In this study we assess the accuracy of the cartographic projection introduced by Mercator in his world map of 1569 aiming to identify its construction method. An error distribution of the latitude ...scale in the Organum directorium abacus was first determined in such a way as to be independent of the physical distortions that affected the sheets after printing. This distribution, which we have called the 'error signature' of the map, was then compared with the errors associated with various methods that Mercator might have used to calculate the projection. A new construction method not hitherto considered in the literature, based on the use of a table of rhumbs, is proposed and tested. The method is intuitive, simple to apply and historically plausible, given the fact that tables of rhumbs were already known in Europe at the time Mercator was engraving his world map. A particular type of table, based on the iterative resolution of a set of right-angle triangles placed along a rhumb line on the sphere, at regular longitude intervals, was found to reproduce the error signature of the map better than any other method.
Autonomous control and high-level decision-making for autonomous ships in complex environments are largely dependent on real-time navigational data from sensory systems and nautical charts. ...Visualization and manipulation of data contained within electronic navigational charts (ENC) or hydro/geographic information systems (HIS/GIS) is generally handled on the application or operations level. However, accessible and open-source application programming interfaces (API) for displaying and managing spatial bathymetry or other related sea-faring data for research and development are scarce. This work presents an open-source ENC visualization and manipulation API implemented in Python, with heavy emphasis on accessibility and simplicity. The current version of the package provides tools for displaying marine polygon data such as ships, ocean depths, reefs, and shallows, using the transverse Mercator projection. Additionally, polygon- and point-based transformation and calculation methods for application development based on spatial geometry, path planning and numerical optimal control are implemented. Usage of the spatial methods are demonstrated by examples involving high-level path or trajectory planning, optimization, and assisted decision-making for autonomous and remote-controlled ships.
The article proposes the use of a geodetic coordinate frame suitable for the reference plan geodetic networks of Vietnam used in engineering surveys. This framework minimizes distortion in horizontal ...spacing when going from ellipsoid to plane. In the course of the work, the parameters of the coordinate system and the height of the level surface were selected using the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM). The equations used for the calculations are determined based on theoretical analysis and are easily applied in surveying.
The coordinate base of the maps or sheets produced is the Universal Transversal Mercator (UTM) conformal projection, and it is not possible to work in a single coordinate system in Turkey. Therefore, ...a transition from UTM to other conformal projections is required. For the countries extending in an east–west UTM zone width like Turkey, composite projection (CP), a double standard paralleling Lambert Conformal Conic (LCC) and double map projections (DP) are used widely. However, this process causes increase in working load and processing errors by users. This study aims to determine a common projection system that can be used in the whole country. In this context, a composite projection from UTM and LCC projection has been defined for the first time. According to the results obtained, map projection CP with the least distortion values in both east–west and north–south directions has been chosen. With the CP selection, a single coordinate system has been determined for medium- and large-scale maps. Projection correction formulas, scale factor and false origin have been determined for map coordinates in CP. These distortions are obtained with a difference of less than 1 cm for 1 km long sides and less than 0.003″ for the azimuth value of this side, when the correction formulas are used.
The descriptions of Locach, Java Major and Java Minor by Marco Polo and Ludovico di Varthema were drawn upon by Gerard Mercator in constructing his world maps of 1538 and 1569, and globe of 1541. His ...depiction of these lands in 1538 was influenced by the 1531 and 1536 world maps of Oronce Fine. Fine's maps also influenced contemporary Breton and Norman cartographers in their depiction of these lands on their series of world maps, 1546 to 1583. The Regio Patalis, a promontory of the Terra Australis on Fine's maps, became Beach on Mercator's 1541 globe, and 1ocach/Beach on his 1569 world map. The Breton, Guillaume Brouscon, also identified this promontory of the Terra Australis as Locach on his world map of 1543, while the Dieppe Norman cartographers identified it with Java la Grande. Dirk Hartog's discovery of Eendracht Land in 1616 was initially incorporated into Mercator's model, and identified with Beach.
The descriptions of Locach, Java Major and Java Minor by Marco Polo and Ludovico di Varthema were drawn upon by Gerard Mercator in constructing his world maps of 1538 and 1569, and globe of 1541. His ...depiction of these lands in 1538 was influenced by the 1531 and 1536 world maps of Oronce Fine. Fine's maps also influenced contemporary Breton and Norman cartographers in their depiction of these lands on their series of world maps, 1546 to 1583. The Regio Patalis, a promontory of the Terra Australis on Fine's maps, became Beach on Mercator's 1541 globe, and 1ocach/Beach on his 1569 world map. The Breton, Guillaume Brouscon, also identified this promontory of the Terra Australis as Locach on his world map of 1543, while the Dieppe Norman cartographers identified it with Java la Grande. Dirk Hartog's discovery of Eendracht Land in 1616 was initially incorporated into Mercator's model, and identified with Beach.
Ozone is a highly oxidizing gas with insecticidal activity and it is a potential alternative to conventional fumigants, such as phosphine and methyl bromide, for managing stored product insects. ...Susceptibility of the merchant grain beetle, Oryzaephilus mercator (Fauvel; Coleoptera: Silvanidae), an important pest of stored products, to ozone treatments is unknown. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of ozone for controlling O. mercator. We determined concentration-mortality relationships for all stages of O. mercator exposed to 100–400 ppm for 1 h (1 g/ m3 = 467 ppm). We also determined time-mortality relationships for adults exposed to 100 ppm for 1–6 h. Mortality was recorded as percentages of eggs that failed to hatch 10 days after treatment (DAT), larvae or pupae that failed to develop into adults 20 or 15 DAT, respectively, and adults that died 2 DAT. Generally, mortality increased with an increase in ozone concentration. Mortality was higher when insects were treated without food. When food was not provided, a minimum of 11030 ppm for 1 h is required to kill 99% of eggs, the most tolerant stage, whereas 500 ppm for 1 h is required to kill 99% of larvae, the least tolerant. When provided with food, adults were the most tolerant and larvae the least tolerant. Adults require exposure time of 7.7 h of 100 ppm ozone to kill 99% of insects in the absence of food. The work reported suggests that ozone could be an alternative fumigant for the management of all O. mercator life stages.
Marco Polo's book, The Travels of Marco Polo, describes places of which Polo had firsthand knowledge, and other places of which he had no personal experience. Three of the places described by Polo ...which he did not visit are: a large island he calls Zenzibar, the province of Lochac (Beach), and the kingdom of Malaiur (Maletur). This paper looks at the mapping of the three by Gerard Mercator, his trust in Marco Polo, and his irregular use of map legends. It includes a discussion of the promontory of Mercator's southern continent, depicted on his 1541 globe and 1569 world map, which extends north of the Tropic of Capricorn, south of Java Major. In an inscription on his 1569 map, Mercator stated his sources for the depiction as Marco Polo and Ludovico di Varthema. The paper considers whether there were other influences and concludes that the inscription is not all-encompassing.
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