Table of Contents

Videos:geopolitics

GeoPolitics Video Companion

Geo

Poli

largest business 2022
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O1V7Yw5MmEKytV1aGnoVVA9FEgtKzLguGOZjfHZxwA0/edit#gid=2000817854

Q&A

Three Estates

Religion

Government

Business

largest business 2022
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O1V7Yw5MmEKytV1aGnoVVA9FEgtKzLguGOZjfHZxwA0/edit#gid=2000817854

royalty to republic (returned to the public from the ruling class)

FDR - govt over business

Rock, paper, scissors

Petri Dish

Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection of the world

NASA topographical data http://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search

two blender models

  1. solid 3D terrain map in a 86x12mm cylinder
    • 86 mm diameter
    • 12 mm high: 1mm base + 11mm from sea level to Mt Everest peak
    • centered on Lake Victoria 1°S 33°E
    • NASA topographical data of earth
    • we want a 3D model, not a texture image
    • output STL file for use in 3D printer
  2. inverse of #1, to be used as a jello mold

blender process

  1. cylinder 1x86mm
  2. earth model from sea level to Mt Everest peak, 8,8489 m
  3. (note for Americans: 14000 feet = 4267.2 meters)

Africa

big game safari preserves:

Note:

coffee: Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rawanda, Burundi

Lithium

Cobalt: Congo

equatorial Africa, west side Congo, east side savanah

the great rift

Lake Victoria, 1°S 33°E, Victoria and Albert, colonial period

South Africa, Australia, temperate zone

English and Dutch, South Africa, South America, Malaysia/Indonesia

Victoria Falls, five corners: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, South Africa

Guinea bissau, where Bill Gates killed hundreds of young girls with his deep DTP vaccine that is banned in Europe, according to Denmark data.

French West Africa - was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (now Benin) and Niger. The federation existed from 1895 until 1958. Its capital was Saint-Louis in Senegal until 1902, and then Dakar until the federation's collapse in 1960.

France is a hexagon

North European plain, a geomorphological region in Europe that covers all or parts of Belgium, the Netherlands (i.e. the Low Countries), Germany, Denmark and Poland.

when From Russia From Love was made, all the Balkans were Yugoslovia 28:00 Ali Karim Bey, our man in Istanbul says “You're in the Balkans now” train to Trieste - easternmost bit of Italy 1:19:20 “meet me in Zagreb” the Balkan Peninsula “the Balkans” - nebulous: mountain range, peninsula, region “balkanization” - splitting up

Map Projections

azimuth -

orthogonal = perpendicular

2D polar coordinates, circle - theta and r

in a 3D sphere, two theta angles: azimuth and altitude

observer at the center

Projections chronological

projection sequence

wall chart - the whole globe on one page

geosketch cheatsheet

see https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tGFLZGoImvcf8dj5HsG48Xsm_phn2BYVDNbd-ksg_W8/edit?usp=sharing

equator
null island
Lake Victoria
Ecuador
Galapagos

books, movies, pop culture references to geography

Borat - Kazakhstan
Khabib - Dagestan
Captain Phillips - Somalia
Somerset Maughm - Switzerland to Vladivostok
Mark Greaney: Sentinel - Ghana
Barbara Kingsolver: The Poisonwood Bible - DR Congo
Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness - DR Congo
Don Winslow: The Power of the Dog - South Africa
Jack Carr: True Believer - Rhodesia
Stephen Leather: Baltic Black Ops - Lithuania, Kaliningrad
Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner - Afghanistan movie The Man Who Would be King - Afghanistan
James Clavell: Shogun - Japan
M.M. Kaye: The Far Pavillions - India
Mark Greaney: Agent in Place - Syria
Louis L'Amore: Last of the Breed - eastern Siberia
At 33:43 in, Indiana Jones picks up Marion in Nepal and then takes a plane ride over a map to Cairo
At 1:38:04 in, our heroes are traveling west in the Mediterranean from Cairo to London, but end up on a u-boat that travels back east through a map between Greece and Crete to an island in the Agean Sea

Drake Passage

John Hagstrand john@hagstrand.com Wed 18 Jun, 14:00 (1 day ago) to me

The formation of the Drake Passage, the body of water separating South America (specifically the southern tip of Patagonia) and Antarctica (the Antarctic Peninsula), is a fascinating chapter in Earth's geological history. It occurred roughly 41 million years ago during the Eocene epoch, driven by tectonic plate movements and associated geological processes. Below is a detailed explanation of how it formed, the tectonic context, and its significance.

### Tectonic Context The Drake Passage's formation is tied to the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, which began around 180 million years ago. Gondwana included what are now South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and India. By the Cretaceous period (about 100 million years ago), South America and Antarctica were still connected, forming part of the remnants of Gondwana. A narrow land bridge or series of volcanic arcs, often referred to as the Andean-Antarctic Isthmus, linked the two continents.

The key tectonic players in the formation of the Drake Passage were: - South American Plate: Moving westward due to seafloor spreading at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. - Antarctic Plate: Relatively stationary but influenced by surrounding plate dynamics. - Scotia Plate: A smaller plate that later emerged and played a role in shaping the region. - Nazca Plate and Phoenix Plate: Oceanic plates subducting beneath South America and influencing regional tectonics.

The relative motion of these plates, combined with global tectonic reorganization, set the stage for the opening of the Drake Passage.

### Formation Process The opening of the Drake Passage was a gradual process, spanning millions of years, driven by continental drift and seafloor spreading. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

1. Initial Separation (~50–41 million years ago):

  1. Around 50 million years ago, South America and Antarctica began to drift apart due to tectonic forces. This was part of the broader separation of Gondwana, where South America moved northward and westward, while Antarctica moved southward toward its current polar position.
  2. The West Antarctic Rift System, a region of crustal thinning, facilitated the stretching and subsidence of the crust between the two continents. This created shallow marine basins, allowing seawater to encroach into the region.

2. Development of a Proto-Drake Passage (~41 million years ago):

  1. By approximately 41 million years ago, tectonic extension and seafloor spreading had progressed enough to create a deep-water channel between South America and Antarctica. This marked the initial opening of the Drake Passage.
  2. The Scotia Plate began to form as a result of complex interactions between the South American, Antarctic, and oceanic plates. Seafloor spreading in the Scotia Sea further widened the gap.
  3. The exact timing is debated, with some studies suggesting a deep-water connection as early as 50 million years ago, but most evidence (from ocean sediment cores and paleoceanographic data) points to a significant deep-water channel by 41 million years ago.

3. West-to-East Ocean Flow:

  1. The opening of the Drake Passage allowed for the establishment of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), a powerful west-to-east ocean current that encircles Antarctica. This current was a game-changer for global climate and ocean circulation.
  2. Before the passage opened, the land bridge between South America and Antarctica restricted ocean flow, keeping Antarctica warmer. Once the ACC formed, it isolated Antarctica thermally, preventing warm ocean currents from reaching the continent and contributing to its glaciation.

4. Geological Evidence:

  1. Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) cores from the Southern Ocean show changes in sediment composition and microfossils around 41 million years ago, indicating the onset of deep-water circulation.
  2. Magnetic anomalies in the Scotia Sea reveal patterns of seafloor spreading, confirming the tectonic widening of the region.
  3. Paleomagnetic data from South America and Antarctica show their relative drift over time.

### Timing and Debate While 41 million years ago is a commonly cited date for the opening of a deep-water Drake Passage, the precise timing is still debated. Some studies suggest: - A shallow marine connection may have existed as early as 50 million years ago. - Full deep-water circulation, enabling the ACC, likely solidified between 41 and 34 million years ago. - The Eocene-Oligocene boundary (~34 million years ago) marks a significant global cooling event, often linked to the full establishment of the ACC and Antarctic glaciation, suggesting the Drake Passage was fully open by then.

### Significance of the Drake Passage The formation of the Drake Passage had profound effects on Earth’s systems: - Climate Change: The ACC isolated Antarctica, leading to its widespread glaciation by cutting off warm ocean currents. This contributed to the transition from a “greenhouse” to an “icehouse” Earth during the Eocene-Oligocene transition. - Ocean Circulation: The ACC connected the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, reshaping global ocean currents and influencing heat distribution. - Biodiversity: The isolation of Antarctica led to unique evolutionary paths for marine and terrestrial species, while the ACC created a barrier for some marine organisms but a dispersal pathway for others. - Geological Evolution: The Scotia Plate and surrounding tectonic features continued to evolve, shaping the modern Southern Ocean and its islands.

### Modern Drake Passage Today, the Drake Passage is one of the world’s most treacherous waterways, about 800 km (500 miles) wide at its narrowest point. It’s notorious for stormy seas and strong currents, driven by the unimpeded flow of the ACC and westerly winds. The passage remains a critical chokepoint for global ocean circulation and a focal point for studying Earth’s climatic and tectonic history.

### Supporting Data - Geochronology: Radiometric dating of volcanic rocks in the Scotia Sea and paleomagnetic studies confirm the timing of seafloor spreading. - Paleoceanography: Oxygen isotope records from deep-sea sediments show a cooling trend around 41–34 million years ago, tied to the ACC’s onset. - Tectonic Models: Reconstructions using plate motion data (e.g., from GPS and magnetic anomalies) illustrate the drift of South America and Antarctica.

If you’d like, I can dive deeper into specific aspects, like the paleoceanographic evidence, the role of the Scotia Plate, or the climatic impacts of the ACC. Alternatively, I could generate a visual representation of the tectonic movements or the ACC’s path—let me know if you want me to confirm for image generation!