Oceanography | Vol.30, No.1
Long-term readers of Oceanography may already be aware
that I have an interest in the scientific presentation of geo-
graphic information and even coauthored a contribution to
Oceanography about the proper use of map projections
in oceanography more than a decade ago. (Krause and
Tomczak, 1995). While our contribution did not eliminate the
use of questionable projections from the scientific literature,
I can live with most of them (grudgingly). But Figure B2 of
the fascinating review of the possible contribution of large-
scale industrial cultivation of marine microalgae by Greene
et al. (2016) in our December 2016 edition exceeded my
tolerance level.
The figure, a “world map of relative fuel production
potential,” makes much argument about the relatively small
land area required to satisfy US or global liquid fuel demand
through the cultivation of microalgae. This would suggest
that the authors use a projection that offers area equiva-
lency, an impression enhanced by the depiction of Texas
for comparison with other land areas. But the figure is not
based on any scientific projection; while it does not include
a latitude/longitude grid, it appears to be based on a sim-
ple square-gridded latitude/longitude mesh, which does not
conserve any map properties.
Matters are made worse by the addition of a distance
scale, suggesting a map that allows the comparison of
distances across its area. But it is well known that area
equivalency and equidistance are mutually exclusive map
properties, and why an equidistant map is preferable to an
area equivalency map if the emphasis is on area compari-
son is hard to explain.
But distance is obviously not maintained in the map
depicted in Figure B2: It shows the 3,900 km between
Vancouver and New York as something close to 6,800 km;
even the area of Texas is overestimated by nearly 50%
based on the distance scale given.
Allow me to use the figure appearing in Greene et al.’s
otherwise excellent article to renew my plea for a scientific
approach to map displays in oceanography. Maybe review-
ers of future papers can make it a habit to look critically not
only at the text but also at the way in which the papers’ find-
ings are displayed in maps.
– Matthias Tomczak, Emeritus Professor of Oceanography,
School of the Environment, Flinders University of South Australia
REFERENCES
Greene, C.H., M.E. Huntley, I. Archibald, L.N. Gerber, D.L. Sills, J. Granados,
J.W. Tester, C.M. Beal, M.J. Walsh, R.R. Bidigare, and others. 2016.
Marine microalgae: Climate, energy, and food security from the sea.
Oceanography 29(4):10–15, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.91.
Krause, G., and M. Tomczak. 1995. Do marine scientists have a scientific
view of the Earth? Oceanography 8(1):11–16, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/
oceanog.1995.26.
EDITOR’S NOTE
The map in question originally appeared in Moody et al. (2014; https://doi.org/
10.1073/pnas.1321652111). The authors of Greene et al. (2016) concur with
Dr. Tomczak’s points.
Dear Editor,
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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