Planetocopia Map Thread

Vuu · Sep 17, 2018

One thing that people tend to still vastly underestimate is the power of land ice, leading to all these alternate Earths having a weird, hollow Greenland or Antarctica.

To demonstrate this power, consider the following: when the current process is finished, lake Malaren near Stockholm might end up to 400m higher than it is now. Not so little. Greenland would definitely be a peninsula of North America, and Antarctica would probably be pretty round

naraht · Sep 17, 2018

Mt.82-9 said:
View attachment 408753

Interesting thread... someone on the worldbuilding Reddit posted this a while back with the same idea you had.
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuild...stia_my_take_on_what_the_world_would_be_like/

Its a pretty basic map, not very detailed but a good starter for anyone else interested (for instance he did not account for sea level fall or the existence of Hudson Bay being questionable).

What I'm finding most facinating about this map is the idea of being able to circumnavigate the world without going farther away from the equator than this world's alaska. (which is about the same distance from the Equator as India or Central Yucatan. (The best comparison is trying to circumnavigate if all of Africa and South America were moved 500 miles south leaving gaps.)

Petros >Peter Fergus< · Sep 17, 2018

Vuu said:
One thing that people tend to still vastly underestimate is the power of land ice, leading to all these alternate Earths having a weird, hollow Greenland or Antarctica.

To demonstrate this power, consider the following: when the current process is finished, lake Malaren near Stockholm might end up to 400m higher than it is now. Not so little. Greenland would definitely be a peninsula of North America, and Antarctica would probably be pretty round

It's just so frustrating trying to get these changes down on a map. There is always some artistry involved.

naraht said:
What I'm finding most facinating about this map is the idea of being able to circumnavigate the world without going farther away from the equator than this world's alaska. (which is about the same distance from the Equator as India or Central Yucatan. (The best comparison is trying to circumnavigate if all of Africa and South America were moved 500 miles south leaving gaps.)

Could be a hothouse/icebox, that current isn't being diverted north or south to warm up higher latitudes, and it's just gaining energy as it moves around the equator. Meanwhile, there is plenty of space in the north for a reflective ice-cap, and in the south, plenty of space for a circumpolar current keeping South America cold.

Augustine Sedira · Sep 19, 2018

I read on the wikia of an alt hist suggestion being that the north pole was located at Panama. Always found it an interesting concept but I'm not that skilled at making maps so anyone out there who can do it or has it already been done?

Swede · Sep 21, 2018

Augustine Sedira said:
I read on the wikia of an alt hist suggestion being that the north pole was located at Panama. Always found it an interesting concept but I'm not that skilled at making maps so anyone out there who can do it or has it already been done?

That made me think of another scenario: South pole is moved to the middle of the waters between South America and Antarctica. Would there be a current going under the ice there in that case? it's not the near dead end the Arctic Ocean is from the Atlantic.
Or the north Pole in Malta! That'd be an interesting biome in the new Arctic Sea, would the Nile still empty into it, no real evaporation means far less salty sea? or?
gah. Is there a map maker program to do these maps that runs on Ubuntu.

Swede · Oct 5, 2018

Random related ASB scenario:
The Trinity test site (first A-bomb detonation) as the new North Pole. Why? Because as a result of the test the crust is shook loose (yeah... that's the ASB part of the plot) and over a day or week of amazingly low-damage slipping around Trinity is now at the North Pole. After this normal geological rules apply once more. No further tests are made out of fear and out of massive die-offs due to the vast shift in climates.

map:

Linbot · Oct 5, 2018

Swede said:
Random related ASB scenario:
The Trinity test site (first A-bomb detonation) as the new North Pole. Why? Because as a result of the test the crust is shook loose (yeah... that's the ASB part of the plot) and over a day or week of amazingly low-damage slipping around Trinity is now at the North Pole. After this normal geological rules apply once more. No further tests are made out of fear and out of massive die-offs due to the vast shift in climates.

map:

I love how Quebec is the only part of North America that doesn't freeze into oblivion. That's so cool.

Mt.82-9 · Oct 8, 2018

Swede said:
Random related ASB scenario:
The Trinity test site (first A-bomb detonation) as the new North Pole. Why? Because as a result of the test the crust is shook loose (yeah... that's the ASB part of the plot) and over a day or week of amazingly low-damage slipping around Trinity is now at the North Pole. After this normal geological rules apply once more. No further tests are made out of fear and out of massive die-offs due to the vast shift in climates.

map:

All of those political prisoners in Siberia will be pleasantly surprised by the new weather

Swede · Oct 9, 2018

The even would be in mid July 1945. So... the Cold War never really starts since almost everywhere the food production collapses. Siberia is suddenly tropical/subtropical. That's gonna release insane amounts of greenhouse gases locked into the permafrost. And the melting of Greenland ant Antarctica will be EPIC. The research and military bases (over-all much smaller than today, but Greenland had some, right?) will be interesting places to be (as long as food lasts, can't see re-supplying them being a top priority).
As in every rotation of the landmasses there are two spots on the globe that don't move (they just rotate). I wonder where those'd be...
on the equator at 16W and 164E. right? Places on the equator that stay at the equator, halfway east-est between the "old" location of the new poles.
One in the Atlantic slightly closer to West Africa than to Brasil. No-one there. The other between Nauru and Micronesia. at least some Pacific islands get to keep their climate. Possibly the least affected place by the whole change?

Catsmate · Oct 9, 2018

Admiral A. Kolchak said:
I love how Quebec is the only part of North America that doesn't freeze into oblivion. That's so cool.

At least until the locals are eaten.

naraht · Oct 9, 2018

Swede said:
As in every rotation of the landmasses there are two spots on the globe that don't move (they just rotate). I wonder where those'd be...
on the equator at 16W and 164E. right? Places on the equator that stay at the equator, halfway east-est between the "old" location of the new poles.
One in the Atlantic slightly closer to West Africa than to Brasil. No-one there. The other between Nauru and Micronesia. at least some Pacific islands get to keep their climate. Possibly the least affected place by the whole change?

If I have to pick a place to be in this shift, first Choice is australia, second choice, South Africa and third Choice Peru. All are high enough to deal with the melting and don't shift climate *too* much.

Canadian Dragon · Oct 9, 2018

Admiral A. Kolchak said:
I love how Quebec is the only part of North America that doesn't freeze into oblivion. That's so cool.

Also don't forget the Atlantic provinces. However, the climate's likely to be not any better than on OTL's Earth - the latitude's probably not much different than in OTL's Quebec and Atlantic provinces. Given the size of North America (bigger than Antarctica!), the Arctic ice cap would likely grow larger than OTL's Antarctica even during interglacial periods.

Petros >Peter Fergus< · Oct 9, 2018

Mt.82-9 said:
View attachment 408753

Interesting thread... someone on the worldbuilding Reddit posted this a while back with the same idea you had.
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuild...stia_my_take_on_what_the_world_would_be_like/

Its a pretty basic map, not very detailed but a good starter for anyone else interested (for instance he did not account for sea level fall or the existence of Hudson Bay being questionable).

Does anyone have some image software that might be able to get this map in a few other projections and sizes?

aja675 · Dec 21, 2018

aja675 said:
-16.7, 168.2.

BTW, would North America be as dry as Australia is now, or would things be different?

aja675 · Dec 23, 2018

OK, so I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be the case at all because even places that are 500-700 km away from the ocean will be 200-ish km away from the ocean instead.

Swede · Dec 23, 2018

aja675 said:
OK, so I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be the case at all because even places that are 500-700 km away from the ocean will be 200-ish km away from the ocean instead.

How do you mean they'll be 200 instead of 500 km away from the ocean? The size of the continents don't change (unless all there's far larger or smaller ice caps.

aja675 · Dec 23, 2018

Well, I think that if you make a Planetocopia, that kinda compresses the continents. Or maybe it's just faulty projection.

Linbot · Dec 23, 2018

aja675 said:
Well, I think that if you make a Planetocopia, that kinda compresses the continents. Or maybe it's just faulty projection.

The earth's geography is perfectly identical, but the poles are in totally different places. The fact that it looks so different shows the distortions of the projection. The map is 100% as accurate as a normal equirectangular projection, but with different areas distorted.

aja675 · Dec 23, 2018

How about your answer to my question?

Linbot · Dec 23, 2018

aja675 said:
How about your answer to my question?

I'm no climate expert, but seeing as the Hudson Bay wouldn't exist here there would a very large inland region in North America close to the Horse Latitudes, so the OTL Great Plains at least would probably be desert. Maybe the Pacific Coast as well.