wouldn't even know where to begin)

[ProMapper]

Recently I was asked by a friend if I could make a map for her educational project about environmental concerns and sea level rise. Specifically, she wanted me to show which parts of the country are below sea level and which parts are between sea level and +7 meters.

I had done a similar trial with SRTM data for Indian region after Tsunami struck in the region. Here I have taken two values, the reds are below 10m and 10 to 20 are the yellow regions, then the color goes from pale green to dark green. The renderings kind of delineate the regions which will be under Tsunami fire if a massive earthquake happens in the adjoining waters.

The Bangaladesh region gets massive floods even when there are rain storms and sometimes wind storms which brings the sea in, as it is one of the most low lying region in the Bay of Bengal. Well no dykes to protect them from the surge.

Anu

Attached Files

•  bangladesh.jpg   184.57K   28 downloads
•  India.jpg   412.91K   20 downloads

[Michael Schmeling]

If everybody is showing doomsday pictures, I can probably also show mine .

My Living Globe Screensaver allows to change the global sea level interactively and enjoy the catastrophic results.

It is a commercial product, but you can download a free trial version, so I hope mentioning here is allowed.

[Jimbo]

I think it might more since to see the effect of sea level rise by comparing a modern day map to a model depicting Greenland ice cap melt, Antarctica ice cap melt, & a total collapse of all ice sheets. I imagine the future models would show a pretty bleak future for the Netherlands.

[Sv_BG]

I would extend the coastline into the neighboring countries, and maybe have them labeled as well.

I would add a scalebar/text and a small north arrow.

[Nick H]

So this is what I came up with:

My mother used to say 'God made the Dutch, but the Dutch made Holland'. I remember standing outside of a building at TU-Delft with someone pointing up at somewhere on the first floor saying 'if the dikes go down, that's where the water will be'.

Regards, N.